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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1958)
10 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sunday, September 7, 1958 FfimidlDinig Lqumdl Pjipfofleirinr fee Zone Ordinances Fail To Provide For Mobile Homes BY ERIC WENTWORTH Mail Tribune Staff Wriler (Last in a series) The present Medford zoning ordinance permits the sale of house trailers in Commercial zones. ' But trailer courts, for peo ple living in these trailers, are limited to light or heavy in dustrial zones. As a matter of fact, there is no specific provision for trail er courts in the ordinance at all. "Trailer camps" are de fined in the introductory sec (tion. But they are not men- uonea eisewnere. Qualify For Zone They qualify in light indus trial zones because at this point the ordinance shifts from listing what can exist, which it does for residential and commercial zones, to what cannot exist. And trailer courts, not be ing included on the list of what cannot 'exist in light in' dustrial zones, are thus al lowed. Many trailer courts in Med ford today are situated in com mercial zones. Hence they are technically1 non-conforming And if the city enforced its ordinance, the owners would be restricted thereby from making structural improve ments on their property. Commercial Zones . Commercial zones are a step above industrial zones. But they are still subject to noises, odors and unpleasant sights from which residential areas are exempt. Industrial areas are that much less appealing for, the operation of a trailer park. For more than ever before, trailer owners are residents rather than transients, seeking a place to locate their homes for a period of a year or more. Anyone seeking to start a trailer park from scratch is faced with the problem ;of finding suitable land. If, he buys a tract in a residential district and seeks to have it re-zoned light industrial to permit his going ahead with Beat the Light; up your furnace, Now! Those chilly fall days will soon., be upon us. And NOW, before the winter season begins, is the smart time to have us light up your furnace! So avoid the last minute rush take advantage of our FREE CHECK-UP . ... Have the burners checked, pilot lit, motors oiled . . . and be ready for cold weather OAS Is the T"Y MEDFORD, OREGON j "S ' rcrj STANDARDS NEEDED - If trailer parks were to be allowed in multiple - family zones or other residential or semi-residential areas, high standards could be estab lished to assure paved driveways, parking his plans, he may be faced With the stigma which the word "industrial" holds for home-owners. Recent Examples There have been two recent examples of such enterprises in ; Medford. Harry Elmore purchased a large tract north east of the Morrow rd.-Biddle rd. intersection. Since no ob jections were raised, the coun cil granted him a zone change. Elmore's property, it should be pointed out, is in a rela tively undeveloped residential area. In Berrydale, however, a lengthy dispute is still going on over a zone-change issue. Harold Farr, owner of the Valley Center Trailer court, seeks to expand his facilities onto a lot he is buying behind its present limits. The lot hap pens to be a part of the Valley Center subdivision. William Dorenbach, who lives in another part of the sub-division, and several oth ers object to the-zone change. They contend that light-in dustrial zoning would male the lot a potential "blight area." v,.' '. . , Properly Values Such an attitudeis based in no small part on a concern for property values. The trailer winter r HEATIXG 1 CONTRACTOR cheapest automatic heat my wxiijir uniNiA-rAUlf itJ UTILITIES COMPANY court itself might lower them. But once the tract is zoned light industrial, the door is open for a variety of other, less attractive enterprises which could succeed the trail er court. ine danger of such an event, - which could lower property values of neighbor ing residences considerably more, is ever-present in the minds of objectors. City planners in many com munities are recognizing this problem. Generally, they are seeking a middle ground.. They realize that trailer courts are perhaps not suitable for true residential zones. Appreciate Change But, appreciating the chang ing character of trailer use toward semi-permanent and permanent residences, they would like to, offer zoning more appropriate than com mercial or industrial areas. "Failure to treat trailers as housing," states the American Society of