Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1959)
ybdDVDSDin) lo esiig mied ir Regulates Street, Sanitary, Other Factors in Area Br JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Staff Writer A car with California li cense plates rolls up to a new house on a lot a few miles from a southern Oregon city, The father gets out and stands a minute looking out over the green acres of near by farmland and takes a long deep breath. This is the new home for he and his family away from the smoz - Doisoned air of southern California. As the family hurriedly un packs the car and the chil dren rush into the house to The Jackioa County plan ning commission Wednes day, Feb. 11. will hear questions concerning the proposed subdivision ordi nance during its regular meeting. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held March 11. see their rooms they don't realize thev may have left behind old problems to face some new ones. Troubles Start After a comparatively short time they may have sep tic tank troubles, a road has to be constructed to the main road, a house goes up on eith er side and he suddenly real izes his narrow lot doesn't give his children room enough to play and his wife enough garden area. I There are dead-end street Dr obi ems. sewer and street assessments, lack of nearby recreation areas or parks and schools. It may take much longer than a few months for one of the most serious problems to show up in this inadequate ly planned subdivision-sanitation. Disease may break out and too often does through inadequate sewage disposal facilities. This may even con taminate the water supply. One new residential dis trict in Seattle, Wash., for ex ample, had a peculiar smell during late spring and sum mer when the residents wa tered lawns. Since drain fields could not absorb afflu ent from septic tanks the sew age material would seep up through the ground when lawns were watered. Could Be Prevented This could have been pre vented through proper in spection of the subdivision and enforcement of sanitation laws through a proper subdi vision ordinance. a subdivision ordinance is for regulation or guidance of land subdivision development through public authority. This is preferably done by a plan- nine aaency ana eniorcea us- nallv throueh the power to withhold privilege of public record from plats which do not meet established require ments and standards. It's difficult to separate needs for a subdivion ordi nance from those of a zoning ordinance. The two of them seem to dovetail. Land devel opment covers a wide range of problems, all of them inter related. A Tribute to ... Our Boy Scouts! When Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the English man, conceived the idea of the Boy Scouts and later our own American, Dan Beard, furthered . and promoted the idea here, neither, we suspect, ever dreamed what world wide fountains of Youth he was putting in action! Today the Boy Scouts are the flower of young manhood in every quarter of the globe. Their deeds are legion. Their clean, manly characters shine forth from their scrubbed faces and the trim uniforms they wear. How very proud we fathers and mothers of Boy Scouts should be! Their merit badges are a symbol of sincerity, eagerness to serve and pride in their organization. God bless them all. They'll be leaders tomorrow! Medford Pharmacy 101 North Central, Corner 6th Ph. SP 2-6253 Open today 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Week days: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. We Salute Our Town! WELL-PLANNED SUBDIVISION - This is sidewalks. Houses are provided with ade an example of a well-planned subdivision quate setback, with broad streets and adequate curbs and PLANNED SUBDIVISION - This is an ex ample of a planned subdivision without curbs and sidewalks. It shows power lines on the rear of the properties. The homes in How Large is City "Just how large an area cities occupy no one knows, for no one can say where a city ends," wrote M. Mason Gaffney, associate professor of agricultural economics, University of Missouri. "The United States census defines urbanized areas roughly as those in and round cities of at least 50 thousand inhabi tants." This problem of land de velopment affects the farmer as well as the city dweller. Cities gobble up farmland. The "city frontier" has been advancing recently about 400 thousand acres a year into the heart of United States farm lnds, ccording to various es timates. Scattering of non - farm houses along country roads also brings problems "to the taxpayers. As these little communities burst upon the scene many improvements are needed at once. These in clude roads, streets, schools, libraries, water and sewage facilities. Taxes Increased Assessments and taxes are increased to pay for this new and larger demand for public services. A few of the farmers make their profits from land sales to subdivisions and get out. Those farmers who stay in the subdividing area face higher taxes for public im provements and services they may not need or want. New highways bypass con gested areas and develop the less settled areas. Professor Gaffney wrote. These open wide new areas to hunt-and-peck development and these scattered settlements merge and develop into towns. ft 0 VJiWHj III Han uffi xjpsfsg NARROW ROADWAY - This road measures 16 feet in width between fences making it