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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMP PLAN: Ch 02 - IntroCHAPTER II INTRODUCTION DEFINITIONS CHAPTER II INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS SETTING Ashland is located at the southeast end of the Bear Creek Valley, nestled between the Siskiyou Mountains to the south and the Cas- cade Range to the northeast. Due to the topography of the area and the City's loca- tion on two major transportation routes, Ash- land has developed in a lineal fashion, ~-1/2 miles long and 1-2/3 miles wide. Ashland is part of a larger marketing area centered around Medford. The City has a c~iversified economy, made up primarily of wood product manufacturing, tourism, and Southern Oregon State College. PLAN ASSUMPTION Some present residents wish the community to remain at its present size and feel the most important planning function would be to en- sure a constant, stable population. But, un- less the natural growth inducements of the area should disappear or the City adopts re- strictive growth policies as a result of re- source constraints, most people realize that some growth is inevitable. The challenge to the community is to have all changes, ,by growth or any other cause, result in a living environment equal to, or Better than, the present one. That task be- comes increasingly difficult as human actions II-1 'become more complicated and interrelated. An increase of population puts a strain on the environment and produces a possibility that traditional rights may have to be re- evaluated when considering the public good. The Comprehensive Plan is based on a num- ber of premises that should be clarified: 1) There will be continued changes and the City can and must guide these changes for the best interests of Ashland residents. 2) There is an obligation to have a livable city for the future residents of Ashland, and to ensure that the decisions of today do not eliminate all planning options for future generations. 3) If long-range goals are to be achieved, some programs and plans must be acti- vated; delay often creates a crisis situa- tion which makes problem-solving more difficult. Though the Plan is based on goals to be in effect until the year 2000, it is obvi- ous that all policies and proposals cannot be enacted immediately. Plan programs, especially those requiring direct City ex- penditures, must be selected by elected officials during capital improvement plan- ning, with due consideration to available funds and City priorities. 5) The Plan suggests many programs, some of which are not immediately feasible with existing City funding levels. Rather than accepting a do-nothing philosophy related to. a current, funding situation, the Plan makes some future funding assumptions: II-2 a) .That the legislative body can re- .arrange priorities based on what it thinks is important, actually changing the funding of some existing programs. b ) That funding mechanisms may be changed and altered in the future. (Some 'changes are proposed in the Plan. ) c) That the City will receive some funds from outside sources, i.e., State and Federal governments. BACKGROUND This current Plan is a complete revision of the previous General Plan completed in 1966. The old Plan was revised for a number of reasons, some of which could be summarized as follows: 1) The 1966 Plan was written in such a way as 'to ensure that no matter what popula- tion came to Ashland (up to 69,000 people), the City had plans to accommo- date them. How this population could be serviced, and the effect of such increased population on the environment were, how- ever, not researched. 2) The Plan did not address environmental concerns. The City decided, in 1971, to revise the Plan. The actual acceptance of the work schedule for revision took place in November, 1974. A number of State legislative actions have altered the content and impact of any land use plan in the State of Oregon. One of the most far-reaching was the establish- ment of the State Land Conservation and Development Commission in 1973. The Commis- sion has adopted 19 State Goals, of which 13 apply to Ashland. The present Comprehensive Plan was adopted April 18, 1978, and amendments were adopted in January, 1980. The City submitted its plans and ordinances for acknowledgment of compliance from LCDC in July, 1980. The Commission found the Plan deficient in 11 of the 13 applicable State Goals. This latest revision, adopted in 1982, in- cludes those amendments necessary to comply with State Goals, and, as four years have passed since the original plan was adopted, it also has involved a major review and re- vision of the plan reflecting the City's needs and priorities. PLAN TEXT SCOPE The basic purpose of a city general plan is to have a document to refer to in making city decisions. The hope is that decisions will then have long-term consistency. The Council and Planning Commission and other City commissions and committees would refer to the plan in making decisions, and citizens would be aware of the policies of the City before making a specific request to the City. Therefore, a Comprehensive Plan should at- tempt to deal with the same problems that face the City. Because the Plan cannot answer all questions specifically, it must be general in nature. General statements can apply to a variety of problems, and can be relevant over a long period of time. Neither should the Plan map be considered a specific document. The Plan map does not always follow lot lines, but rather serves'as a guide for a more specific land use document. FORMAT An att.empt is made in this Plan to include the reasons for goals, policies, and imple- menting measures. Both findings (current in- formation) and assumptions (suppositions about future events and trends) are included in the Plan document. The Plan attempts to proceed from the very general (goal statements) to the fairly specif- ic (implementing measures). This progression accomplishes the objective of further refining a goal by a number of statements, making it easier to understand. DEFINITION OF TERMS It is extremely important to understand the different statements in the Plan and how they affect City decisions. There are four types of Plan statements: findings, assumptions, goals, and policies. Findings illustrate either specific facts or specific attitudes of the residents of the City. They help show the background of a subject section of the Plan and in some part explain why certain goals, policies, and pro- posals were adopted. 11-3 Assumptions are suppositions about what will happen in the future. Most plans assume an extension of existing trends, but, unless this assumption is clearly stated, there is no as- surance that plan statements were based on existing trends. A goal statement is an attempt to illustrate what the City is striving for, i.e., it sets City direction. It has a direct effect on future planning as a city cannot legally be in opposition to its own goals. Programs should be directed toward achieving those goals. Policies are statements supportive of the goals, as they are to aid in achieving listed goals. They have a strong effect on a city, because city decisions and programs cannot directly contradict the policies. Policies do not have to be implemented if they require funds that are not available, since funding is dependent on Council priorities and avail- able money. When decisions are being made, and policies are directly or indirectly appli- cable to such decisions, the policies must be followed unless it can be shown and recorded that a different decision supports the goal statement better than a decision based on the applicable plan policies. PLAN MAP The purpose of the Comprehensive Plan Map is to guide development of the City to ensure the best use of financial, natural, and ener- gy resources. The map is intended as a guide for City planning, in conjunction with Plan goals and policies, until the year 2000, or until the City reaches a population of about 21,000. It is assumed that there may be changes in the map during this time, but those changes must be made with attention to the best long-term interest of the City, and must be in agreement with Plan goals and policies and State planning goals. According to State law, zoning decisions must be in agreement with the Plan map, meaning they cannot be of greater density or inten- sity than allowed on the Plan map. They may, of course, be of lesser intensity. The Comprehensive Plan map is not intended to be a zoning map. Its boundaries are ex- pected to be more flexible, with classifica- tions meant to guide uses, not to specify per- mitteel and non-permitted uses. But it is sim- ilar to a zoning map in the way it divides the City into a number of districts, each with its own distinctive color or patterns. These districts can then be incorporated into implementing ordinances (e.g., there may be examples of a variety of uses which would fit into a given area on the map). Any im- plement!ng ordinance should attempt to en- force the designated purpose of a district by incorporating development and performance standards rather than by relying solely on permitted and non-permitted uses. There should be a continuing transition from strict use zoning to a more flexible performance and impact zoning. LAND USE CLASSIFICATIONS RESIDENTIAL - GENERAL The residential' caf~gories are for the purpose of establishing land use intensities by assign- ing different densities to different areas. Densities are not intended to specify types of uses, but rather the suggested number of units per gross acre (gross acres include streets, parks and open space). Thus, hous- ing clusters are allowed and can even be en- couraged within the overall allowed density. The actual density would be established, with some specified exceptions, by implement- ing ordinances. It is possible for ordi- nances to specify densities less than that shown on the Plan, which would constitute an interim use. It is often desirable to establish density regulations that are somewhere in the mid- range of those proposed, with density bonus- es provided as an incentive for the achieve- ment of certain desirable results (e.g., hous- ing for the low-income aged, or energy-effi- cient housing). Specific densities established by regulations can also take into account topographical features which would limit development. Low-Density Residential These areas are meant to be a fairly low density--up to two units per acre--with a pre- dominance of single-family homes. The lower density designation is necessary for several reasons, which are: a) Slopes of 30-50% in areas which are well- dissected, containing gullies and drain- age areas which are steeper. b) Access problems; the inability to vent an area using existing road networks with- out creating undue traffic congestion on residential streets in other existing neigh- borhoods. c) The nece.ssity to have lower density housing developments at the urban-wood- land interface, especially to prevent for- est fires. d) Limited public facilities which cannot be improved in the foreseeable planning fu- ture. These public facilities may include paved access, sewer, and water service, as well as other necessary public facili- ties. Single-Family Residential This designation allows single-family residen- tial uses with some mixture of attached units. Lot sizes are generally sensitive to topography in that greater slopes should have lower densities. The zoning designa- tions for areas designated as Single-Family Residential generally range from 10,000 sq. ft. lots, or areas which are from 3~5 dwell- ing units per acre, to areas with a minimum lot size of 5000 sq. ft., or which are from 5-8 dwelling units per acre. The zoning shall be varied, based on adjacent develop- ment densities, topography and access to col- lector and arterial streets. Townhouse Residential This designation allows multiple-family resi- dential uses at a density of up to 