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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 18, 2006 Site plan panel approves Medford Wal-Mart By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Medford’s Site Plan and Architectural Commission gave final approval Friday to plans for a 205,693-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter. A local citizens group vows to appeal the decision to the City Council, again. "We’re definitely going to appeal," said Shareen Vogel, spokesperson for the Medford Citizens for Responsible Government, a local organization that successfully appealed Wal- Mart’s approval in 2004. "We’re not at any point to elaborate too much," said Vogel. "We don’t think that the building is compatible and we think that they need to do a traffic study. (The commission) made a mistake before, and they made a mistake again. We hope that City Council will listen to the facts and not listen to the money." The decision was the latest of several meetings and hearings about the project, a supercenter on a 19.5-acre site between Center Drive and Highway 99, the former site of Miles Field. The site plan commission approved the project but the City Council rejected its approval in 2004. Wal-Mart appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, which returned the issue to the council, saying it did not properly explain its reasoning and it did not adequately explain why a traffic study was not required for the application. The council then sent it back to the commission. Advertisement The commission approved the architectural and landscape portion of a revised supercenter proposal in February and earlier this month stuck by its decision not to require any further study of traffic impacts. Greg Hathaway, a Portland attorney representing Wal-Mart, disagrees with the group’s premises for an appeal. "If you don’t like Wal-Mart you’re going to say those kinds of comments," he said. He said the Wal-Mart building is well-designed. "It has clearly raised the bar in Medford," he said. "I don’t think they’re looking at the same pictures I am." And the traffic study comment is unfounded, said Hathaway. "We did do a traffic study," he said. "We even expanded it beyond what we were required to do." There are two kinds of traffic studies. According to Cory Crebbin, public works director, developers can be required by the city to do a traffic study, or traffic impact analysis, at the time of development. This study looks at access to the site, turning movements of vehicles, the history of accidents, the effect on nearby intersections and other safety concerns city engineers may have. Wal-Mart did this traffic study. A more comprehensive traffic study that is part of the facility adequacy analysis (of streets, sewers, all city facilities) is done when there is a zoning change, which isn’t required for the proposed Wal-Mart. Such a study usually involves hiring a consultant to determine how much traffic will come as a result of developing property to its maximum. A comprehensive study was done of the area around the proposed Wal-Mart site in 1991, at the time of the zone change, by the South Gateway Center Partners, owners of retail property in the area. But Medford Citizens for Responsible Government and South Gateway argue that the study was done when traffic was generally lighter and without a Wal-Mart Supercenter there. City engineers say that Wal-Mart will pay street system development charges amounting to about $1 million. The fees go to pay for streets, bike lanes, curbs and sidewalks in Medford. The SDCs are imposed to offset traffic impacts, according to city engineers. Notices to appeal must be filed in the city recorder’s office within 21 days of Friday’s decision. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Site plan panel approves Medford Wal-Mart ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Absinthe Supply Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Debt Consolidation California Casinos Generic Viagra Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Hammocks Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada King of Spirits Advertisement s Advertisement