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Council OKs OSF permit for project photo by Drew Fleming Concern about library trees put off until today By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Residents seeking to protect trees at the Ashland Public Library sat through a three-and-a-half hour City Council meeting Tuesday, but took a back seat to a public hearing on plans to build a new theater. The council unanimously approved the Oregon Shakespeare Festival�s application for a site review and conditional use permit to build a 350-seat theater and three-level parking garage on Hargadine Street. The decision confirmed the planning commission�s August approval of the issue, which was appealed to the council by residents Colin Swales and Philip Lang. That public hearing took the better part of three hours, leaving little time for a grassroots group to ask the council to reopen public discussion on the library expansion project. Led by Bob Taber, the band of residents say they support the library but oppose the "clear-cutting" of nearly two dozen trees that will be necessary to build a 16,000-square-foot annex at the existing library site. Though the group�s attendance at the meeting was closer to 20 than the 200 promised by organizers, most of the citizens stuck it out � only to be told they would have to return today. Because the library issue was not on the agenda and would take place during a 15-minute public forum if heard Tuesday, Mayor Cathy Shaw asked the group to return to a council study session today at noon. That meeting will also be held in the Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St. "If you�ve taken all the time to come down and talk to us tonight, hopefully you can come back tomorrow," Shaw said. Taber said he wasn�t unhappy with the decision. The council will be more "fresh" today, he said. He�s also pleased that the council is willing to hear his group�s concerns. "I knew that I just had to flow along," Taber said. "It was grueling to say the least." Taber and about 10 volunteers say they�ve gathered 1,400 signatures from Ashland residents who are concerned about the volume of trees slated for removal at the library site. They say voters weren�t aware the trees � including a gingko planted in 1912 � would be cut when they approved levies to expand the library in November and May. "The real issue is not the trees," said mayoral candidate John Freedom. "The real issue is that the people of this community have the impression that they were not fully informed." The library debate shares similarities with the OSF theater and parking structure proposal. Lang and Swales appealed the planning commission�s approval of the site plans because they felt their concerns weren�t fully addressed during the initial planning process. During Tuesday�s hearing, Swales attempted to list "28 major points" of concern with the plans � and probably touched on most of them. His listed concerns include the bulk and height of the proposed theater, as well as loss of trees and vegetation. "We pointed out defects in the plan and in the planning process involving major violations of codes and ordinances, as well as major negative impacts on Ashland that should have compelled the City Council to make OSF rethink the �Fourth Theater Project�," the appellants said in a prepared statement. "But there�s a lot of politics and money involved, so the decision doesn�t surprise us." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.