Americans For Prosperity in Josephine County

Ockenden Land Use Hearing Re-Opened

Posted by AFP JoCo on August 5, 2008

On Monday, August 4, a number of AFP members attended a public hearing on whether to reopen the Ockenden Land Use Hearing.

The Ockendens own ~158 acres of land on Hugo Rd, the main thoroughfare between Merlin and Hugo. The land was originally zoned Rural Residential with a 5-acre minimum lot size (RR-5). In 1985, the land was arbitrarily rezoned to Woodlot Resource, purposed for Forestry and Agriculture, with no on-site investigation of the suitability of the land for that purpose. Subsequent investigations by qualified experts, including soil engineers, geologists, and surveyors, have determined that the land is not suitable for forestry or agriculture, but is suitable for rural residential development, as it was originally zoned. The expert opinions are borne out by the fact that the neighboring properties, having the same characteristics, have been developed under RR-5 and RR-2.5 zoning with no ill effects.

The Board of County Commissioners and Land Use Planning Commission already ruled, at a previous hearing, that the WR zoning was a misclassification, and that the only purpose for which the land can be profitably used is rural residential development. Ordinarily, under such a circumstance, the land would have reverted to its prior zoning classification. But, in this case, there was significant political opposition from local land use activists, whose leader happens to live on the same road as the Ockendens’ property.

This battle has been going on for 17 years. At the last land use hearing, the BoCC tried to reach a compromise by inventing a new ad hoc zoning classification of RR-15, arbitrarily restricting the minimum lot size to 15 acres, so that no more than 10 homes could be developed on the property. This made the land use activists happy, but significantly reduced the value of the Ockenden’s land, in which they had invested 17 years and most of their financial resources in hiring land use consultants and qualified experts to provide evidence to satisfy the ever-expanding burden of proof demanded by the land use activists.

None of the credentialed experts found any justification for restricting the capacity of this parcel to 15 acres per lot. All of the expert opinions concur that the carrying capacity of this land is consistent with RR-5 zoning. Those who oppose the rezoning have presented no hard evidence or expert opinions to substantiate their claims yet, for 17 years, they have been allowed to employ their customary tactics of dragging out the process until their victim can no longer afford to continue fighting them.

The purpose of the hearing on Monday was to petition the BoCC to re-open the land use hearing, given new evidence from the county surveryor and the the county road department engineer to address the concerns upon which the BoCC based the 15-acre restriction. The land use activists opposed re-opening the hearing. A number of AFP JoCo members spoke in support of allowing the new evidence to be heard. The leader of the land use activist was not able to attend, having been arrested over the weekend for violating a restraining order, unrelated to this case.

The BoCC ruled in favor of re-opening the hearing. The date for hearing the new evidence will be October 29, 2008. Please attend to support the Ockendens in their struggle for justice and the preservation of private property rights in Josephine County.

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Jack Swift & Jeff Kropf on KAJO

Posted by AFP JoCo on July 29, 2008

On July 22, Jeff Kropf and Jack Swift were interviewed by news director Scott Jorgensen on KAJO radio. Jeff Kropf is the Director of the Oregon chapter of Americans for Prosperity, and Jack Swift heads up the Josephine County sub-chapter.

If you missed the broadcast, click here to listen to a recording of the interview.

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Welcome to the Josephine County subchapter of Americans for Prosperity

Posted by AFP JoCo on July 9, 2008

The Josephine County sub-chapter of Americans for Prosperity was organized by Josephine County resident, Jack Swift, and inaugurated on June 9, 2008, with a visit by Jeff Kropf, Director of the Oregon chapter of AFP, and Matt Evans, Associate Director. The initial meeting was attended by about two dozen people. Jeff and Matt presented a slide show on what Americans for Prosperity is about, why it exists, and some of its recent accomplishments in national and regional politics. Jack discussed the key issues we face locally, and the benefits of aligning with a national organization of citizens throughout the country with the same goals and concerns that we have.

The Josephine County sub-chapter has been holding regular weekly meetings since then, and has developed a set of goals for our local sub-chapter and an action plan for accomplishing them. (See About AFP JoCo for more information.) If you’re interested in helping to limit local government, promote fiscal responsibility in our county, and protect the rights and interests of private citizens, we welcome you to join us.

We meet on Thursdays, at 7:00 PM, at the Black Forest Restaurant (820 NE E St, Grants Pass).

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