difficult if not impossible for two cars to pass. The road serves eight houses. The road dead ends with not turn-around provided. And the University of Mis souri professor asks are they efficient cities? Transporta tion and utility lines to join these scattered pieces cost billions, the University of Missouri professor stated. As commerce meets obstacles, it results in a wider farm-market spread. So what happens to the small farmer as these devel opments string out? He strug gles to pay off his land through his farming. High prices for urban development force' him out of the market. Strict enforcement of an ade quate subdivision ordinance may at least slow down hap hazard development. Sanitation r e q u i r ements and regulations for more or derly development as en forced through a subdivision ordinance tends to leave land for the uses for which it is best intended. How does a subdivision or dinance work generally? A planning agency such as the Jackson county planning com missio reviews a land subdi vision layout. It checks such important things as arrangement and width of streets, length and depth of blocks, of lots; pro vision of required public open spaces for parks, play grounds and public building sites, provision of sewerage and water - supply systems; grading and surfacing of the streets, and enough ease ments for utility installations. As they make this review the planning commission mem bers bear in mind the master plan set up for all-county de velopment. ' More Important A subdivision ordinance is even more important to rural areas than city areas. "In practically all commu nities of the United States, a large part of the new growth is taking place outside the city limits, and it is there that most of the new land subdivi sions are taking place," ac cording to a publication of the International City Mana- j gers' association. "When the city extends its municipal boundary lines, this territory may become a part of the city. Even if it re mains forever outside the po litical' boundaries of the city it is, in many respects, a part of the city." Surplus lots become tax de- i linquent and before long the accumulation of unpaid taxes and special assessments force their abandonment and a re sulting increase in taxes for m mm this area show a uniformly attractive ap pearance which enhances the property values of the entire area. the rest of the community property. Premature Division One remedy for premature and excessive land subdivi sion is to require the subdi vider or contractor to install immediately at his own ex pense all essential utilities and to grade and surface streets or roads through his subdivision. If such regulations are not enforced the subdivider may sell lots after only staking out the streets and lots. The aver age home buyer does not real ize what his house may re quire to make it livable, serv iceable, and an important part of the community. He buys the roughly developed land and the burden of un expected assessments may force him out of his home. However, adequate subdivi sion design cannot be stand ardized and applied to all tracts, only the basic princi pals and minimum design standards.. More Livable A subdivision ordinance will not guarantee the pur chaser of a lot a high quality piece of ground for his home, but it will make his lot more livable. Proper subdivision regula tions benefit the community, subdivider and purchaser, ac cording to planning experts. One subdivider in Sacramen to, Calif., found that he could make much more money when he was forced to revise his layout of narrow streets and lots. In Akron, Ohio, suggested changes followed by the sub divider increased his profits by S11,000, according to the International City Managers' association. One of the more important parts of the proposed Jackson county subdivision ordinances is the section on personal surey. This requires that the final plat shall be approved before installing improve ments. The subdivider posts the cash bond or personal surey to make sure that the required improvements are made in each plat. Without bonding nobody can be sure that roads and utilities will be installed ac cording to county standards, according to Lloyd Anderson, bureau of municipal research and service. Permits Improvements The clause mentioned be fore permits improvements to be made without bonding prior to sale of property. This clause is workable, Anderson said, if some government j agency can enforce any viola tion of property sale prior to bonding. If a subdivider sold a lot either on contract or deed the assessor would have a record of the sale. The assessor would only have to notify the district attorney of any sale violation. To comply with the regula tions of the proposed subdi vision ordinance, a subdivid er must follow the following preapplication procedure: The subdivider should re quest information on proce dures and general informa tion from the planning com mission office. This would in clude information on the ele ments of the master plan, ex isting and proposed state highways and county roads and public utilities. Preliminary Map After discussing the gen eral program and objectives, the subdivider would prepare a preliminary map with im provement plans and other supplementary material as specified in the preliminary map. . The name of the subdivi sion shall not duplicate or re semble the name of any other