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Police gain a clue in pumpkin smashing spree ... Neglect leads list of adult care facility failings ... Homemade bomb found inside stolen car after arrest of fleeing transient ... Police gain a clue in pumpkin smashing spree ... Neglect leads list of adult care facility failings ... PHOENIX Land in limbo Farmer refuses to bear the cost of fixing a problem he says the county allowed to happen By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 1, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 1, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News PHOENIX — Locals who purchased pumpkins grown on Glenn Archambault's farm along Royal Crest Road for Halloween couldn't care less about governmental red tape or land use-laws. But Archambault, a longtime sheep farmer, can't help but feel weary of a predicament he's faced daily for more than 20 years. Archambault says his property is in limbo. He can't apply for permits to upgrade or make any changes to his land, can't bring electricity to his picturesque barn, can't legally sell his 1,000 pumpkins at a retail farm stand, though he does sell them individually to local residents. That's because Archambault's two nearly 10-acre parcels were illegally subdivided — something he didn't know when he bought them in 1993. He says he did his due diligence in searching for liens or other possible problems with the land, but neither the owner nor Jackson County informed him of the illegal subdivision. Archambault says he blames the county, which won't legally recognize the two parcels, for letting the land be subdivided in the first place. Getting things reconciled would be expensive, says Archambault, a longtime land-use advocate. He says it's unfair he should have to bear the burden of paying to resolve an issue he didn't create. "Under Oregon law, if you buy a property, you inherit the defects. I did everything I was supposed to do. But the county didn't have to tell me the property was illegally divided. Average people would get red-faced at some of the old records that exist, but not Jackson County," Archambault says. "Something as simple as pumpkins in the barn is complicated, because after 22 years, we're still standing here with the illegal barn and illegal pumpkins. And the county expects me, the landowner, to fix something they allowed to happen." Kelly A. Madding, development services director for the Jackson County Planning Department, said Archambault's case is "very familiar" to her office. Madding says a law passed in 2007, House Bill 2723, provides a means for counties and cities to validate illegally created parcels, hundreds of which exist in Jackson County. She says the law, for which Archambault helped lobby, would allow his property to be established as legal if he went through the process. A one-acre parcel that had been subdivided from the two parcels before Archambault bought them recently fell into foreclosure and was purchased by U.S. Bank National Association. Archambault said the house, sitting vacant and in a state of disrepair, is a sobering reminder of what his property could become if he refuses to embark on an expensive process to repair something county officials, in essence, allowed to happen. "Literally hundreds of people have come by here looking at that house. It's listed online for sale. The bank is trying to sell it — and apparently other properties around the valley. They purchased hundreds of these properties like mine, not concerned with the issues they have," Archambault said. "Even now, these illegal properties can be sold and no one has to tell the buyers that they can't add an outlet or remodel," he said. "They don't have to tell them if it was an illegal division." Archambault acknowledges that his situation could be remedied, but insists he should not bear the cost. "I've been here all these years and the county can't fix a problem that they created. I'm waiting to see if a bank ... can force the county to do what should have been done years ago," he said. "Could I go through the process and spend thousands of dollars and maybe the courts would decide in my favor? Yes I could do that. For now, I'll be here with my illegal barn and my illegal pumpkins and my illegal sheep, watching how this all plays out." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 1, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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