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County planners murky on bypass J'ville administrator expresses frustration By ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ The Jackson County Planning Commission on Thursday postponed a decision on a proposed Jacksonville bypass. They plan to take up deliberations again on January 28. After the meeting, Jacksonville City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen expressed frustration that after four months of testimony and "buckets of research," the commissioners appeared to flounder throughout the morning with neither a set format nor specific questions to settle. "They just continued to fly in circles," Wyntergreen said. "I can think of about 10,000 things that I'd rather have done this morning." The planning commissioners agreed that they had the authority to consider whether the county should adopt a route for Highway 238 to bypass Jacksonville. They differed on whether they should recommend a specific corridor adopted by the city of Jacksonville, or generally designate a preferred route somewhere north and northwest of town. Commissioner Debbie Crouse expressed reluctance to designate any specific route given that the Oregon Department of Transportation may not actually build the bypass for 20 years. "We could tie up all this land and give it a stigma, and then possibly not have it happen," Crouse said. Commissioner Reeve Hennion said it seemed certain a bypass eventually would be built, and would follow a north-northwest route. However, it seems far less likely that the state would fund such a project unless local governments first reached a consensus, he said. Commissioner Don Green favored specifying at least a portion of the project center line, skirting an exclusive farm use zone north of the city to minimize the project's impact on farming. Assistant County Counsel Steve Rinkle conceded state law really offers no game plan for a planning commission to follow under the circumstances. The Transportation Department, a major player with final say over any eventual route, simply isn't involved at this stage, he said. No one can say with certainty that ODOT would build a bypass within 20 years. Nor is there any certainty it would adopt the route approved by the county or city. With the public comment closed, Hennion expressed frustration that he could not seek further clarification from some in the audience. He wasn't the only one frustrated by that. Wyntergreen said he would have liked to tell the commissioners that ODOT already has listed the $26 million bypass project among its top priorities in Southern Oregon. As for the centerline of the road, Wyntergreen said the city's plan left sufficient wiggle room to accommodate the concerns of property owners and planning commissioners alike. "When ODOT has a windfall, they look at what's been planned for," Wyntergreen said. "This is a master plan here. We're not building a road here." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA