Page 13
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Following disputatious discussion, CJ Livid residents urge lid on planned LID
Proposal tentatively scheduled for Cave Junction council July 9 meeting
votes for workshop for Patton project
Laurel Road and Redwood
the LID’s petitioners to make
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Wilderville-based builder
Hoyt Patton crossed swords
with the Cave Junction City
Council during the Monday
night, June 11 meeting in city
hall.
Patton was seeking a
variance for a three-lot duplex
and town home Master
Planned Development (MPD)
project he has built at 117 N.
Junction Ave., which includes
a private street. The 1.25-acre
property is zoned Multiple
Family Residential. The nar-
row width of the lot prompted
the variance request, accord-
ing to city documents.
Dick Converse, a planner
with Rogue Valley Council of
Governments, summarized
the staff report for councilors.
“Staff conducted a pre-
application review of the pro-
posal, and concluded that two
parcels could feasibly be cre-
ated, but that the third parcel
would not meet code require-
ments,” the report said.
“The code,” said Con-
verse, “provides few options
for reduced street standards,
one of which is a private street
serving the rear of an unusu-
ally deep parcel, but only two
parcels may be created.”
Access to the property is
also an issue, according to the
staff report.
It continued, “Council
approval under this section
would require that access to
Lot 1 be provided from Junc-
tion Avenue. Given the loca-
tion of existing structures, this
does not appear feasible. The
long and narrow shape of the
Tax Lot 600 clearly restricts
development options, but it
does not prevent reasonable
use of the property.”
Rick Riker, a Grants
Pass-based land-use planning
consultant, testified on Pat-
ton’s behalf.
“We feel that the vari-
ance is possible,” Riker said.
Riker said that the vari-
ance would “eliminate the
hardship” of building on the
narrow property, and would
not be detrimental to the city.
“We feel the existing lot
width is a pre-existing condi-
tion,” Riker said.
Patton called the devel-
opment “high-quality,” and
said that it is not as dense as it
could have been. He added
that the project is in one of
the city’s in-fill areas, and
that he is proud of his work.
“I couldn’t be happier
about it,” Patton said.
Patton said that he was
“caught off guard” by the
city’s regulations, but Coun-
cilor Russell Ehrman dis-
agreed.
“It’s up to you to re-
search,” Ehrman said.
Patton said that he had
partnered with the city during
every phase of the project and
was “under the impression”
that the development would
meet conditions of approval.
“I’ve tried awful hard at
this,” Patton said. “I think it’s
a good, quality project.”
Mayor Tony Paulson
said that the city’s codes are
quite clear.
“What’s wrong with two
lots?” Paulson said.
Patton replied that it
would be difficult to market
such a product.
“You have to consider
economics,” Patton said. “If I
can’t market, I can’t spend
the money here.”
Ehrman chastised Patton
for starting the building proc-
ess before gaining the coun-
cil’s approval.
“This seems backwards
to me,” he said.
Patton said that he isn’t
asking the city to change its
policies, and, “This is one of
the best projects you could
show me in this town.” He
reiterated that he tried work-
ing with city officials, but
said that there must have been
a “miscommunication.”
“There have been some
mistakes made, but we’re
trying to get beyond that,”
Patton said.
Rural Cave Junction resi-
dent Sally Palmer, a city
property owner, strongly ob-
jected to Patton’s variance
request.
“This council ought to be
furious about this application,”
Palmer said. “It makes me
upset just talking about it.”
Paulson had suggested
that the council hold a work-
shop to discuss the matter, but
Kerby resident John Bowler
said there is enough informa-
tion available to make an im-
mediate decision.
“I think you need to
come to a conclusion now,”
Bowler said.
Councilor Dan Fiske
noted that Patton has been in
the building business for a
long time, and should be fa-
miliar with municipal proc-
esses. Ehrman said that Pat-
ton had previously tried to
gain exemption from city
regulations.
“It seems to be a habit,”
Ehrman said. “I don’t appre-
ciate that at all.”
Other developers go
through the proper processes,
Ehrman said, adding that Pat-
ton’s claims of hardship
“seem disingenuous to me.”
Ehrman characterized
Patton’s pleas as a “song and
dance,” and expressed frustra-
tion at how the builder has
thus far handled the situation.
“It just pisses me off,”
Ehrman said.
Councilor Margaret
Miller moved to continue the
matter to the council’s July 9
meeting, with a workshop
prior. The motion was sec-
onded by Councilor Lynne
Atteberry. Ehrman and Fiske
voted “No.” The mayor broke
the 2-2 tie with a “yes” vote.
The workshop date will
be announced.
