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Growth has cut farmland In the mid-1970s, the state Land Conservation and Development Commission was created to "save the farmland." Since then, the Gilman dairy and several orchards have been converted to houses. How much land has been added to Central Point, Medford, Phoenix and Talent through the expansion of urban growth boundaries since the creation of LCDC? How much Class 1 and 2 soils existed in the Bear Creek Valley in the mid-1970s and how much exists now? -- Jim C., Jacksonville The answers to all these questions could fill several columns, but we'll make a start on some of them and furnish answers to others later. Medford's original urban growth boundary, which LCDC approved in 1981, covered 14,900 acres. It was expanded in 1990 by about 1,200 acres, although Jim Eisenhard, who retired this month as Medford planning director, said only a handful of building permits have been issued for the expanded area. We are working on finding answers for the other three cities. Urban growth boundaries define where cities can grow for 20 years. Land within the boundaries can be developed more easily than land outside, which is presumed to be rural and subject to statewide planning requirements for farm and forest protection if the soils are appropriate. A regional planning group under the Rogue Valley Council of Governments recently studied urban growth and its effect on farmland. If actual population growth matched projections for the next 50 years, it concluded that four of the seven major communities in the Bear Creek Valley still would have room, "but the cities of Central Point, Talent and Phoenix would not... significant amounts of farmland would certainly disappear around each community by 2050." The group studied what protection is appropriate for farmland. The study area consisted of 26,672 acres zoned for exclusive farm use, 25,120 acres of which are in the top four soil classes of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. For Class 1, there are 3,788 acres; Class 2, 7,534 acres; Class 3, 4,393 acres, and Class 4, 9,405 acres. Under Oregon's planning requirements, lands with these soils are considered farmland that generally must be protected unless counties make a series of legal findings to exempt them. The state has several income standards for farms, but local critics say they do not fit here. According to the 1997 Census of Agriculture by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jackson County lost 17.5 percent of its farm acreage between 1987 and 1997, compared with 2 percent statewide. It also said 246,101 acres countywide were in farm use. The Bureau of the Census defines a farm as any place that produces and sells at least $1,000 worth of products. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA