Public comment extended for those who have already submitted comments

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

An application for a single-family home planned for the slopes above Granite Street by Bryan and Stephanie DeBoer was neither approved nor denied Tuesday by the Ashland Planning Commission. 

One member of the public invoked an Oregon statute which requires the commission to keep the public record open for an additional period, preventing further action on the application for the 4,798-square-foot home pending further input, as explained by Community Development Director Brandon Goldman. 

The commission voted unanimously to restrict this period to “parties of record,” or those who have already commented on the application. 

As Bryan DeBoer prepared to present to the commission with Planning Consultant Amy Gunter and Architect Carlos Delgado, audience members could be heard murmuring to each other: “The question is ‘Why?’” “I hope it’s worth it to him.”

DeBoer said he and his wife of 38 years welcomed a granddaughter into the family three weeks ago. They wanted to build the home to help their children move back home to Ashland as their son-in-law prepared to finish his residency. 

DeBoer became emotional as he remembered that one of his grandfathers was well known for founding Lithia Motors in the Plaza downtown, but the other was a gardener in Lithia Park. He feels more connected to the gardener. 

“Our values are much different than what most people would believe. … We care about the park, we care about our streams, we care about everything that runs that entire ecosystem. … We want the same things as everyone else — we want to live in a  community where we all get along,”  DeBoer said. 

The home design was “sunk down” on the lot without pitched roofs so as to not impede the view from the trail and would be painted dark colors to “hopefully fade into the shadows of the trees,” he said. 

He addressed concerns that the construction of the home would mean an end to public use of a section of trail stretching through the private property and popularly known as the “ditch trail.” 

“I’m sitting here today saying that is something we will give forever, and my wife and I did it a year ago,” he said in reference to a land easement agreement underway with Ashland Parks & Recreation, as previously reported by Ashland.news. 

Construction will cause the minimum disturbance, Gunter said. She reminded the commission it had an obligation not to impede needed housing, and that, “all houses are considered needed housing.” 

The design exceeds the city’s standards in several ways, such as a requirement to disturb no more than 48% of the site. The applicant requests disturbing 19.7%. 

While the tree removal permit seemed numerous at 67 total, the “good thing about this property is that there are hundreds of trees,” Gunter said. While the slope is steep, “there’s not a lot of legal land left in Ashland for development.”

Those designing the home had experience with hillside building and this application only created one necessary variance for the driveway, she said. 

Commissioner Susan MacCracken Jain expressed she was “not convinced” by Gunter’s arguments that the application required only one variance to code. 

Commissioner John Maher asked if any consideration had been given to designing a slightly smaller home. Gunter responded the neighborhood consisted of many similar sized homes. 

Associate Planner Veronica Allen said staff determined the Deboer’s property has slopes of between 25 and 35%, but is considered buildable under law for one or two single-family homes or a duplex because the lot was created prior to the city’s hillside development ordinance.

The city of Ashland’s code prohibits building on slopes greater than 35% — with exceptions granted under conditions such as if the exception requested is the minimum necessary, according to the city of Ashland Municipal Code. 

The city’s tree management advisory committee reviewed the tree removal request and “expressed concern at the loss of so many trees.” The committee also stated there is “little they can do to influence the size of the home, but did note that pools are discouraged on hillside development,” Allen said. The application includes a “small lap pool” according to meeting materials. 

Staff recommended the approval of the application with a series of additional conditions such as “mitigation” at a rate of one-to-one for trees to be planted on site, off site, or a payment to the city, Allen said. 

David Paul Oursler said when he renovated his Strawberry Lane hillside home in the early 2000s he was denied work in areas at a gradient of 25% and “had to go through all sorts of hoops,” to complete the project. 

“The goalposts have been moved and they’ve been moved by someone who has some great assets and was able to hire some great people to tell you guys the right things,” he said. 

As owner of one of the homes along the ditch trail, he said he closed access for around 15 minutes once in order to move a beehive and this was “the closest I ever gotten to being lynched in my life.” 

While he believed this type of response would likely protect trail access, it did seem “strategic” that the easement became known at the same moment as the development with a series of requested exceptions. 

“This was supposed to be park land. The applicant has the means to make it park land… I hope he does the right thing, or I hope the community screams,” Oursler said.

Nearby neighbors took turns expressing concern that some trees slated for removal were growing across property lines and had not been properly assessed by surveyors. Others foresaw long-term construction impacts such as flooding or erosion. 

Some speakers requested the applicant donate the land to the city. Others cited decades spent walking the trail — 20 years or over 40 years — and expressed a balance of gratitude and suspicion about the easement. 

“I think I represent hundreds of people that hike that trail weekly, it is a very popular trail, it is one of the few flat trails in Ashland. … Please don’t let it slip into private property,” said Gaia Layser. 

Zahara Soleman said, while she appreciated what the DeBoer family has done for Ashland, they already built what she called a “totally inappropriate” home across from Lithia Park. The city should wait, she said, until the easement for the trail is formally approved. 

Craig Anderson, a former transportation and land use planner and member of Rogue Advocates, was the second member of the public to request the commission leave the public record open for further comment, but he did so while invoking Oregon State Law 197763. 

Goldman informed the commission that, under this law, the local government must allow additional time for evidence and testimony. But for an application of this kind, the city is legally obligated to make a decision within 120 days, though the applicant can allow for a 30-day extension. 

The commission could choose between leaving the record open to any new comment or close the record to only allow “parties of record” to participate. It could also determine the timeline for additional evidence and rebuttal to fit within the timelines dictated by the state. Commission Chair Lisa Verner said it was her preference to close the record to additional testimony and her fellow commissioners unanimously voted in support. 

Those who are already parties of record can provide additional comment to the commission until 4:30 p.m. March 18, Goldman said

In other commission business Tuesday, the findings for the annexation of property inside the city’s Urban Growth Boundary as part of an application for a 4.8 acre property at 300 Clay St. to include 37 dwelling units was unanimously approved.

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.

Related stories:

Bryan DeBoer: ‘The trail will never be closed’  (March 12, 2025)

Proposed large home could limit access to hiking area in Ashland (March 11, 2025)