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OnTrack Inc., neighbors work toward a resolution By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Neighbors who long opposed expansion of an east Medford drug and alcohol treatment center may have resolved their concerns with OnTrack Inc. Glen Anderson, one of two neighbors who waged legal battles against expansion of the center at 3397 Delta Waters Road, said Wednesday that a private deal with the nonprofit agency was expected to be finalized today. "We've certainly been discussing the matter in good faith," said Anderson, who declined to reveal details. "What we will urge the council to do will speak for itself." Anderson and Robert Pierle Jr., who live near the OnTrack Center, long have contended that the Medford City Council failed to consider the project's effects on traffic at the intersection of Delta Waters Road and Crater Lake Highway. They plan to address the council when it meets at 7 tonight. After a nearly two-year hiatus, the council will consider whether to grant a zoning change that would allow OnTrack to add 3,500 square feet to accommodate about 10 more beds at its site. City staff have recommended the change from single-family to multiple-family residential zoning, saying research has addressed issues raised by a state Land Use Board of Appeals ruling in October 2000. LUBA agreed with Anderson and Pierle, who petitioned for the ruling, that the city violated its own planning policies when it previously approved the request. LUBA said the city policies violated state law by allowing zoning changes without studying effects of potential traffic on existing roads. However, planning officials said Wednesday that LUBA's concerns were easily addressed by providing more detailed documentation of traffic analysis that had been performed. "It doesn't always happen, although it should, that every detail was listed in the finding," said Sydnee Yer, a lawyer representing the Planning Department. The city contends that traffic generated would not significantly alter the Delta Waters-Crater Lake intersection. However, the zone change would pave the way for future development of the property. Anderson said he and Pierle have been negotiating privately for about a year with OnTrack representatives and that those talks have yielded a tentative agreement. He wouldn't say whether the deal includes financial arrangements or other concessions from the nonprofit agency. Early on, Anderson, Pierle and other neighbors expressed concern about the impact of the center if it were built out to its full extent, roughly 41 dwellings on two acres, according to published reports. OnTrack has been pushing for years to expand the residential center, which provides substance abuse treatment for women while allowing them to care for their children. The request long has been contentious, leading, in fact, to the 1996 recall of Medford City Council member Mike Borwick, who voted in favor of a land-use designation that paved the way for the zone change. The project was approved by the planning commission, a ruling overturned and then approved by the council. The issue was brought before LUBA twice before it was tabled. "We let it hang for a long time," Anderson said. The notion that neighbors and OnTrack may have resolved their differences pleased Bob Strosser, a Medford councilman who witnessed previous contentious discussions. "I would love to have a courteous and understanding relationship between the entity on Delta Waters and those neighbors," he said. In the past, many in the social service community have suggested neighbors' worries about traffic actually masked larger concerns about drug and alcohol treatment in general. While several rehabilitation centers are located in west Medford, relatively few are in east Medford, where the OnTrack center sits. Anderson disputed the notion that it's a "not in my backyard" complaint. "On the scale of possible problems, treatment has not been as much of a concern as other issues," he said. "It's probably less NIMBY-like than you think." OnTrack Director Rita Sullivan said she had no hunch about whether the long-sought zoning change finally would be granted. "I can't even speculate," she said Wednesday. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.