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Ashland looks once more at hillside building rules By DAVID PRESZLER ASHLAND -- The haggling over this city's controversial hillside development ordinance is expected to continue tonight. The ordinance is back before the Ashland Planning Commission following another round of legal challenges. The Planning Commission meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Civic Center, 1175 E. Main Street. The state Land Use Board of Appeals sent the ordinance back to the city to clarify some portions that don't meet the state's requirement for "clear and objective" standards. LUBA's decision was handed down Sept. 24 following an appeal by the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors. The Realtors objected to the ordinance on a number of fronts, but LUBA upheld the general concept and ordered only the language clarifications. "We're just making fairly minor amendments," says John McLaughlin, the city's director of community development. "The city prevailed on all the major issues. We tend to agree that there's some language in there that's not as clear as it could be." The city attorney's office has already made the required changes to the ordinance and will present them for approval tonight. If approved, the ordinance would go to the City Council on Nov. 3. The ordinance, which has been in effect since January, prohibits new development on hillsides with slopes of more than 35 percent -- reducing the maximum buildable slope by 5 percent. It also sets new standards for developments on slopes of more than 25 percent. The Realtors argued that Ashland's standards violate state law's needed-housing provisions, state planning requirements for affordable housing and the city's own comprehensive land-use plan -- arguments that LUBA rejected. LUBA also rejected some of the Realtors' claims that certain standards weren't "clear and objective," while sustaining others. David Hunnicutt, who represented the Realtors, filed an appeal of LUBA's decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals earlier this month. Hunnicutt is the counsel for Oregonians in Action, a property-rights group based in Tigard working with the Realtors. "We have some real concerns with the ruling that LUBA made on the statute," he says. Hunnicutt says the bulk of the appeal will center on the lack of clarity in some aesthetic standards that LUBA didn't remand to the city. For example, one standard requires that "significant trees be protected whenever possible." The question Hunnicutt wants answered is, "What is a significant tree?" Another standard calls for development to minimize the amount of "effective visual bulk." Hunnicutt says such language is too vague. "A lot of our point is if I don't know what it means, how is a family that wants to come in and build a home to know what it means?" he says. Hunnicutt expects the appeal to be heard in early December. Panel sees transit `wish list' ASHLAND -- A 20-year, $53.1 million plan aimed at improving transportation will be presented to the Ashland Planning Commission tonight. The Ashland Transportation System Plan, developed by the city's staff, calls for upgrades that range from street extensions to sidewalk improvements. Though $53.1 million in improvements are proposed, the city expects only $17.1 million in revenue for transportation. City officials say the plan is a "wish list" that includes all the projects they would like to see. By including those projects, officials hope to make them eligible for unanticipated funds. The bulk of the spending is slated for the second decade, with officials focusing on small-scale practical improvements in the first few years. If approved, the plan will be presented to the Ashland City Council on Nov. 3. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA