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SUNNY Temp: 88 °F Wind: WNW at 10 mph Thursday, July 24, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend June 15, 2003 Proposed land use rules would make it legal for Dorothea George to live in her RV on her son David�s property in White City. County officials say a rule that prohibits living in an RV is one of hundreds they hope to change. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven LAND USE Jackson County is revising hundreds of arcane, confusing and conflicting ordinances that regulate land use By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune After the death of her husband, a bout with pneumonia, a stroke and hip replacement surgery, 80-year-old Dorothea George was ready to take it easy in her 40-foot mobile home, parked on her son’s White City property. But in the midst of her recovery, the county told her it was illegal for her to live in what is technically a vehicle. "It was kind of a shock because I couldn’t move around," she said. "I felt like just going with my husband." George and her son, David, found themselves victims of a county code that prohibits using an RV as a home but allows mobile homes, even though there is sometimes little difference. Advertisement County officials say the rule is among hundreds of arcane, confusing and often conflicting land-use regulations affecting the 25,000 residents of Jackson County’s unincorporated areas. Now, after three years of study, review and debate, county staff has come up with a proposed overhaul of the code. If the changes are approved by county commissioners, the code will be not only more user friendly but also less restrictive."The existing land development ordinance is kind of a train wreck," said County Planning Manager Ali Turiel. "It’s vague and not well written to deal with conflicts." The overhaul is an outgrowth of a directive from county commissioners in November 1999 to make land-use rules more user friendly and less restrictive. Reeve Hennion, who is on the county Planning Commission, said there has been much debate about the scope of the ordinance. "There are a lot of people in this county who feel government is much too intrusive and that government should stay out of their lives, and we’ve tried to address that," he said. At 700 pages, the ordinance — last overhauled in 1989 — is a mishmash of rules dating to the ‘70s, combining state and local laws and giving developers and people like the Georges fits. About 200 more pages of state rules have been created in the intervening years, making the laws nearly impossible to cross reference. When county officials approached the Georgesthis spring, David George pleaded with them to let his mother remain in her RV, insisting that it was ridiculous that he couldn’t keep the $108,000 vehicle but could purchase a single-wide mobile home for $10,000 and get the necessary permit. Already in the midst of working on the proposed changes, county officials agreed. Under the new rules, the county has trimmed the 700 pages of regulations to 500. It plans to use four types of permits, down from 35. "Now you have to hire a lawyer or consultant to figure out the law for you," said Hennion. Instead of a maze of red tape to determine whether a person could have, say, a horse boarding on a property, the county has created a simple chart that takes minutes to figure out. Officials insist the simplifications won’t stimulate rampant development in unincorporated areas. Still, some say the changes don’t go far enough to restrict land uses in a county that is more crowded and less agriculturally oriented than in the past. Brent Thompson, president of the county watchdog group Friends of Jackson County and a former Ashland planning commissioner, worries the ordinance might undermine forest and farming interests, particularly by making it easier to build on these types of lands. "I believe that forest land should be forest land and it doesn’t need a home on each parcel, and the same holds true with farm land," he said. "I don’t think every farm should have a home on it." Less restriction will bring more development and the potential for more disagreement among neighbors, he said. Development will lead to disputes about water rights and problems with wastewater in a county that already has problems in drought years, said Thompson. "The concentration of people in rural zones becomes apparent when wells go dry," he said. MaryKay Michelsen, former president of the defunct watchdog group the Jackson County Citizens League, said, "I’m very concerned about the decision to make it not any more restrictive than state regulations without any public input." Michelsen, who believes the county succeeded in creating a more user-friendly ordinance, said there are not enough provisions in it to deal with the potential for development of destination resorts. The proposed rules place fewer restrictions on water availability and sewage at such resorts, she said. County Commissioner Jack Walker, however, said the county shouldn’t tell people what to do with their property unless absolutely necessary. Government shouldn’t be able to limit residents’ ability to build dwellings on their property, he said. Property owners with a beef about what their neighbors are doing have recourse through the courts, Walker noted. "Is it the government’s responsibility that we should dictate to them what they should do if it does not obviously negatively affect their neighbors?" he asked. Walker said state regulations have become stricter in the past 15 years, so the county doesn’t need to make them even tougher. He said a complicated mix of state and local regulations has led to confusion among property owners, spawning heated debates and lawsuits. "The county always blamed the state, and the state always blamed the county," he said. Turiel said the county’s new ordinance is weaker in some areas than officials would have liked. Lawsuits in recent years have undermined the county’s ability to enforce sign laws, she said, or prevent someone from subdividing land without proving it has water or the ability to have a septic system. And the new regulations won’t get rid of all apparent inconsistencies and won’t take care of all disputes between property owners. "Good neighbor relations are very important," said Turiel. "Sometimes folks feel like the county is harassing them, but they are only feeling that way because the neighbors are calling us constantly and complaining." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Letters, hearing planned Property owners in unincorporated areas of Jackson County will receive letters at the end of June describing the county’s proposal to overhaul land use regulations affecting areas outside towns. County planning commissioners and county commissioners plan a joint public hearing July 17 to discuss the proposed changes. It will take place at 9 a.m. in the courthouse auditorium. The complete proposal is also online at www.jacksoncounty.org . County officials hope the new regulations, which must be approved by county commissioners, will take effect by September. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times