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Meeting Wednesday Who : Jackson County Board of Commissioners What : Public hearing on proposed expansion of Quail Point Golf Course Where : Jackson County Courthouse auditorium When : 10:30 a.m. Wednesday County board to hear golf course debate By DAVID PRESZLER A three-year debate over the proposed expansion of Quail Point Golf Course continues its circuitous legal trek Wednesday in Medford. The Rogue Valley Manor's plan to expand the course from nine to 18 holes returns to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, which will hold a public hearing Wednesday. The hearing will address three county land-use issues that proponents hope are the final obstacles to the course's expansion. "It's been a long, drawn-out process," said Greg Hathaway, the manor's attorney. "The manor would like to see it completed so it can move forward." Since manor officials applied for a permit to expand the course in December 1995, issues surrounding it have been debated by county officials, the Medford City Council, the state Land Use Board of Appeals, the state Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court. Most of the legal squabbling has centered on the fact that the expansion would extend beyond Medford's urban growth boundary and onto orchard land that is zoned for agricultural use. Opponents, led by the Jackson County Citizens League, argued that state law prohibited new urban developments on farmlands. The fight went all the way to the state Supreme Court, which affirmed a lower court ruling in the manor's favor last summer. Though the high court's ruling settled the central issue, several other issues relating to the interpretation of county land-use guidelines haven't been resolved. The high court sent the case back to the state land use board to clarify the local issues and, in turn, the board passed it back to the county because the issues center on county ordinances. There are three issues to be debated Wednesday: First, the commissioners must decide whether the manor's proposal meets county standards for land use in exclusive farm use zones. County law says such uses can't "cause a decrease in income or a reduction of acreage available for farm use on adjacent lands." In earlier proceedings, the citizens league has argued for an interpretation of that law that prevents the golf course from covering any land -- even land owned by the manor -- that a neighboring farmer might use for operations. The manor contends that the law forbids only uses that would directly affect the neighboring farmer's land and points out that large buffer areas between the golf course and the surrounding farmland are part of its proposal. Second, the commissioners must decide whether the golf course expansion meshes with the county's comprehensive plan for urban growth. The manor contends that if the existing golf course is "rural in nature," then the expansion is consistent with the plan for urban growth. Third, the commissioners must decide what impact the course expansion would have on abutting properties. County law says the proposed use must have "minimal adverse impact on the livability, value or appropriate development" of the surrounding area. In earlier proceedings, the citizens league argued that building the golf course could make it more likely for the surrounding area to be brought into Medford's urban growth boundary, thus affecting the area's development. Representatives for the Jackson County Citizens League could not be reached for comment. The outcome of the commissioners' hearing could still be appealed back to the state land use board, though Hathaway said the board is unlikely to overturn the county's interpretations of its own laws. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA