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46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 6, 2004 Glenn Hubbard sits outside the concrete pipe he calls home at �Pipe City Hotel� on Agate Road. The property has been used as a homeless campsite for decades, but the county is forcing the current owner to clear out the place. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven County tells landowner to close ‘Pipe City Hotel’ Homeless veterans live on the property in White City; Bennett says he probably will appeal the ruling By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune WHITE CITY — The owner of a parcel of land known as "Pipe City Hotel" has been ordered to remove the large industrial pipes and an old manufactured home used by homeless people camping on the property. Jackson County Hearings Officer Donald Rubenstein instructed property owner Jim Bennett of Medford to remove "all camping and camping facilities" within 30 days of the written order signed April 1. In addition, Bennett must also remove the pipes and similar materials from the property within 90 days. The homeless, who have been camping at the site for decades, have been using the pipes and the trailer for living quarters. But Rubenstein, whose decision followed a March 9 public hearing on the case, suspended $200 on each $600 fine for three violations of Jackson County ordinances on the property. Bennett must now pay a total $1,200 in fines. Advertisement Bennett, who bought the commercially zoned eight-acre parcel bordering Agate Road and Leigh Way in July 1998, has 60 days from the date of the order to appeal to the Jackson County Circuit Court, according to Mike Kuntz, the county’s code enforcement manager. "I’m very disappointed," Bennett said Monday afternoon. "I’m going to mull over it for a bit. The probability is I’m going to appeal." A Navy veteran, Bennett is concerned that many of the homeless using the site are veterans. Two of the three homeless people now on the property are homeless, he said. "I respect the law but these are real live human beings we’re dealing with," he said. "There is no financial reward for me in this. The three people there now are genuine honest people down on their luck. I’m trying to help them." In his order, Rubenstein noted the case involves both legal and social issues. "The legal issues are clear and can be determined by the hearing officer, but the social and personal issues are complex, difficult and painful," he wrote. "They reflect an inadequacy, perhaps a failure, of social welfare and support systems that have real and deleterious impacts on people in need." However, he noted that "remedying the problems in our social service programs" is beyond the authority of the hearings officer. "If I could issue an order that corrects these deficiencies, I would do so without hesitation," he added. County laws make it illegal for people to live on sites zoned commercial unless motels or related businesses have been approved for them. The homeless are caught in the middle, according to Rubenstein. "As Mr. Bennett correctly points out, these are people with needs, cares, dreams, feelings and, often, tragic misfortunes," he wrote. "That they are homeless is not their preference. "It is the undesirable result of the enforcement of these codes that some individuals will be displaced," he concluded. However, the homeless people’s presence on the property also jeopardizes public health, something the county is charged with protecting, he said. There are no water or sewer services on the property. The presence of the homeless has drawn complaints by neighboring businesses. A spokeswoman for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department substation in White City said deputies periodically respond to the site on cases of assault and intoxication. The homeless have responded that they are unfairly blamed for every crime or disturbance in the area. Noting he inherited the situation, Bennett, a partner in a local real estate firm as well as a developer, said he has reduced the number of homeless people at the site since buying it five years ago. He plans to begin building a shopping center and other businesses on the property this fall. During the public hearing in March, he had asked county officials to allow the homeless people at the site be allowed to serve as caretakers there until construction begins. Removing them from the property would only leave a void that other homeless people would fill, he explained, noting that he removed all the homeless from the property a few years ago, but others moved in. Bennett has looked into building subsidized housing elsewhere for the homeless campers but found that recent federal budget cuts eliminated that solution. Since buying the property, he estimates that he has removed some 75 percent of the pipes and other materials from the property, selling or giving away much of it. Some of it is now owned by a neighboring property owner, he said. "The county calls the pipes on my property ‘solid wastes,’ " he said. "But the pipes across the street are not. "This whole thing makes no sense whatsoever to me," he added. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times