subdivision in the county. No platting of an addition would be permitted unless the land is next to and plat ted by the same party that platted the subdivision or un less written permission is ob tained from the person plat ting the subdivision. The plat or addition must continue the block numbers of the plat of the same name last filed. The planning commission, under the regulations of the subdivision ordinance, may suggest certain public use areas be set aside such as that for playgrounds and school. Following the advice of a school district, the planning commission may require the subdivider to set aside school sites for purchase by the dis trict in three years. The amount for purchase of the site or sites would be deter mined by an appraisal board. Final Map Another section of the pro posed ordinance directsr how the final map shall be pre pared providing space for cer tificates, notorizations, dedi cations, easements, recorda tion and other requirements. Corners of adjoining sub divisions must be identified by lot and block numbers, subdivisions name and place of record, or other proper designation. The final map must show the line of high water if the subdivision is next to a stream, channel or any other body of water which may flood. Certificates for the final man. according to state law and this ordinance, must be provided by the county plan nine commission, county as sessor, county sheriff, county enrvpvor. countv clerk, and the county court. Map Submitted After the final map is sub mitted to various county de partments for their approval it must be approvea or re iected within five days. Rea sons for departmental dispro- val must be given in writing to the planning commission which will notify the subdi vider. If the final map conforms to the ordinance and state law, it is forwarded within five days to the county clerk, then the county court. The countv court must approve the man during its first meet ing following its receipt. The county court is also required n aua. rpasnns in writing if the map is turned down. Then the subdivider may fii. an amended map within riave nt reiection of the first one. The same procedure is followed in referring the amended map. Outline First Area Although the subdivider is required to submit a map of the whole subdivision, he may outline that portion which will be developed first. Improvements must not be less than a block long, or 300 linear feet. After the surety for devel opment of the first portion is released, it may be appbed to each succeeding part, depend ing on the amount of estimat ed costs. In other words, the whole tract does not have to be developed at once. One of the more important parts coming under the sec tion on design reguwuu pertains to strejets. Thic spction requires that streets conform to overall de sign. Streets in a subdivision next to undeveloped land must be brought to the boun the subdivision so they can be continued if the neighboring land is devel oped in the future. Intersections Streets must also intersect each other as nearly as possi ble at right angles. Half streets may be allowed when fPjWK pCi " s, J POOR CONDITIONS-These generally poor conditions are what enforcement ri a sub division ordinance would prevent. The partly finished shack-like appearance of . - "s-'. I iif4fHlli i BLIGHT AREA - This is a good example of the beginnings of a blight area. The house located off a private area and the it is determined they are nec essary to a rasonable develop ment of the subdivision and conform with other ordinance requirements. Streets must extend to the subdivision boundary and dead-end1 streets must be "pro vided with a circular turn around area of 50-foot radius, Turn-arounds may be elimi nated when the county is giv en control over access of such dead-end streets. Those subdivisions with large parcels of land must al low for development of small er lots and the necessary street and lot requirements for the smaller areas, accord ing to the ordinance. How ever, no subdivision may be resubdivided without the planning commission's appro val. Minimum curb to curb widths of streets, surfacing widths and sidewalk widths will be determined according to the state highway mini mum width of right-of-way surfacing requirements. The sanitation requirements of the subdivision ordinance are designed to save both the subdivider and resident from future grief and expense and to safeguard public health If the subdivision is not connected to a sewer system the subdivider must consult with the planning commission staff which will make a study of the subdivision with coun ty health department offi cials. They will study the soil tvDes. soil structure, soil depth, topography, water ta ble, water wells and drainage to determine if the land is suitable for septic tank use and the area of drain field required. Where conditions on lots up to five acres make it practical to install individual sewage disposal systems the subdi vider may install sanitary sewerage disposal facilities to develop the subdivision. How ever, these must comply with the state board of health reg ulations. The proposed ordinance provides for exceptions if these would not prove harm ful to public health and wel fare and would not nullify the intent of the subdivision ordinance. A subdivider may appeal any planning commission de cision or that of any county department. Written notice of appeal and the grounds shall be given the commission 15 days prior t6 the regular meeting. An appeal may be carried further to the county court. y - . . x.. s., i. : ?