Current standard is most stringent, property owners say it’s not suitable for current zoning
By Craig Breon for Ashland.news
A proposal to use less-stringent cleanup standards for a 20-acre downtown parcel before it can be developed comes before the Ashland Planning Commission on Tuesday, May 9.
The commission will consider a modification to conditions required for cleanup of the 20-acre Railroad Property, a precursor to final remediation of the site in preparation for future development. That development would likely include a mix of commercial, employment, and residential uses. The site is located north of the existing railroad tracks and southeast of the intersection of Hersey and Oak streets.
Plans for cleanup of the site have been developing over more than two decades, and six adjacent parcels requiring comparatively easy cleanup were created and developed for a mix of uses after city approval in 1999.
As part of the 1999 subdivision approval, which also changed the zoning from Industrial to Employment (M-1 to E-1) with a residential overlay, the city imposed a condition of approval guiding cleanup on the Railroad Property. Recorded as a deed restriction, this condition stated that the site must be remediated to a level adequate for “single residential property,” the most stringent cleanup standard. UPRR asserts that this designation has hindered cleanup and development of the site for more than two decades.
This deed restriction was first amended in 2016, attempting to reflect the current likelihood that the site will develop as a mixed-use area of commercial and office space with possible integrated residential units or separate apartment complexes. However, that 2016 revision still contained the now confusing term “single residential property,” thus leading to the current, second request for an amendment.
From 1887 to 1986, the property served as a rail yard, primarily for maintenance and repair. For some time, a combined hotel and passenger station also occupied the site. Currently, only building foundations remain. Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) acquired the site from another rail company in 1997 and use for railroad purposes ended at that time.
As a result of rail yard operations, the site contains areas contaminated by bunker oil and diesel. Two areas of high lead contamination and one area of high arsenic contamination have also been identified.
If approved, the proposed language modification before the Planning Commission would mean that the site could be cleaned up to less restrictive standards, known as “urban residential” and “occupational.” The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which oversees these standards, would have to sign off on the specific remediation measures and certify those standards have been met before development of any future parcels could occur. UPRR has said that they will move on to final cleanup of the site once the language modification is approved. UPRR would then sell the land to one or more developers for use.
The Railroad Property is under consideration for designation as a “Climate Friendly Area” under the state’s new Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities program. By the end of 2023, Ashland will propose two or more of these Climate Friendly Areas, where higher densities of mixed-use development are intended to allow for reduced vehicle travel and associated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The other site likely for this designation is the Croman Mill site in south Ashland.
The Ashland Planning Commission meeting on the Railroad Property cleanup begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, at the Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main Street. The meeting can be seen on Zoom at zoom.us/j/92345839534 and on RVTV. The packet of detailed information on the proposed modification can be found at ashland.or.us/Agendas.asp?Display=Agenda&AMID=8264. There will be an opportunity for public comment at the commission meeting. The Department of Environmental Quality will also provide opportunities for public comment as the cleanup plans are finalized and implemented.
Email Ashland resident, lawyer and former environmental law instructor Craig Breon at ckbtravel@earthlink.net.
