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'Village Center' in idea stage Public's input sought on Medford's Southeast Plan By CHRIS BRISTOL The design of commercial development within Medford's ambitious Southeast Plan is up for discussion Monday evening. How to shape the proposed "Village Center" in the new development will be discussed at 6:30 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge, 975 North Phoenix Road. The lodge is adjacent to the city's new fire station at the corner of North Phoenix and Barnett roads. City officials want public input on the future design of the "Village Center," a 46-acre commercial area that is envisioned as the centerpiece of the plan. The Southeast Plan incorporates more than 1,000 acres on the city's eastern frontier that could provide housing for up to 10,000 people over the next 20 years, along with a mix of commercial and public uses, such as parks. The land was added to the city's Urban Growth Boundary in 1990. It was the first and only time the city expanded the UGB since the boundary was established in 1976 as part of Oregon's pioneering land-use law. The Southeast Plan, which was approved by the City Council in 1998, has been touted as a path to responsible growth that will create better traffic flow than previous planning methods. It was intended to curb urban sprawl by controlling growth in a city that has almost doubled in population (from 33,000 to 60,000) over the past 25 years. Although Oregon has seen a slower rate of development than some states, more than 150,000 acres of farmland and forest were lost to sprawl from 1992 to 1997. The centerpiece of the Southeast Plan is the Village Center, a 166-acre development mixing medium- to high-density housing as well as a park, a school and the new fire station. City planners say the concept is intended to promote alternative transportation modes, such as walking and biking, by placing 25 percent of the area's residents within a -mile of commercial and neighborhood services. To date, most of the area has gone untouched by developers. However, the city received two applications in August for zone changes totaling 77 acres. Though dozens of developers own land within the Southeast Plan, most have been in a holding pattern while state, county and city officials debate ways to fix the traffic-snarled Barnett Road freeway interchange. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA