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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 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 Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? 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 November 2, 2004 Phoenix puts off vote on Home Depot issue By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune PHOENIX — Residents who made the trip to City Hall Monday night were sent home still wondering about the fate of a 103,000-square-foot Home Depot store. Council members had expected another in a recent series of hours-long deliberations, but the subject was dropped quickly when it was clear no consensus could be reached. Mayor Larry Parducci opted to leave the public hearing open to take in more information through next Monday. Developers and representatives of the Department of Transportation remain deadlocked over whether the Fern Valley interchange needs to be rebuilt before or after the store is constructed. The council members must decide whether to rezone some 19 acres along North Phoenix Road just north of Fern Valley Road. Proponents of the store say the Phoenix area needs the jobs and tax base that would come with the new store. Advertisement If the area is rezoned, a business complex is expected to be built there in phases, beginning with the Home Depot store, followed by a fast-food restaurant, 100-room hotel and sit-down restaurant. State Department of Transportation officials submitted a written statement Monday informing the council that, while ODOT supports the city’s "effort on economic development and job creation," traffic capacity at the interchange was already beyond state standards. The statement further read: "JRH (Consultants of Eugene) indicated they would submit additional traffic impact analysis (TIA) information after the Planning Commission public hearing of Sept. 13, 2004. To date, neither ODOT nor the city have received any written traffic study data sufficient to support a decision on rezoning." The statement estimates the impact that developing a Home Depot store would have, including the effect on the interchange of increased traffic, which studies show already exceed Oregon Highway Plan standards. While the Fern Valley interchange is on the Tier 1 funding list for improvement sometime between 2008 and 2012, ODOT officials said funding was not guaranteed. ODOT Region 3 planning manager Terry Harbour said developers haven’t proved the failing interchange could handle increased traffic. "We have met twice with the applicant’s representatives over the last week," said Harbour. "We have the best available data � and we haven’t seen any evidence in a traffic impact study for the necessary analysis. They’ve not shown us it could work." Attorney and developer Bob Robertson, who has been attempting to develop his property for six years, was disappointed at what he called continued efforts by ODOT to back out of what had been agreed upon for years. "We’ve complied with all the requirements, and discussions with ODOT are ongoing," said Robertson following the meeting. "We’ve agreed that we’ll do some traffic mitigation at the interchange at our expense. We’re keeping the doors open and we’re hopeful that they are, too. "For six years I’ve been trying to get through annexation and rezoning and ODOT has consistently told me, once the interchange went to a Tier 1 priority, that they would not oppose this project and yet they are still opposing it," Robertson said. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 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 Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers