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63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 6, 2004 Dirt-bikers, city piqued over parking By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE — The city and an off-road motorcycle club are kicking up dust over the club’s proposed parking lot in the Jacksonville watershed. Saying a well-designed parking lot is needed in the Timber Mountain/Johns Peak Recreation Area, the Motorcycle Riders Association wants to build a 40-vehicle lot on a portion of its 40-acre parcel half a mile up the road from the Jackson Creek reservoir. There already are two parking lots, one adjacent to the reservoir, the other below it. Though acknowledging it has no authority to block the project, the city has voiced objections over putting a third parking lot in its watershed. In a letter to the MRA, the city states off- highway vehicle use has caused "considerable damage" in the lower Jackson Creek area near the reservoir. "Anything that happens in the headwaters of Jackson Creek goes all the way across the valley, and that’s quite a responsibility," said Councilwoman and Forestry Committee liaison Donna Schatz. "It’s a much broader responsibility than just motorcycles." Advertisement Mayor Jim Lewis sent a one-page letter to the MRA asking the club to wait for an environmental impact statement from the Bureau of Land Management and allow the city’s recently appointed Citizens Advisory Committee to weigh in. The MRA sent a four-page rebuttal accusing the city’s Forestry Committee of performing damaging activities to the city property — "including large-scale tree poisoning, clearcutting, excessive ditching and tank trapping/trench pitting of old roads, road overconstruction and drastic removal of soil-stabilizing roadside vegetation." The tone and content of the letter — drafted and sent by MRA President David Lexow and Club Information Officer Will HisleBeard — did not sit well with some council members, said Schatz. "The letter we got from the MRA was loaded with inaccuracies," she said. "It was confrontational and very ill-advised. This is not the dialogue the CAC or the City Council wants to have with the MRA." Both HisleBeard and Lexow said they stand by the statements in their letter. HisleBeard said it’s time for the city to stop blocking off-road activities and start helping the MRA manage ongoing problems in the area. A good first step, he said, would be one large, well-constructed parking lot available to all off-road users. HisleBeard said the city could then close down the two smaller lots and reduce its liability or more aggressively cite violators. "How many times can this recreation be stonewalled?" he said. "We’ve watched the problem for years. We’d like to see some action on the city’s part." As for the tone of his letter, HisleBeard said he was taken aback by the city’s initial letter opposing his project. "We’re walking a fine line between protecting our own interests and burning a bridge," he said. Schatz said much of the MRA’s accusations were inaccurate interpretations of actions by the city forester Paul Kangas. "It points out loud and clear that their (the MRA’s) knowledge of that property is not total," she said. Kangas said the city is trying to reclaim its water rights to the reservoir from Jackson County. Any tree cutting in the dam area was done merely to come into compliance with the state watermaster’s requirements, he said. "The subject was the parking lot," he said. "They got way off the subject." HisleBeard said the MRA is moving ahead with the parking lot regardless of the city’s objections. "We will be applying for the county permit," he said. Jacksonville plans to voice its objections with the county planning department, said City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen. Reach reporter Sanne Spechtat 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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