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Mahar's housing project approved Stonegate development would put up 203 homes and 96 condominiums as part of a plan eventually adding 10,000 residents By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune The Medford Planning Commission has propelled forward one of the first housing developments in the Southeast Plan. The commission gave preliminary approval in a 5-3 vote Thursday to Stonegate Estates, said Rob Scott, Medford's planning director. Stonegate's 203 homes and 96 condominiums will be built between North Phoenix and Coal Mine roads. At issue was whether builder Lou Mahar could shift condominiums from one end of his 79-acre project to the other, said Jim Maize, Medford senior planner. Stonegate is made up of two of 20 areas within Medford's Southeast Plan, where 10,000 people are expected to live within 20 years. On 1,000 acres near Barnett and North Phoenix roads, about 5,000 houses or apartments are planned, plus a 46-acre commercial complex with a school, a government office, a church, a retirement home, parks and miles of walking paths. Developers and city, county, state officials spent 13 years designing a development that would reduce traffic by encouraging residents to shop locally instead of driving across town. The change Mahar wanted to make to Stonegate Estates Thursday was to build condominiums on property in an area planned for single-family homes, Maize said. The original map shows single-family homes and estate-size lots around the perimeter, with multiple-family and commercial in the center. "They wanted to add a multi-family component on a piece of property they felt was tough to develop as single-family homes because it's adjacent to North Phoenix Road," he said. Some planning commissioners were concerned about setting a precedent by allowing changes in the first of a dozen Southeast Plan projects. Others said city ordinances allow for flexibility. The change would not interfere with goals calling for compact development that doesn't contribute to "urban sprawl," Maize said. Also on Thursday, the Planning Commission upheld the city's original sketch of road extensions in the plan. Eventually, a realigned Coal Mine Road will intersect with Juanipero Way and North Phoenix Road. Several neighbors testified in earlier public hearings or wrote letters concerning the proposed road cutting through their land instead of nearby fields. The city sketched the road's route to avoid disturbing Larsen Creek, Maize said. "One of the other tenets of the Southeast Plan is to protect riparian corridors," Maize said. "The city felt we could do that by putting minimum radiuses (curves) on the street, to get it to come down to Coal Mine Road as quickly as possible." The roads will not be built until neighbors sell and develop their property, Maize said. Another neighbor, Leslie Zock, told the Planning Commission last month her concerns about Stonegate houses bumping up against a riding arena she's operated on Coal Mine Road for seven years. North Phoenix Road neighbor Lynda Stevenson also expressed concern about the lack of a buffer zone between the horse ranch and the development. The portion of Stonegate that Mahar hopes to start building in May is on North Phoenix Road across from the new Albertson's store. The portion that backs up to Coal Mine Road may not be built for several years because of Oregon Department of Transportation restrictions. Mahar is limited to 30 homes until the state resolves its concerns about traffic impacts on the Fern Valley Road interchange. Many drivers use the interchange to reach North Phoenix Road. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.