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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2004)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Page 12 ODOT, developers view Hwy. 199 revisions By MICHELLE BINKER Staff Writer Access issues and an- ticipated changes in traffic density and flow have made apparent necessary redevelopment of U.S. 199 (Redwood Hwy.), north from River Street to Laurel Road and a little beyond. Concerned property owners, developers, and Oregon Dept. of Transpor- tation (ODOT) planners met Thursday, April 29 in CJ City Hall to discuss development issues which will have an effect on N. Redwood Hwy. The process was initi- ated by development of the new Siskiyou Community Health Center (SCHC) and of a Field’s home improve- ment center north of SCHC. The purpose of the meeting was to get the ball rolling on a coordinated plan to provide safe in- gress and egress for those properties, as well as fu- City of CJ booming ... (Continued from page 1) members expressed appre- hension that, should Osborn’s plans fall through, the land as zoned could become home to any permitted light industrial activity. Furthermore, in a letter addressed to the council, John Renz, Southern Ore- gon regional representative of the Oregon Dept. of Land Conservation and Development, stated that the proposed use is “not compatible with an Em- ployment Industrial Zone.” He added that it is in- consistent with Title 17 of Cave Junction municipal Code, which describes the general purpose, character- istics, and permitted uses in an EG/LI district. “We believe an as- sisted-living facility cannot be interpreted to be a medical center (the only permitted use which comes close),” the Renz letter stated. “Additionally, an assisted-living facility would place residential uses in the industrial zone, creating the very conflicts the district seeks to avoid.” Jim Frick, of Century 21 Harris and Taylor, re- minded the council that development is a gamble, but encouraged it to ap- prove the proposal “to en- hance the vision of medi- cal facilities in the area.” He also recommended that some agreement be made which would tie de- velopment of the property to this specific use. The council, evidently placing a great deal of trust in Osborn’s idea, as indi- cated by Councilman Tony Paulson, approved the zone change. “You’re on the hot seat now, Larry,” Councilman Rita Dyer quipped. Toward the conclusion of the meeting, after most of the audience had gone, the council hastily agreed to a verbal addition to an ordinance already on the agenda, amending Title 17 of the municipal code. The change added “medical facility” to the table of per- mitted uses in a EG/LI zone. The ordinance passed 5-0. ture development along the corridor. Some attending had been through similar proc- esses with ODOT before, only to have the projects fall off the State Traffic Improvement Plan (STIP) priority list. Ron Hughes, ODOT’s Region 3 access manager, said this time, given the scope of planned develop- ment, and with significant monetary input from de- velopers, the work will proceed. “As long as people agree to cooperate this can go very smoothly,” said Dan Dorell, an ODOT traf- fic engineer. As the discussion pro- ceeded, attendees focused on an aerial photograph of the area under considera- tion. Gesturing and point- ing, excitement began to build as the possibilities of this type of pre-emptive, comprehensive planning became apparent. “We need to get input from everyone (involved),” said Dan Hughes, whose commercially zoned prop- erty fronts Redwood Hwy. on the west side. “It’s important that the property owners bring a codified plan before ODOT. It will make ODOT’s job easier,” Hughes said. “I think this has been quite successful,” said Jim Frick, of Century 21 Harris and Taylor. “This was unique in that the property owners and ODOT are attempting to coordinate their efforts prior to development plan- ning.” The effect, he said, would be beneficial to all property owners concerned and the future of the city at large “Clearly, a vast major- ity of the (affected) prop- erty owners are interested in taking part in this ef- fort,” said CJ City Re- corder Jim Polk. “It looks like we need to get the key players to- gether for another meet- ing” to address these ac- cess issues, he said. Map above depicts the north area of the city of Cave Junction which is undergoing major devel- opment. There are at least three subdivisions slated for the Hanby Lane area, and possibly a residential assisted- living facility. Photo be- low: Land owners, devel- opers and ODOT repre- sentatives in Cave Junc- tion City Hall examine an aerial photo of the north Redwood Hwy. vicinity. (Photos by Michelle Binker) Valley visit due May 14 by Kucinich Ohio Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will be at Blue Moon Café in Down- town Cave Junction be- tween 11 a.m. and noon on Friday, May 14. The café will be serv- ing a brunch that morning starting at 10:30. Kucinich, a Democrat who vied with Sen. John Kerry for the party’s nomi- nation, continues to “give voice to those issues not currently being addressed by the frontrunner.” “While the question of who is going to be the nominee is a foregone con- clusion,” Kucinich said, “what we stand for as a party has yet to be deter- mined.” The appearance is hosted “by a group of folks who just love him, and who want to meet and sup- port him,” said Libby Goines, who has helped organize the event. Heeeeeeee’s Baaaaaaack! 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