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Developers miss deadline; LUBA drops appeal Talent's Oak Valley retirement community won't be finished until building moratorium is lifted By WENDY SIPOREN TALENT -- The developers of the unfinished Oak Valley retirement community missed a filing deadline for their appeal of the city's building moratorium this summer, and the case was dismissed by the state Land Use Board of Appeals. Developers Craig Jackson and Scott Crenshaw of Roseburg had cited serious financial jeopardy as their reason for challenging the moratorium. They could not be reached for comment. In March, Oak Valley attorney Fred Wilson said he would ask the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals to invalidate Talent's moratorium because of a state law that limits building moratoriums to four six-month periods, or about two years. The City Council first declared a water emergency and adopted a building moratorium in February 1997. It adopted a second moratorium March 3 of this year in anticipation of the expiration of the first moratorium. Only 26 of 47 approved Oak Valley sites have been built on. The remainder can't be assigned building permits until the moratorium ends. News about the case's dismissal came as a surprise to Oak Valley homeowner Ruth Green, who opposed the moratorium. "I've not heard word one," said Green. "We've kind of been on tenterhooks wanting to know what's going on." The current moratorium will be allowed to expire next month and the city's public facilities strategy will take effect, said city planner Nancy Kincaid. The strategy, which is similar to a moratorium, will allow at least two construction projects to proceed -- the renovation of a building for a dentist's office and the construction of a light industrial building for a guitar accessory business. The city also has the option of putting in new water facilities at city parks, said Kincaid. The strategy -- the first of its kind in the state -- was approved by the Department of Land Conservation and Development this summer. According to state planners, the purpose of this type of ordinance is to allocate a dwindling water supply. Talent is already at capacity. But thanks to cooler weather and upgrades to the Bear Creek water treatment plant, Talent residents are enjoying unlimited access to drinking, bathing and sprinkling water this summer. To keep up with demand, the public works department runs both of the city's water treatment plants 24 hours a day with three staggered work shifts. "They're using what we make," said public works director Tim Dedrick. "We actually can shut off a plant occasionally (when the reservoir is filled)." After heavy rains last summer, the city twice asked residents to cut back on their water use in order to make repairs at the water treatment plants. Turbidity -- the amount of dirt in the water -- increases during rain storms, and can clog water intake valves. Even after Monday's downpour, the city continued to treat water from Wagner and Bear creeks thanks to improvements made to the intake system at the Bear Creek plant. Last year, Dedrick rigged up a system so the city can take its water from a pond off the main channel of Bear Creek during high turbidity. The city will have to rely on its 25- and 35-year-old plants until the completion of a water intertie with Medford. There are conflicting estimates of when the pipeline will be completed -- from the fall of 2000 to 2001. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA