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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-0228 Parks & Rec. MINAttendance: II. III. City of Ashland City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission JOINT STUDY SESSION WEDNESDAY, ICEBRUARY 28, 2001 MINUTES Mayor DeBoer, Councillors Don Laws, Cate Hartzell, Susan Reid Commissioners Rick Landt, JoAnne Eggers, Jim Lewis, Laurie MacGraw Call to Order Commission Chair Rick Landt called the Joint Study Session of the Ashland City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission to order at Noon in the Council Chambers. Overview of Topic - Sale of Perozzi Property Parks and Recreation Director Ken Mickelsen said that the joint meeting had been called to review information about the Perozzi Property, approximately 40 acres of undeveloped property owned by Southern Oregon University. SOU currently has the property up for sale in a public offering which closes March 9, 2001. He said that at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on Monday, February 26, 2001, several members of the public encouraged the Commission and City to purchase the property under the Open Space / Park Land Acquisition Program. Director Mickelsen said that the property is included on the Open Space Program map. He said that off and on since 1994 when the state declared the property "surplus", city and parks staff have met with representatives from the University to discuss possible purchase of the Perozzi Property for open space purposes. He said that during these discussions, city staff and SOU have not been able to reach an agreed upon price. Essentially, because of its fiduciary responsibility, the University felt that it needed to receive payment approximating the appraised value which was considerably higher than the amount city staff believed could reasonably be allocated from Open Space funding for the property. After public comment at the Commission's meeting on Monday night, Commissioners and Councillor Laws indicated that they would like for Councillors and Commissioners to meet jointly to have the opportunity to discuss whether or not the City of Ashland should consider making an offer on the property. Overview of the Property and Planning Items Planning Department Director John McLaughlin noted that the property was in Jackson County, outside the city limits and outside the urban growth boundary. It is zoned RR5 by the county which allows for one homesite for every five acres which means 8 homesites on the 40 acre Perozzi Property. He said that soon the state's new "urban reserve rule" will go into effect which will limit the number of homesites to 4 because 10 acre lots will be required. SOU has filed an incomplete application in order to lock in an 8 lot sub-division. Director McLaughlin indicated that there was very little likelihood that any city services would be extended to the site. Joint Study Session - Minutes Page 2 of 2 Ashland City Council and Parks & Recreation Commission 02/28/01 IV. Overview of Open Space Monies Finance Director Lee Tuneberg said that the current appraised value of the property was $895,000. He explained that right now there is not enough money in the Open Space program to purchase the property outright. He presented a graph which projected the revenue the program will derive over the next 10 years from food and beverage tax monies. The graph also illustrated that if the Perozzi Property were purchased at its currently appraised value that approximately half of that income would go toward purchase of this property. Public Comment and Discussion Speaking for SOU, Ron Bolstad and Craig Morris, indicated that because the property had originally been donated to the University they believed that it was important for the University to receive full value for the property. However, when considering the offers which come in for purchase of the property, SOU would have some leeway to consider "values" other than the monetary one when determining which offer to accept. Public comment would be heard and SOU would be able to accept the offer which was in the best interest of the University even if it was not the highest monetary offer. Several persons spoke regarding the benefits of keeping the 40 acres undeveloped. It would preserve habitat and keep the area open for both educational and recreational purposes. There was some concern expressed that if the property were developed to county standards that it could create additional erosion problems within the Roca Canyon drainage system. There was also concern expressed that if the city took on responsibility for the property that it would also be taking on the responsibility for reducing the fire hazard which now exists because of the high fuel load contained in the interior of the property. Representatives of the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy indicated that they would be very interested in working with the city to come up with creative options to help preserve the property but "they had no money." In discussion among Councillors and Commissioners, several thoughts were expressed as to various scenarios which might be used to purchase the property in part or in its entirety. City and Parks staff were directed to work cooperatively to come up ideas ranging from no action related to the sale to purchasing the entire piece and to bring these scenarios back to the Council at its May 6, 2001 meeting. If the Council chose to approve action on any of the scenarios, the Parks and Recreation Commission would have the opportunity to meet to make its decision prior to the March 9, 2001 deadline. VI. Adjournment With no further business, by consensus, Commission Chair Rick Landt adjourned the meeting. Respectfully submitted, Ann Benedict, Business Manager Ashland Parks and Recreation Department