Timber Products borders part of the proposed site of the Northgate commercial development (foreground), near the intersection of Highway 238 and Central Avenue in Medford. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell)
A proposed 84-acre, $220 million commercial-industrial development at the old Medco site near the Rogue Valley Mall has neighbors concerned that open-air retail shops aren't suitable for the dusty, noisy neighborhood.
Timber Products is asking the city to deny a zoning change application for Northgate Centre and to slow down on adopting a report that calls for more commercial and less industrial land in the city.
Erik Vos, business analyst for Timber Products, said the company is worried boutique-store shoppers aren't going to appreciate the noise and dust generated by the heavy industry mills and 100 semi-trucks a stone's throw away on a daily basis.
"These are not compatible uses," he said. "That property is a key industrial site and should stay industrial. We're opposed to rezoning of that property."
its zoning from industrial to primarily commercial and retail. A portion will be kept for light industry.
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"Our feeling is there needs to be more public awareness and debate ... before the city adopts it," Vos said. "What's the rush on this?"
Planning Director Rob Scott said adopting the Hovee report is more a technicality than a revolutionary change.
"We've been utilizing the Hovee report ever since we got it (in 2003)," he said.
But Vos thinks city officials need to pull it apart and understand its implications.
"The adoption seems to be flying through," said Vos. "This is going to shape land-use policies in the next 10 to 20 years."
Of particular concern, he said, is the report's conclusion that Medford needs to add 300 additional acres of commercial-zoned land and is oversupplied with industrial-zoned land by 440 acres. He said given that manufacturing jobs pay more than retail jobs, changing industrial land to commercial will create more lower-wage jobs in the city. And it may force industries to relocate, something Timber Products can't afford.
Mike Montero, Northgate consultant and chairman of the Rogue Valley Area Commission on Transportation, said he didn't want to say whether Timber Products had a legitimate worry.
"They, like anyone else, would be entitled to express their concerns," he said.
But he said a comparable situation worked out once before.
"Medite operated a similar facility right across from the Rogue Valley Mall," he said.
Jenny Ulum, public relations consultant for Timber Products, said the situation is different because the mall is enclosed and the Northgate plan calls for pedestrian-friendly, open-air plazas. Vos said if the situation were reversed, the city would never approve a new mill going in next to an existing, Italian-themed commercial/retail development.
Vos added there was distance between Medite and the mall, but Northgate is proposed to be very close to the mill with no buffer.
Plans for Northgate Centre, an 84-acre development with shopping, office space and manufacturing, will be presented to the Medford Planning Commission Oct. 18. The Northgate property is owned by Steve Morgan and Russ Dale, local developers, and Guy Farthing, a San Francisco investor.
Developers and planners say the complex will create a shopping and employment district that will provide 1,800 jobs and boost Medford's economy. The Northgate consolidated application is asking for the majority of the industrial-zoned land to be rezoned as commercial, as well as overall approval of the plan.
Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com.
MILL HISTORY:
Founded in 1918 in Medford as Tomlin Box Co., Timber Products is now based in Springfield with its southwestern regional headquarters, particle-board plant and plywood mill in Medford. Joseph Gonyea II is the chief executive officer and Joseph Gonyea III is the chief operating officer.
The 150-acre Medford mill property is located along Sage Road, bisected by Highway 238.
The Medford mills employ 350 people, and average pay with benefits is $29 per hour. Sierra Pine, located adjacent to Timber Products, is partially owned by the Gonyeas.
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