Planning Officials in a 1956 report on trailer parks, "represents a time lag between a changed social sit uation and recognition of the change by ammendments to the law. "While . it would probably not be advisable to permit a J PHONE SP 2-5284 J rush J facilities, spacing between trailer homes and other improvements to make them at tractive. A crowded, unpaved park like this one might not qualify for location in such areas. trailer court as a use by right in all conventional residence zones, its dwelling function should be given positive recog nition." Three solutions are most commonly proposed. One is to establish trailer parks as a "special use," a measure usu ally reserved for such items as airports, public utility buildings and cemeteries. Offers Flexibility This category offers flexi bility. The city government can use its discretion in ap proving locations of trailer parks, with reference to the particular situation involved. Those opposed point out that as a matter of sound planning practice, special uses should be kept to a minimum. HILTS Work Resumes at Plant By MRS. M. F. CAVIN Hilts Work resumed at the various departments of the Fruit Grower's Supply co., Tuesday morning, Sept. 2 af ter a two-week vacation, dur ing which time maintenance crews did necessary repair work to equipment and build ings. Many local employees and their families visited friends and relatives in various parts of the country, while others vacationed at parks, the coast, or drove through country new to them. , Mr. and Mrs. M. M. Silf left Saturday- and drove to Dunsmuir where they boarded the train for the bay area. They were the guests of their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. John James, and daughters in San Francisco and of Mr. and Mrs. Jeri Brooks and son, Greg, inVal lejo. While there they attend ed a Major League baseball game and the Ice Follies. They - returned home the following Saturday. Mr. and Mrs. Victor Van de Weghe and family left Tuesday for Millbrae, where they were guests of their son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Stickney and daughters. They also attended the Ice Follies and visited friends in Santa Cruz before returning home. : Mr. and Mrs. Rodney East man and daughter, Paula, left Monday, taking a route through Lassen park and Burney Falls, to Lake Tahoe and south to Yosemite Park. Driving west they arrived at the coast at Monterey and took a trip up the coast to San Francisco where- they, too, attended the Ice Follies. After spending several days at home they drove to Eureka where" they were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Marius De Meyer. The Labor Day week end was spent with Eastman's' mother, Mrs. Oza belle Eastman, and son, Roger, in Klamath Falls. Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Cavin and daughter, Marcia Kay, spent a week in San Francisco sightseeing and shopping. They returned home Satur day. , Mr. and Mrs. Francis Gwin and son, Leon, spent a week with relatives in San Fran cisco. They returned home Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Donivan Ward and daughter, Gayel, spent several days in Corning visit ing Mrs. Ward's brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Gano and son. Com ing " home they visited in Chico with Mrs. Willard Lari son, Mrs. Ward's aunt. They also stopped in Redding at the John Barbara home, re turning home Saturday. Mr. and Mrs. M. F. Cavin and daughter, Janet, vacation for several riavs on the Oregon coast. En route home Some say that making trailer parks a special use merely by passes the central problem, which is to define the part trailer parks are to play in re lation to other community phenomena. The second solution is to classify trailer parks in an in between zone, such as multi ple family. This would place them in the same category roughly as court apartments, boarding houses, fraternity houses,- hospitals and clinics, professional offices, churches, assembly halls and public buildings.' Standards Involved Involved in the problem of zoning is that of setting stand ards. In order to qualify for location in a multiple-family zone, planners, agree, a trailer park must meet certain mini mums in respect to width and improvement of driveways, set-back and screening, serv ice buildings, recreation areas and individual trailer-space dimensions. But where to set these min imums? if they are too, high, trailer park owners unwilling ly or financially unable to meet them will object strenu ously. If they are too low, the less attractive parks could in deed jeopardize property val ues as well as lower the gen eral appearance of the area. And so, a third solution pre sents itself: a dual set of standards. To be located in a multiple-family or other semi residential or residential area, a trailer park would have to meet a set of relatively high requirements. If it could not meet them, it could still qual ify by meeting the lower set for location in a commercial area. Building Code Manwhile, a sizeable number- of trailers in Medford they visited in Yoncalla with Cavin's aunt, Mrs. Myrtle Ap- plegate, who returned south with them for an indefinite stay with her brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cavin, in Hornbrook. Spending several days at Smith River, where they did some fishing, were Mr. and Mrs. Mel Barron and daugh ter, Miriam,' Mr. and Mrs. Au domar De Clerck and Barbara and Carleen; and Mr. and Mrs. Tom Shuck and son, Tommy. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fer greson and son, Bobby, visited her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Gibson, and family, on the Dead Indian rd. They return ed home Monday. Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Thomp son drove to Medford Friday evening to return their daugh ter, Marilyn, home. She had been the guest of Miss Lona Taylor, in Phoenix, the pre vious week. Mr. and Mrs. Dario Ceccato and .daughter, Alvia, visited in Antioch with Mrs. Cecca to's sister-in-law and brother, Mr. and Mrs. Bruno Favero and family. . - . ' Mr. arid Mrs. Stuart Jones and daughters, Karen and Jan, of Reno, Nev., visited re cently at the home of Jones Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mar vin Jones, whom the accom panied on a fishing trip to the lakes in Scott Valley. The Stuart Jones family are for mer residents and also called on old friends while here. Sharon and Debbie Sletten of Medford visited several days at the home of their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ayris. They returned home Saturday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Burton Mc Allister of Garden Grove, Ualif., were guests for several days at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Caston. On Tuesday they drove to Klamath Falls where they visited friends and to Talent where they called on Mr. and Mrs.' Evan Mau pin. They returned to their home the latter part of the week taking their son, Jackie, who has been a guest at the Caston home for the summer, with them. Mr. and Mrs, Louis Dett mar drove to Mc Cloud Sun day where they met Mr. and Mrs. Weidman of Burney, parents of Julie, who has been a guest of her grandparents for the past, two weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Tony Sartori and family of . San Francisco were guests several days last week of Mrs. Agnes Cunial, who makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Rodney East man. This is the first time Mrs. Cunial has met the Sar tori family, although they have corresponded for several years. Mrs. Sartori's mother is a friend of Mrs. Cunial and still resides in Italy. Mr. and Mrs. Tony Marin LOOPHOLE - Scattered throughout Med-H ford's residential areas are house trailers in back yards or, like this one, set on indi vidual lots. The larger modern trailers can meet the building code's standards, and some city officials, consider this a "loop hole" in the 1942 trailer' ordinance, which have been located in the yards of residences or on individual lots, several of which are be low the building code mini mum dimensions. These, once off their wheels, must conform to the building code in every respect. This provision is incorporated in Medford's ordinance govern ing standards for trailers and trailer parks, passed in 1942 and still in effect. At the time the ordinance was passed, it is understood, no trailers were large enough to conform. The recent boom in large trailers, many 50 feet or more in length, has perr mitted trailer owners in some cases to meet the standards of the building code and thus set HORNBROOK Pastor to Leave Area By KATHERINE CHAPMAN Hornbrook The Rev. E. V. Hargreaves of the Hornbrook Methodist church, announced from the pulpit last Sunday that he is leaving here to take over the Methodist church at Mackay, Idaho, on Sept. 15. Hargreaves has been pastor of the Montague Methodist church for the past four years, and of the combined Monta-gue-Hornbrook churches for a and girls, Mr. and Mrs. Italo