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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 19, 2005 Don McGowan of Brotherton Pipeline keeps an eye on traffic Friday while a crew installs a gas line into a new development on Garfield Street. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli A matter of density By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Juanita Mayfield has lived on Garfield Street for 39 years and says the rural relic can’t handle the traffic predicted for a proposed high-density residential development. The Medford City Council agreed on Thursday, limiting construction of the new housing units until the road is upgraded. Mayfield said the narrow, pothole-ridden street is already tough to navigate. And it will only get worse with the 163 additional car trips the development is predicted to generate each day. "It certainly isn’t going to make it any better by adding some houses," she said. The council late Thursday sided with Mayfield and other neighbors in a decision that required the mayor’s tie-breaking vote. Advertisement The Medford Planning Commission in December approved a zone change request for 1.98 acres on Garfield on the condition that there are no more than three houses total on the property until the entire segment of Garfield Street is improved to minor arterial street standards. The property is owned by Larry Kellems of Ashland, and Scott Sinner of Medford is the agent. Because Kellems and Sinner want to build between 11 and 19 housing units on the property, they asked the council to approve the zone change without the condition. The zone change is from county suburban residential, 2.5 acre minimum lot size (SR 2.5) to city single family residential 10 units per acre (SFR-10). Sinner is also the agent for the adjacent Hannah Court, a nine-lot residential planned unit development. Garfield neighbors fought against construction of the two-story duplexes, but lost. Kellems purchased the property about six months ago, said Sinner. Although many of the surrounding properties are in the city, the portion of Garfield, near South Peach Street, is under Jackson County jurisdiction. Abutting property owners are responsible for the upkeep of the street. During the public hearing portion of Thursday’s council meeting, Sinner said Kellems would do his part of the road maintenance. According to the Public Works Department, the average home generates 9.57 daily vehicle trips. The proposed development could add 163 average daily trips. Public Works Director Cory Crebbin told the council that there are no plans to upgrade the street in the next 20 years, but city engineers believe the road could handle the additional traffic. Councilman Skip Knight disagreed. "This is an extremely unimproved street," said Knight. The road has a long history of being in major disrepair, although the city has been making improvements in sections. After hearing some residents testify that the road is fragile and cannot handle such dense development, Knight said he supported the planning commission’s stipulation to limit development until the road is upgraded. "I’m gonna side on the side of the people who live there," he said. Sinner said he was disappointed in the council decision. "We feel that the code was on our side," he said. Sinner said the engineering staff, planning staff and legal staff all looked at his application. "They all said, ‘Yes, this absolutely meets the code,’ " he said. Sinner said he and Kellems are reviewing their options,. "An appeal to LUBA (the state Land Use Board of Appeals) is a possibility," he said. Mayfield said she anticipates the developer will find a way around the council’s decision. "They’ll go to LUBA and they’ll probably win," she said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s