City's comprehensive plan revision sessions to resume
Meetings of the city of Cave Junction’s Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) will resume in connection with revisions to the comprehensive plan.
That was announced during the city council meeting in city hall on Monday night, Sept. 10.
The next meeting, said Mayor Tony Paulson, is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in city hall. The public can attend, but only to observe, the mayor said.
Another meeting is set for Oct. 10.
Some controversy has arisen regarding revisions to the comprehensive plan, as some residents feel that Craig Stone & Associates have dropped the ball. However, the mayor has stated that the Medford consulting firm is following basic procedures and that the process will continue as planned.
Stone’s services are being paid for by Manor Communities Development, of Lodi, Calif. It has been noted that Larry Osborn, of Manor, is paying for the updating because the city cannot afford it.
“We couldn’t go forward without revising the plan,” said Paulson. Osborn is involved in several major developments in the city.
Among comments Monday night, O’Brien resident Daniel Dalegowski, who gained applause, again criticized what he sees as “a lack of public participation.” In a prepared statement, which he read, his comments included:
“It is my opinion that the city should impose a moratorium on land-use decisions until the comprehensive plan is approved by the LCDC (Land Conservation & Development Commission), the CAC and council have had an adequate opportunity to review the plan, and the city council has familiarized itself in the employment of the plan in day-to-day land-use debate and decision-making.
“Without a proper plan, recent land-use decisions may have been made in the absence of necessary information. Future decisions should wait until adequate resources, particularly the comprehensive plan, are available.”
Also during the meeting, Kerby resident John Bowler, a CAC member, continued his criticism of Stone. And land-use watchdog Holger Sommer, of Merlin, submitted written testimony disapproving of the public being “sidelined,” and their comments not considered, in his view.
The mayor said that nothing will be sent to DLCD (the Dept. of Land Conservation & Development) until deficient items in the plan are reviewed and revised. This will involve, he said, CAC meetings and then the city council.
Additionally, City Recorder Jim Polk pointed out that the city has a comprehensive plan. It is a mix of a previous plan and a new plan, he said. But some items in the new plan have to be revised to meet state criteria.
In a somewhat related matter, city resident Mark Rodgers got into some heated remarks with the mayor. Rodgers questioned why Osborn was allowed to build commercial structures in a residential area.
This brought up strong remarks by the mayor. He noted that the city cannot deny people from doing what they want as long as their efforts do not conflict with state or federal laws.
“We’re only following the law,” said Paulson.
In a retort, Rodgers also noted that someone has built an illegal 8-foot-tall fence and asked what the city is going to do about it. Paulson said that the city will do what it always does in cases of code violations.
“We’ll send a letter; then we’ll probably send another letter,” he said. “And maybe a couple of years from now, something will happen.” He and Polk stated that the city does what it can in such matters, but that the city cannot stop people from doing what they want to do.
Rodgers warned that the city is likely to see a spate of illegal fences.
As a chief member of the volunteer CJ Citizens Patrol, he also derided the mayor for not walking the streets with volunteers.
“You told me you’d do that,” he said to Paulson, “but you haven’t.”
Paulson responded that as mayor he cannot, because he would then be officially condoning the patrol’s efforts. “When I’m not mayor I’ll be out there with you,” he said.
Rodgers also claimed that a woman was stabbed to death underneath “first bridge,” the span on the south side of the city. He hinted that there might be some sort of cover-up regarding the matter.
He and Paulson then got into another verbal tussle about who is responsible for getting out such information. The oral brouhaha basically concluded with the mayor telling Rodgers to check with the sheriff’s office, as he did.
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