Marin and family and Mr. and Mrs. Shinier Marin and family vacationed several days at Diamond lake. Mr. and Mrs. Lame Martin and family moved Thursday to their new home in Ashland. Mr. and Mrs. John Green drove to Reno, Nev., on Thurs day. Mr. and Mrs. Gino Trinra and sons, Pat and Mike, were week end vacationers at the coast near Brookings. Mr. and Mrs. Tony Marin and family have moved into the house moved on to the lot where the house occupied by the Woodruff family burn ed several months ago. Mr. and Mrs. John Fenton and family have moved into the house vacated by the Marin family. Fenton is the third and fourth grade teacher of Hilts school. Mr. and Mrs. James Cain and family were called to Oklahoma due to the death of Cain's mother. William Kleaver HI, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Kleaver visiting his grandparents, on Jr. of Yreka drowned recently in an irrigation ditch. Bill was the Franklin ranch near Gre nada, where he fell into an ir rigation ditch. Mrs. Elizabeth Maguiri, Hilts, is his great grandmother. Miss Diane Ward was guest of honor at a turkey dinner, given by her mother, Mrs. Don Ward Aug. 10, honoring her 18th. birthday. Guests were Frank Ward of Horn brook, Mrs. Robert De Voe sons, Bobby and Johnny; Miss Clarice De Voe, and Mrs. Jackie McCollough of Med-, ford; Miss Judy Gilchrist of Klamath Falls, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Don Ward, and sister, Gayel. In the evening, birthday cake and punch was served to Misses Carol Garner and Helen Bower of Yreka and Rita Middleton. The girls drove to Medford where they attended a show. Miss Garner was an overnight guests at the Ward home. v A grass and brush fire burned, over 120 acres and damaged a chicken house on the Mt. Crest Rancn recently. The fire of undetermined origin was battled nearly two hours by fire California di vision of forestry crews and men from the Fruit Grower's Supply co. 'A north wind was blowing, causing the fire to spread rapidly. Trabir Coiiair'S tle in residential neighbor hoods. Represents Loophole This, some Medford officials feel, represents a "loophole" in the present regulations which they hope to see plug ged in the not too distant fu ture. Most of these trailers, whether or not they would meet the building code stand ards, have not been issued permits, however, Oliver R. McNeel, Medford's building inspector, has stated he lacks the manpower to keep track of all the trailers. One particular trailer-owner cited recently for code vio lations has appealed to the city council, as a hardship case. year and a half. He and Mrs Hargreaves and their four children have resided at the parsonage in Montague. On Tuesday, the Hargreaves were noon dinner guests of Mrs. Bertha Bradley at her home here. Mrs. Clara How ard also, was a guest. Visitors last week at , the home of Mrs. Clara Howard were her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Wiley, . and her great-granddaughter, Miss Gail Weaver, all of Los Angeles. After a 10-day visit, they left for home on. Saturday. - While here, they also visit ed Mrs. Wiley's brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. O. Z. Howard, in Ashland. Other visitors of Mrs. Howard were Mr., and Mrs. H;- G. Parker and two , granddaughters of Santa Rosa, and their daugh- ter, Miss Lucille Parser of San Francisco. Mrs. William Nothelfer and Miss Florence Cameron, both of Salem, Ore., spent four days last week visiting their sister and her family, Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Walsh and daugh ter Sharee. The .three sisters attended performances at the Ashland Shakespeare theater of "The Merchant of Venice" and "Much Ado About Nothing." ' Miss . Mary Lee Rutledge served as maid of honor on Sunday at the wedding of Miss Cheryl Smith of Hilt and I James Young of Etna. . The ceremony took place at the Methodist church in Yreka. -Also attending the wedding and reception from here were Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Rutledge and family, Miss Lillian Raw- WE HAVE AMPLE . - "t; ' ' ' OFF STREET PJRKING I ' 1 -'Y ro V" "j W"-Mrr :: llllll ' STATION ' , III MA'N STREET l v ' ' I I Look for the directional sign in front of. , " I Conger-Morris . r . ' : ' Conm-tMonis I S WEST MAIN AT SIXTH "Your TV Weatherman" I - . 'f , I I ASHLAND MORTUARY . Sr J KBES-TV Monday Thru Friday I . , . . JTr r rj, 3 00 I Srrteti Ashland . M 't"!' j I Member National Selected Morticians by invitation All I11!!'