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Council approves Manor�s plan By Jessica Smith A restaurant, a 60-unit apartment building and retail spaces are officially part of the future for the Rogue Valley Manor. The Medford City Council on Thursday approved the Manor�s plans to build a commercial complex off Ellendale Drive, putting to rest a three-year struggle over the expansion plan. "We�re pleased with the outcome," said Kevin McLoughlin, Manor administrator. "We�re pleased ... to come to a positive resolution." The council, concerned about the project�s effects on traffic at the Barnett Road freeway interchange, denied a majority of the Manor�s expansion plan in 1998. Though the Manor got approval for a hotel and small office building, the entire plan calls for a restaurant, a 60-unit apartment complex, two mixed-use projects that combine housing and retail space, and a second office building. Following the council�s 1998 decision, the state Land Use Board of Appeals ruled last year the city incorrectly denied the Manor�s application. At a public hearing on Feb. 1, the council heard from Manor representatives who argued that the expansion plan could meet local street standards and new state guidelines for the Barnett interchange. The guidelines essentially ease restrictions on development that would increase traffic in the area. And in a report to the council, city staff said the Manor expansion would meet Medford�s development guidelines if the following conditions are met: � Make the southbound turn lanes from Riverside Avenue to Barnett Road exclusive to a left-hand turn. One of the lanes currently allows motorists to continue on Riverside. The city has budgeted funds to complete this project. � Modify north- and southbound pedestrian access to Highland Drive at Barnett Road and possibly replace signals at the intersection. The Manor would be required to guarantee funding for this project. Action on the Manor application was continued to Thursday�s meeting. All but one council member, Jim Key, voted to draft a resolution that would approve the retirement center�s expansion. Before the vote, Key said he worried that approving the Manor�s plan would preempt work by the Medford Planning Commission to fine-tune the city�s standards for local streets. But other council members expressed a desire to put the matter to rest. "We�ve been around the block on this several times," said Councilman Sal Esquivel. "I think it�s time we make a decision." Despite his vote to approve the expansion, Councilman John Michaels had some words of criticism for the Manor, a non-profit outfit. "I have a hard time accepting that the aggressive expansion on behalf of the Manor, in regards to this application and others, serves their original mission or the residents of the city at all," Michaels said. He asked members of the Manor�s board to do "some real soul searching" and "leave the hotels, convention centers and restaurants to those people who are more up front with their for-profit status." According to McLoughlin, the expansion project is a way for the Manor to support its mission to serve seniors in the Rogue Valley. "Our vision and our focus is to ensure positive programs for all the seniors we serve," he said. "We look down the road for ways to further support those programs." Though the Manor has approval for the expansion, McLoughlin said there�s no timeline for construction. It could be years before anything is built, he said. As an example, he cited the Manor�s Skyline Plaza, which was constructed 12 years after it was included in the retirement center�s master plan. Also Thursday, the council approved a supplemental agreement with developer Noel Moore, who�s building the upper portion of the McAndrews Road extension to Roxy Ann Peak. The agreement gives Moore 16 months to finish the road once he comes to terms with land owners for rights of way. It also pays Moore $390,000 for work that is beyond the scope of his original agreement with the city. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.