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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 9, 2005 Medford planners overwhelmed City Council considers options on easing strain on department By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Planning Director Rob Scott admitted Thursday to the City Council that when it comes to applications making their way through his department, the system is broke. Scott outlined ways to fix it during the study session. Among them: creating a position, hiring or appointing a hearings officer and setting a time limit for citizens consultations. Though one council member raised concerns that some of the changes would hinder public process, the council gave the nod to pursue them. Scott said that as development has grown, the workload has far exceeded the department’s capacity. "Is there anyone who doubts that Medford has been discovered?" asked Scott. Advertisement Scott said in 1998 the department handled 177 land development applications. That number rose to 215 in 2000 and 308 in 2004, and the number is already at 226 for this year. And one application may have multiple components. "You take a development like a huge PUD (planned unit development) like Vista Pointe. That development has 26 phases," Scott said. He explained each phase goes through multiple reviews and revisions, and some phases include a Site Plan and Architectural Commission hearing in addition to the Planning Commission hearings. "Our system was never designed to handle this number of applications," he said. He said it’s time to tailor services for varying project complexities, so that one lot partition doesn’t have to go through the same hoops as a large PUD. Scott said city staff, developers, architects and building consultants support the proposals aimed at reducing the workload for city planners and shortening delays for developers. He said the development community even supports the idea of adding a building permit surcharge to pay for a new planner position solely for checking permits. Meanwhile, there are three vacant positions within the department. Scott said staff was interviewing candidates in the next couple of weeks. Scott also proposed granting authority to the planning director to sign off on a final plan for a PUD. Currently, it must be approved by the Planning Commission. He talked about creating a position of hearings officer to handle, among other things, simple applications such as lot partitions. But Councilman Jim Kuntz said he was concerned about removing elements from the public process by sending them to a hearings officer. "I’m philosophically opposed to that," he said. He said projects need to come before a body of citizen volunteers, even for small projects. "A lot partition might seem like a minor thing" but it isn’t, he said. Kuntz said he was afraid a hearings officer would take away the power of the citizens. "They (citizens) are going to find that they’re kind of in a situation where they can’t fight City Hall." But Councilman Jim Key said there’s no reason the hearings officer couldn’t be a volunteer appointed by the mayor or council. Councilman Jason Anderson, former planning commissioner, said for nine out of 10 lot partitions, no one from the public shows up to speak at the public hearing. "If no one’s objecting to this, why are we spending time on it?" he said. Mayor Gary Wheeler said he supported the changes. "I don’t see a problem of trying something new," he said. "As long as the applicants still have an opportunity to have a public hearing and an appeal." Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Medford planners overwhelmed ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s