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65 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 25, 2004 County set back by LUBA decision By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune A state appeals board overturned Jackson County’s new land-use law Monday, casting a legal shadow over hundreds of building permits issued since March. "We got a thumbs down," county Planning Director Ali Turiel said Tuesday. "It’s toast until we can rectify it with a new ordinance." In light of the Land Use Board of Appeals decision, the county has decided to table its 2004 ordinance, reverting to its more restrictive 2000 ordinance. Turiel said the hundreds of permits issued since March 12 under the new ordinance will be honored by the county, but could be subject to legal challenges by third parties. "It does raise the question, and it is a pretty unsettling question," she said. Advertisement The county has required permit applicants to sign a notarized document that warned them of the potential pitfalls if the appeal were successful. Those pitfalls could be considerable — property owners could be forced to dismantle buildings or homes built on farm or forest lands. The county plans to revise several paragraphs in the 700-page ordinance to satisfy LUBA’s concerns over unclear or clumsy language. The new ordinance, which the county began working on in 1999, attempted to reconcile a mishmash of state and local rules dating back to the ’70s. To re-adopt the newer ordinance, the county will have to undergo another round of public hearings and send notices to 23,000 property owners. Turiel, who noted the planning department has lost one-third of its staff to turnover recently, expects a new ordinance could be adopted by the end of the year. The property rights group Oregonians in Action, Medford land consultant Richard Stevens and Ashland resident Chris Skrepetos all filed appeals to the ordinance. LUBA agreed only with the two legal concerns raised by Skrepetos, rejecting the challenges raised by Oregonians in Action and Stevens. LUBA upheld Skrepetos’ argument that the county cannot retroactively approve land parcels that were illegally partitioned in the 1980s. The challenge affects fewer than 100 parcels in Jackson County. Skrepetos, who battled a proposed golf course resort in Ashland in the 90s, also disputed new rules governing potential destination resorts because they don’t specify where those resorts might be. The county has recently developed a proposed map to satisfy this challenge that will indicate areas around local lakes as well as along the Rogue River that could be potential resort areas. "Mr. Skrepetos is an exceedingly exacting reviewer of statutory provisions," said Turiel. She said adhering strictly to state laws could actually encourage rather than restrict development of resort destinations. The county wanted to limit the number of residences built at resorts to no more than one home for every two overnight rental units. That was deemed by LUBA to be more exacting than state law, which sets a one-to-one standard. Turiel said reverting to the 2000 land-use ordinance also will make it more difficult to develop and use properties in Jackson County. A permit to build a detached dwelling on property already occupied by a residence was easier to obtain under the 2004 code than previously. The county will continue to honor permits it has already issued unless the property owner lets them lapse. Permits for temporary residences for caregivers in a medical hardship case were issued for a two-year period under the new ordinance. Now they will be for just one year. Under the new ordinance a homeowner could get a permit for removing brush and other fire fuels around their home signed off by a fire district. Now the homeowner will have to undergo a land-use process that could involve public hearings and potential protests from neighbors. Setback restrictions for buildings were clearer, Turiel said, under the new rules, allowing parcels that were previously too small to qualify. Now these more lenient rules are no longer in effect. The new ordinance allowed revisions to the county’s flood plain rules with a certificate of elevations provided by an engineer. This will now require a land-use decision that would involve public hearings. Skrepetos couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. Dave Hunnicutt, executive director of Oregonians in Action, said he doubted his organization would file another appeal if the county rewrites the ordinance to satisfy LUBA requirements. "That is as long as the county isn’t being more restrictive than state law," he said. His organization objected to language in the ordinance that would have forced property owners to change their zoning to forest or farm use to be able to develop their rural land. Even though LUBA rejected his organization’s appeal, Hunnicutt said he was happy with the decision because it overturned the county ordinance. However, commenting on the potential to make it easier to develop resort properties, he said, "The losers were winners, and the winners may not be happy with what they got." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, 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. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities