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Hannon pushes to resolve resort dispute Clear Springs Resort bogged down over land use, water rights, rest area BY PETER WONG ASHLAND -- Using state funding for a new rest area on Interstate 5 as leverage, Sen. Lenn Hannon wants state agencies to help resolve a long-standing controversy about a proposed Sunriver-type destination resort southeast of the city. But it's not clear whether the agencies can clear the way for the proposed Clear Springs Resort. The state Emergency Board, which decides budget matters between sessions of the Legislature, has delayed the release of $3.5 million for construction of the rest area and visitor information center until its next meeting Jan. 7-8. "The reason was to allow us to convene the governor's regional problem-solving group and see what can be done about the Clear Springs Resort," said Hannon, a Republican from Ashland who arranged for the rest area funding in the 1997 session. "I hope the agencies can meet to identify what needs to be done. "I would not have requested this delay if I felt there was no opportunity for the parties to come together and resolve this." Hannon's reference was to a group of state agencies -- Economic Development, Environmental Quality, Land Conservation and Development, Transportation, and Water Resources -- that Gov. John Kitzhaber has designated to resolve community growth problems. The Clear Springs development is tied up in disputes about land use and water rights. Hannon sits on the Emergency Board, but last week's delay was moved by Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, the board's co-chairman. The board's next meeting is just before the opening of the 1999 Legislature on Jan. 11. The rest area and resort projects already are intertwined. The state closed the old rest area and visitor information center -- the first stop for northbound travelers on I-5 after crossing the Siskiyou Summit from California -- for reasons of safety almost three years ago. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has designed a new rest area and visitor information center just south of the south Ashland interchange at Exit 14. Part of the proposed site is owned by Dom Provost and part by another landowner. "Provost has given his approval to sell his property to ODOT at ODOT's price," Hannon said. "But if he does so, either he has to buy additional land to keep his proposed golf course the same size, or he has to start the planning process for his resort all over again." Jackson County has approved the Clear Springs Resort, which Provost has proposed between I-5 and Highway 66 southeast of Ashland. The 265-acre resort would include an 18-hole golf course, 96-room hotel and 110 condominium-type units for visitors. Provost has sought assurances that if he sells 10 acres to the state for the rest area, acquisition of 10 more acres will not require him to start anew with land-use approvals for the resort. "If part of his property is condemned by the state, he does not have enough property in the rest of the approved parcel to put in three of the golf-course holes," said Chris Skrepetos, a critic of the resort who has been a party to several appeals. "He owns adjacent property, but it has not been approved as part of the destination resort. "On the surface, it appears that they want to shuffle some of that other property into the approved site. But they can't do it unless it goes through the land-use process." Provost bought the site in 1968. His current effort to win approval of Clear Springs Resort dates back to 1987. The first county approval in 1989 was appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, which returned it to the county to resolve some questions. A second approval in 1992 went to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, which upheld it. But the state board returned a third approval by the county in 1994 of the resort's preliminary design. "If I can outlive them, I will win," Provost said half-jokingly of the continuing controversy. Critics also have questioned whether Provost has access to sufficient water for domestic use and irrigation. Skrepetos said critics have filed a challenge with the Department of Water Resources to an application by the resort for the use of groundwater. A hearings officer will consider the case next year. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA