Document text
63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, September 17, 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 27, 2004 Golf proposal gets new attention Planning Commission considers Billings Ranch developer’s plan By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune A golf course proposed at Billings Ranch north of Ashland got a new lease on life Thursday when county planning commissioners indicated they might push for an amendment to change the Bear Creek Master Plan. "I feel this property needs further study," said Planning Commission Chairman Reeve Hennion. "It was disappointing that the Greenway Committee didn’t look at this further." In June, the committee shot down a request by owners of the Billings Ranch to use about 6 acres of a 9.2-acre parcel of Greenway land just north of Ashland to build a bridge to access two tee boxes and half of the fairway of Hole 5. The John Billings family has an existing 1997 lease for about 8.2 acres of county land in exchange for an easement to build the bike path through Ashland. Mike Peru, managing partner for the Billings Ranch Golf Group, believes that without the county property, the course couldn’t be rated as championship and wouldn’t be worth the $10 million investment. Advertisement Planning commissioners scheduled a site visit with golf course developers and the public for 9 a.m. Oct. 14. Peru expressed frustration over a process that has already taken two years and is nearing the limits of how much can be spent without some return on investment. "We have spent $400,000 and we haven’t turned a shovel full of dirt," he said. "We don’t want to stretch this thing out forever." Hennion responded that the process could be fairly swift, once all the information is gathered and presented to the commission. Peru said he probably had all the information available and could get it before planning commissioners in a week, once they tell him what they want. Another commissioner, Don Greene, said one of the main questions for him is whether the Billings proposal offers more public benefits than maintaining the parcel as is. The developers have proposed taking up to 2.1 million gallons a day of highly treated effluent to irrigate the greens. This would give the city of Ashland access to at least 830,000 gallons a day in in-stream water rights that would boost flows into Bear Creek and cool water temperatures to make it a better habitat for fish. County Planning Director Ali Turiel expected an environmental and economic analysis would have to be provided by the developers. She said that one of the ironies of the proposal is that the county parcel is actually less pristine than an adjacent portion of Billings property that has an environmentally significant stand of trees. This stand doesn’t have the same protections as natural areas within the Greenway. Two of the five planning commissioners — Richard Thieroff and Byron Williams — excused themselves from the proceedings because of past business dealings with the Billings family. The planning commission could ultimately make a recommendation to the county commissioners for final approval. 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