DeFazio supports biomass
The House Natural Re-
sources Committee approved
an amendment by Fourth
District Congressman Peter
DeFazio (D-Ore.) that would
allow for increased removal
of biomass from overstocked
federal forests.
Biomass, made from
small trees and brush, can be
converted into fuel and help
decrease the U.S. dependence
on foreign oil, he said.
The amendment was
approved as part of H.R.
2337, the Energy Policy Re-
form and Revitalization Act
of 2007, legislation to pro-
mote alternative energy, en-
ergy efficiency and climate
change mitigation.
As introduced, H.R.
2337 would have precluded
biomass removal from mil-
lions of acres of federal forest
land in the Pacific Northwest.
But scientists agree that care-
ful forest management of
these areas can be beneficial,
provided that the old-growth
forest structure is maintained,
and other ecological consid-
erations met, DeFazio said.
An estimated five jobs
result for every megawatt of
energy produced from bio-
mass.
“Things are different in
my district,” DeFazio ex-
plained.
“There are many areas of
old-growth forest where small
trees have grown up into the
old-growth canopy as a result
of fire suppression and previ-
ous management,” he
said. “My amendment would
protect old-growth trees, but
also allow biomass removal
to protect the remaining old-
growth characteristics in our
forests.”
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IVN Staff Writer
Approximately 30 resi-
dents jammed Cave Junction
City Hall on Monday night,
June 11 to voice their opin-
ions on a proposed $2.56 mil-
lion Local Improvement Dis-
trict (LID) on Redwood Hwy.
The city council was con-
sidering a resolution of intent
to establish the LID bounda-
ries and provide taxing author-
ity for the project. City staff
prepared three options for
council consideration.
John Chmelir, of Willow
Development in Grants Pass,
said that he and the other
chief petitioners for the pro-
ject have been working on it
for a year and a half. He rec-
ommended that the city ac-
cept the technical design
worked out by Oregon Dept.
of Transportation (ODOT).
Chmelir said that half the
LID charges should be based
on Redwood Hwy. frontage,
with the other half based on
total property acreage. He
added that he and the other
petitioners, including devel-
opers Dan Hughes and Larry
Osborn, have worked exten-
sively with the city, county
and state governments to
move the project forward, and
that its costs are exacerbated
by any further delays.
The developers signed a
contract with ODOT for the
LID in January 2006,
Chmelir said, and had to bor-
row $2.5 million as part of
that process.
“We’ve obligated our-
selves to do this,” he said.
Opposition to the LID
proposal has been building
for months. In a Feb. 10 letter
to City Recorder Jim Polk,
Paul and Arlis Wieler, owners
of property at the corner of
Hwy., said they wanted noth-
ing to do with the LID or its
related costs.
“We would like to go on
record that we object to an
LID being formed by devel-
opers for the purpose of forc-
ing other property owners to
pay for improvements that
those developers have already
committed to being responsi-
ble for,” the letter read.
It also included, “The
developers are the ones that
will gain the most benefit and
profit from these improve-
ments and they should in-
clude these in their project
costs and follow through with
their commitment to pay the
same.”
During the meeting,
Medford attorney David In-
galls spoke on behalf of Ver-
steeg family members, who
also are included in the LID.
Ingalls requested that the
public hearing be discontin-
ued, saying that adequate
notice wasn’t given to af-
fected property owners.
Mayor Tony Paulson
stated that the council was
considering a resolution of
intent to establish the LID.
Part of that process is the
scheduling of a public hear-
ing in the future, Paulson
said.
“We’re not making a
decision on this tonight,”
Paulson said.
Ingalls said that the coun-
cil was providing a forum for
a case for their proposal.
Steve Zabriskie, owner
of Z Coffee on Redwood
Hwy. at the north end of Cave
Junction, said that affected
property owners should be
similarly able to make a pres-
entation.
Councilor Russell Ehr-
man agreed.
“I think the points being
raised are true,” Ehrman said,
adding that he would favor
continuing the matter.
Chmelir denied that the
developers were trying to
make an end-run around pub-
lic participation.
“It wasn’t our intent to
subvert the process of citizen
involvement,” Chmelir said.
Polk tentatively sched-
uled a continuance for the
council’s July 9 meeting “if
the noticing requirements can
be met.”
The council also voted to
annex two properties owned
by Osborn into city limits
after a public hearing drew no
response.
The properties, at 25210
and 25156 Redwood Hwy.,
are zoned for Rural Commer-
cial, and are in the city’s Ur-
ban Growth Boundary.
Councilors voted 4-0 to
approve the annexations, with
Councilor Lynne Atteberry
abstaining on both votes.
Annexation of property
owned by Robert Johnson at
460 Caves Hwy. was ap-
proved by the council 5-0.
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