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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 23, 2006 Builders donate park land to city Mike and Louis Mahar gives 1.5 acres to Medford for creation of a park east of North Phoenix Road By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Local developers gave the city a free park in east Medford this week. Brothers Mike and Louis Mahar, local developers, donated Summerfield Park, a 1.5-acre park to be built on the east side of North Phoenix Road at Cherry Lane. The land, which the brothers say has an appraised value of $780,000, was donated to the Medford Parks and Recreation Foundation. "We are very, very fortunate to have them donate this piece of property," said Brian Sjothun, parks and recreation director. The park proposal, part of the Southeast Plan, is going before the Planning Commission in a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. today for a conditional use permit, because the area is zoned for residential use. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St., Medford. Dawn Rittiman of the Medford Planning Department, recommends approval of the conditional use permit. She said she doesn’t know of any reservations the Planning Commission will have today, especially since it’s been part of the Southeast Plan from the start. Advertisement "It was slated as public park use," she said. The park is needed in an area nearly completely surrounded by the Summerfield development, she said. "They’ve got plenty of residences and no place to play," said Rittiman. The Southeast Plan is designed to be a pedestrian-friendly community of about 10,000 residents on 1,000 acres east of North Phoenix Road, running from the ridge above Cherry Lane south to Coal Mine Road. Two or three other parks are planned for the area. The Summerfield Park proposal consists of a playground, picnic areas and open space. A gazebo and public rest rooms also are part of the plan, as is a 4-car parking lot and a 10-foot wide asphalt trail. The park, approved by the Parks and Recreation Department in November, was originally going to be built by developers and then bought and maintained by the city for public use. Developers say they will still build it, and will donate it when work is completed. "It’s just the right thing to do," said Mike Mahar. He said the project still has to make it through some reviews, including today’s commission meeting, so he didn’t have a start date for construction. Craig Stone, a development and land-use consultant in Medford, is president of the Medford Parks and Recreation Foundation, which was formed last June to raise funding for parks citywide, said Sjothun. Mike Mahar’s son-in-law, Chad Cota, also serves on the foundation’s board of trustees. Mahar said the donation wasn’t dependent on the establishment of a foundation. "If the foundation wasn’t set up, it would have gone straight to the city," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Builders donate park land to city ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Debt Consolidation Generic Viagra Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Advertisement s Advertisement