! Wit i ! is still in effect. Few trailer-owners, how ever; bother to apply for building permits and fewer still have been issued them. The building department apparently lacks man power to keep track of all the trailers in Medford. 1 , The council at its Sept. 4 meet ing turned the matter over to the planning commission. Special License Several other cities in Ore gon require a special license for individual trailers in resi dential neghborhoods, and set a time limit for their stay, two weeks being a common figure. Robert A. Duff, Medford's city manager, and other city officials appear to recognize the need for bringing this city's regulation of trailers and trailer parks up to date. A proof of this was the study undertaken this spring by Ned Langford, city plan- nine technician. A lack of funds for his work on the project forced a halt, but he hauser Walsh. and Miss 1 Sbaree Mr. and Mrs. Ardon Burns returned home Saturday from a two weeks' vacation. They drove first to Reno and Lake Tahoe, then to Bellflower, Calif., to visit their daughter and her. family, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Adams, and another daughter, Miss Barbara Burns. Miss Sherrie Adams, who had spent the summer here with her grandparents, returned to her home at Bellflower with them. Their daughter, Bar bara, a June graduate of Yreka High school, is em ployed at the Edison company in Huntington Park. Irs. George McCann flew to Portland on Saturday with her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Ned Putnam, and son, Tommy, of Klamath Falls. Mrs.McCann returned home the first of the week, while the Putnams remained to be with , their other son, who was to have major sur gery. i Mrs. Marshall- Horn re turned .Tuesday from San Francisco, where she had been with her sister, Mrs. James Mrs. James Cobain, for the past three weeks, while Mr. Cobain was convalescing from recent surgery. She also vis ited in Marysville enroute home, with her niece and nephew, Mr. ' and Mrs. Ray Phillips. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Fick of Fairfield, Calif., are spend ing a few days with his par ents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Chapman. On Sunday, the Chapmans were surprised and thrilled to receive a telephone call, from their younger son, A2c Frank Frick, from Lon don, England. He was on leave from his base at Wethersfield, England, and was spending a few days in London, which he said was foggy and cold. managed to prepare a well documented "prelimin'a ry study to suggest standards suf ficiently high to permit mobile home parks in residential neighborhoods." " ' His report offered possible standards for trailer parks, and closed with the suggestion that those meeting the stand ards be admitted into a sub zone of the multiple-family zone which would be especial- , ly for the parks. Work Forwarded The results of Langford's work have been forwarded to the Bureau of Municipal Re search and Service, which has reportedly undertaken a study of cities throughout the state. Local observers doubt, how ever, that a specific recom mendation will be forthcoming trom the bureau. The bureau's practice, it is understood, is to present facts, , figures and possible alterna tives. It is up to each city to formulate its own action. MpHfnrfl it M-niilr? anneav has the opportunity to set an ) ; WMV example for other communi ties by whatever action if any it may eventually choose to take. Housewife Killed Cleaning Dryer Eugene-DPD-The Lane coun ty sheriff's office reported here Friday that the death of Mrs. Catherine M. Draga apparently, , was caused by electrocution suffered as she cleaned behind her electric dryer with the metal wand of her vacuum cleaner. The womans body was found Friday by her husband, Frank. Sheriffs deputies said there apparently was a short in the electrical circuit of the dryer. v. President George Washing ton signed the bill to establish the Navy in 1794. Buy At Builders Supply QUALITY BLOCKS Bricks, Flues. Drain Tila 727 W. McAndrews Ph. SP 2-4107 Daily's U-Drive Medford Airport CORN REMOVER OivM Miitoof rliffroai pain md patt tmlr fwww hor4 carat, toft nr.. fcatwMR Ik . callauiax. wm. popillamet, dua noiTt. It con taint ta. arol rfiffarant adi that toftan. 'run d oaat nat aawta tha irtitatiaa at front odd mUturw. whaa afhart he failad try thH ana. try r trnaa biiaf. which cafiavaa poia, tara n, twalling tint ar itctni eapneotiaa. loth ramadtat saU a -nancy bock flvaranraa. . . Exclusively at WESTERN THRIFT r y