- ; -.. j, .' .-!! f , -. , - - , s.v.., ...f ; i- . ! .v - Kaisef Interests Gain Two Firms Portland -4DTD Henry Kais er interests have purchased two Portland building comp anies, Pacific Building Mater ials and Readymix Concrete. The price involved was in excess of $1,500,000. The purchase was by Gla cier Sand and Gravel, Seat tle, a wholly-owned subsidi ary of Permanente Cement. Glacier said the purchase includes substantially all as sets of the two Portland firms including two Portland sand and gravel plants and three concrete plants, two in Port land, and one in Vancouver, Wash. They will continue to oper ate under their present names as divisions of Glacier. Melvin Erland, former pres ident and general manager of Pacific and executive of Readymix, will continue as head of both operations. Ne gotiations were completed on his recent trip to Hawaii where he met with Kaiser of ficials. 61 Measles Cases Reported Last Week Sixty-one cases of measles, 54 of them in Medford, were reported to the Jackson coun ty department of health last week, Dr. A. Erin Merkel, county health physician, has reported. Five measles cases were re ported in Phoenix and two in Prospect. There were 58 cases of in fluenza reported in Jackson county. Of the total, 47 were in Medford, 6 in Phoenix, 4 in Trail and 1 in Ashland. Other cases of communic able diseases reported includ ed chicken pox, Medford, 10, Central Point 2, Eagle Point 1; strep threat, Butte Falls, 1, Rogue River 1; scarlet fe ver, Meatora z; pneumonia, Medford 2; Eagle Point 1; mumps, prospect 4, lueaiora 3, Phoenix 2, Shady Cove 1; German measles, Medford 14, Ashland 1; whooping cough, Medford 2; and pink eye, Cen tral Point 3. JOHNSTON VISITS JAPAN Tokyo -d?&- Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Pic ture Association of America, arrived here by plane yester day for a one-week visit to Japan. the house, the narrow, poorly surfaced road with choked up ditches give the area a poor appearance and depress property values. ill weed infested, unkempt grounds present anything but an attractive appearance. DUKE GETS DEGREE Karachi, Pakistan -4UPD-The Duke of Edinburgh was awarded an honorary degree of doctor of law by the Ka rachi University Friday night. The award was made by Gen. Mohammed Ayub Khan, pres ident of Pakistan and chan cellor of the university. JAILED FOR THREAT Memphis, Tenn. -(UPD- A 16- year-old high school girl was sentenced to an indefinite term at the state vocational school Friday for telephoning a fake bomb threat to her school. A Third KMED Winner HM. "'"" a ..i,.,ma,t-i!iitii .jiii I f P ill lv t4 M'fe f B;-- i-F7h - ' ix;vlL-J&!,&: Mrs. Jack Russell of Hanley rd., Central Point, receives ber check for $100.00 from KMED Disc Jockey, Robbie Robblns. Mrs. Russell was the 3rd person to correctly identify KMED's "Better Music" Mystery Tunes. You too, can win $100 CASH On KMED'S Better Music" Mystery Tune CONTEST Sponsored by BURELSON'S and JOHNSTON STORES Tune KMED "Medford s Memory Music Station" Red Cross Chapter Commended for Job by Volunteers Raymond Vester, national vice chairman of the Ameri can Red Cross fund raising campaign, c o m m ended he Jackson county chapter on iti volunteer services at a meet ing of the board of directori at the chapter house, 60 Haw thorne ave., last week. , He pointed out that the Jackson county, chapter's strength has been recognized not only throughout the state, but also at national headquar ters in Washington, D.C. Dr. Robert Buck, Medford, reviewed the importance of the blood program and uses of blood. He noted that there is an increasingly larger num ber of pints of blood used by the medical and surgical pro fessions. Reports Given Reports were given by Mrs. Robert W. Shepherd, hospital council for Camp White; Bud Quinney, Junior Red Cross; services; Mrs. Raymond Re ter, United Medford Crusade; Jennings Pierce, public infor mation; Mrs. J. W. Burba, blood program, and Miss Hel en Bullis, emergency ware house. Prior, to the board meet ing, members of the execu tive and budget committee met to determine certain pol icies to be presented to the board for approval. Attending were Manville Heisel, Seth Bullis. chairman of the house committee, Mrs. E. A. Littrell, Mrs. Frank Fairweather, Joseph Moore, Kenneth MacDonald, Edward Branchf ield, Mrs. Burba, Mrs. E. O. ' Eden, vice chairman for disaster, and Mrs. Helen A. Wilson, executive secre tary. - Holman Joins Staii Oi Radio Station Phil Holman, who became known as "Holman the Pole man" when he conducted a record show from on top of a flag pole in San Francisco, has taken a position with ra dio station KDOV, Medford. In addition to broadcasting a show a from on top the 70 foot flag pole, Holman also conducted a show while seat ed in a trapeze-type rig swing ing out over a three story building in San Francisco. He is married and has two children, a boy four years old and a girl five years old. His wife and children are expect ed to arrive In Medford in about a week. Holman is working the mor ning shift at station KDOV. The. power of amateur ra dio stations in the U.S. is lim ited to 1,000 watts output and some use as little as 10 watts. mil mi imyf!.u.."..i. w for Details 1440
