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Medford may tie water service to annexation By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune Developers who want to build in the county but use Medford water may have to become part of the city first. The City Council will consider at its Dec. 6 meeting a resolution that requires annexation before buildings go up. "That's the best way for us to process these developments and have them meet our standards," said Rob Scott, Medford planning director. An example of a building that went up first and was annexed later is the Frito-Lay distribution center on Schulz Road near the Medford airport. The City Council annexed 9.67 acres, including the Frito-Lay property, on Nov. 15, nearly a year after the building went up. Roseburg developer Bruce Anderson received Medford water for the 12,000-square-foot center where salty snacks are distributed to stores in the region. The developer was granted Medford water on the condition that he annex into the city, said Larry Rains, Medford Water Commission principal engineer. City planners are proposing the resolution because they are concerned that developers building outside city limits but inside the urban-growth boundary don't have to build to city standards and don't have to pay system development charges. Building to city standards requires developers to add curbs and gutters to the streets, more landscaping and an architecture review of the blueprints, Scott said. System development charges, or fees developers pay, are calculated based on future growth and infrastructure needs, said Cory Crebbin, Medford director of public works. "If the city doesn't get the system development charge on projected growth, how will we pay for the projects that we know we will need to support the growth?" he said. In the Frito-Lay case, Anderson paid $8,738 in Jackson County fees. If his land had been in the city, he would have paid $27,895 in city street fees, plus other development charges. But developers say requiring annexation before they build will slow an already lengthy process. "The process is a nightmare," said Anderson, whose past projects include a Coos Bay casino and Bandon retirement home. "If they require annexation, it will add another year to the project. They are preventing commercial development - buildings for companies that will provide jobs for the valley." "The problem is annexations are taking a long time, a year to a year and a half," said Dennis Hoffbuhr of Hoffbuhr and Associates in Medford. "It may be a situation where it's a real hardship if they have to wait for the property to be annexed." The annexation process is long and cumbersome but planners hope to streamline it, said senior planner Mark Gallagher. Medford and Jackson County planners are discussing the possibility of the city processing all applications for development on land outside city limits but inside the urban-growth boundary. Meanwhile, if the city council approves the resolution, Medford Water Commission will not hook up new services outside city limits without an annexation. "We have enough water to serve the whole urban-growth boundary area," Rains said. "We've got the capacity, but not necessarily the lines in all the urban-growth area." 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.