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Urban growth addition proposed Medford looks at offer that includes school space By JESSICA SMITH A new middle school and a park could be built on farm land in northeast Medford, but it'll take an extension of the city's urban growth boundary to fit them in. The Medford City Council next Thursday is expected to review a proposal to add about 140 acres to the urban growth boundary to accommodate the middle school, the city park and residences. The proposed expansion area, west of Foothill Road and north of Delta Waters Road, sits between two orchards. Questions about the necessity of a UGB expansion already have surfaced. "We want to be very conscious of what the effects will be," said Council President Bob Strosser. "Very clearly, the impacts on the city's roads would need to be seriously considered." According to Strosser, the city also must determine whether a city park is needed in the area. Further discussion on whether the site is appropriate for a middle school also is warranted, he said. The council won't take action on the proposal Thursday. The noontime meeting is for informational purposes only. Medford School District officials asked the council earlier this year to consider the UGB expansion, pointing out that property owners had offered to donate about 22 acres to the district for a new middle school. Attempts to locate the property owners were unsuccessful Thursday. A school official, however, confirmed that the district has studied placing a middle school across the street from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, on McLoughlin Drive. "There's not a lot I can say except that the district is exploring various options as far as location of a new school," said board member Tim Gerking. "That's one of the possible sites." Gerking said the site is attractive because it's free and it fits in with the board's plans. According to him, the district expects growth in northeast Medford. It makes sense to build a school there, he said. "We think this is the location where we're going to see a need for a (middle school) site," Gerking said. But he added, "these are really preliminary discussions." Before the land can be annexed, however, the city must demonstrate to the state a need for the property, said city planner Mark Gallagher. That may be difficult, he said, since the city has yet to approve construction on lands annexed into Medford in 1990. "We haven't used any of it yet," he said. "So how do you prove we need more?" Meanwhile, the city must consider how annexing the 140-acre site would affect regional efforts to identify future pockets for growth, Gallagher said. For example, local land use officials want to leave buffers between residential areas and farm lands. A map of the area proposed for UGB expansion shows that the site abuts two orchards. It was unclear Thursday whether open space had been factored in to plans to build homes on the site. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.