12 units per acre. This designation would encourage II-5 innovative residential housing to provide low- cost, owner-occupied housing in addition to lower density rental units. Multi-Family Residential This is intended to be . a higher density area, up to 20 units per acre, for multiple- family units, single-family homes, small pro- · fessional offices, and small, home-oriented, : light retail commercial uses in the historic Railroad District. Implementing codes should not encourage the removal of structurally sound housing for new units. They could al- low, however, for older homes to be con- verted to multiPlezfamily use. High Density, Multi-Family Residential This is for a higher density residential area, with up to 3~ units per acre. The den- sities allow for large multiple-unit structures with greater consideration being given to street capacities and the quality of existing neighborhoods. High-density areas are grouped around commercial facilities, the Col- lege and the hospital to lessen the depen- dence on auto transportation for residents using those facilities. Professional offices would also be appropriate under this designa- tion. Single-Family Reserve These lands are included in the Urban Growth Boundary because they either al- ready have some City services (sewer and/or water), are in a rural area in the existing City limits, or are in an area that may be needed to be included in a future assess- ment district for needed sewer and water lines. II-6 These lands are committed to eventual ur- banization due to the small lot sizes (aver- aging less than 1 acre generally). They are a 'low priority for development in this planning period, but will become more read- ily available in a longer time frame for urban development. COMMERCIAL These areas are designed for commercial activities. They are designated on the map to encourage retail businesses to locate close to each other, with minimum traffic disruption on adjacent streets. Private off-street parking facilities are required, but joint use of facilities is encouraged. In the Downtown Overlay area, off-street parking is not required. EMPLOYMENT These areas are for a variety of office, retailing, manufacturing, storage, repair, and wholesale operations. Uses should be compatible with any adjacent residential areas, and would need to be attractive, especially when located on major streets. D e v elopment standards should be strict and emphasize appearance and mitigation of adverse effects. Performance standards will be the main regulatory mechanism in this area. INDUSTRIAL T~is area is f~)r manufacturing, processing, or related establishments that are possibly incompatible with other uses. These areas are best separated from residential areas and adjacent to railroad facilities. Appear- ance is still an important consideration in these areas. PARKS Park areas are to be controlled by the City for active or passive recreation. The City should attempt to obtain park property or the desired easements before other development is imminent. There is no requirement or Plan intention to have all such areas highly developed or maintained. Some areas could well serve community needs by remaining in a natural state. OPEN SPACE These areas are to remain in a natural state, but need not be in public ownership. Uses are allowed which do not destroy this natur alness, such a s recreation or some type of agriculture. Open spaces could be utilized for public or semi-private trails and paths, thus encouraging non- automotive travel and connecting recreation facilities. WOODLAND RESIDENTIAL These areas are located on the steep, for- ested slopes in the southern portion of the City. They are generally defined as lands which are more than 300 ft. from the closest City services, have little oppor- tunity for development, generally are great- er than ~0% slope, with areas of greater than 100% slope, although there may be some plateaux of 20%-30% slope in areas generally designated Woodland Residential. They are usually fairly well dissected by gullies and drainage areas, and some iso- lated gullies and drainage areas which are exceptionally steep (over ~0%-50% slope) may be designated Woodland Residential in localized areas. These lands are gen- erally not available for urbanization. They should be retained for their forest, environmental i water quality, erosion control and scenic value. They also provide a buffer between urban uses within the City and forested areas of the County. Develop- ments of these areas must be of low density to ensure that the value of these areas not be compromised by the residential areas. As commercial logging in these areas could also be detrimental, there should be special regulations for commercial logging. The maximum density is .5 dwelling units per acre, which may be reduced as the slope increases. PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND FACILITIES These are areas needed for existing or future public uses, such as schools, treatment plants, airport, and so forth. These areas should be programmed into the City or school system budgets and purchased prior to pro- jected development. In cases of possible combined uses (e.g., school parks), a joint acquisition should be encouraged. SOUTHERN OREGON STATE COLLEGE These areas are designed to provide for the unique needs of Southern Oregon State College. It is applied to areas that are located within the mutually approved SOSC boundary. It is implemented by the Land Use Ordinance, but the actual rezoning of the property cannot occur until it is actually owned by the College. I I-7 PLAN REVIEW This plan will be reviewed for adequacy of its policies and timeliness of the sup- porting data every two years from the date of plan adoption. Revisions of the plan text or plan map shall be subject to the complete citizen involvement process includ- ing public workshops, CPAC participation, Agency coordination, Planning Commission hearings and recommendations and Council action by ordinance.