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Planning panel schedules decision on J'ville bypass By MELISSA MARTIN The Jacksonville bypass may be a step closer to reality after the Jackson County Planning Commission moved toward approval of the findings of fact Thursday. The planning commissioners listened to residents talk about the bypass routes for one hour and 40 minutes before closing the public hearing Thursday and beginning deliberations, said Laurel Prairie-Kuntz, comprehensive planning manager for Jackson County. The planners will continue their deliberations at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, at the auditorium in the Jackson County Courthouse in Medford. That's when they are expected to adopt the findings of fact and complete the necessary paperwork to propel forward the "northwest arterial connector" as the bypass is now called. The planning commission approved the northwest arterial connector, also known as the northern route, last January after listening to testimony and holding public hearings in 1998, Prairie-Kuntz said. The City of Jacksonville had approved the route in 1995 and recommended that Jackson County do the same. Many people, however, favored a southern route. Old Stage Road resident Lyle McLaughlin led a group on a walk through the route he is proposing. He believes the city's northern route impacts too many neighborhoods. The northern route leaves Jacksonville Highway near the city limits, crosses Old Stage Road and rejoins Highway 238 at its intersection with Pair-a-dice Ranch Road. The southern route comes from Hanley Road near Bybee Corners, crosses at the old landfill on South Stage Road, winds above Jacksonville on Sterling Creek Road and rejoins Highway 238 near Cady Road. After the county planning commissioners adopts the findings, the proposed road _ along with its northern route _ will move to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners for a public hearing and likely adoption. The proposed highway requires a change in the comprehensive map and a change in the county's transportation system plan to allow the road to go over a pear orchard zoned exclusively for farming, Prairie-Kuntz said. Once the county commissioners give final approval and zoning changes are in place, the northwest arterial connector will be in the hands of the Oregon Department of Transportation. ODOT would do engineering, design and environmental studies and acquire property, including five homes, some worth half a million dollars, in the Buena Vista Subdivision. The bypass is on a priority list created by the Rogue Valley Area Commission of Transportation, said Paul Wyntergreen, Jacksonville city administrator. But more importantly, if the bypass makes the state funding list in 2001, the long-awaited highway could be built within 10 years, according to Frank Stevens, ODOT project leader. Jacksonville residents have been trying to route trucks and other traffic away from the town's historic brick buildings since the first bypass hearing was held April 4, 1963. In 1977, the northern route bypass would have cost $2.5 million. Today, it has an estimated price tag of $26 million. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA