GP City Council Directs Staff to Prepare Changes to Current Land Use Public Noticing
In a split decision, the Grants Pass City Council has directed city staff to prepare changes to land use public noticing. The decision came in a 4-3 vote during Monday's workshop session, with Councilor Dwight Faszer, II, absent. Councilor Brian DeLaGrange made the motion to direct staff to increase noticing from 100 feet to 200 feet from subject properties in Type 3 and Type 4 land use decisions, hold neighborhood meetings for Type 4 decisions, use on-site property postings and social media to notify affected parties, and notify both property owners and renters within the new noticing radius. The noticing changes will first be reviewed by the Urban Area Planning Commission before returning to Council. The vote came after a presentation from Community Development Director Brad Clark who said that state law sets distances for various types of proposals such as Legislative, Quasi-Judicial and Ministerial. He said a comparison of local cities shows the current 100-foot noticing in Grants Pass is less than the 200 feet utilized in Medford and Ashland and the 250 feet used in Central Point. According to Clark, enlarging the noticing radius will increase public awareness -- but it will also increase the potential for appeals to land use decisions.
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Oregon Heritage Commission Awards Grants to Two Jackson County Museum Projects
The Oregon Heritage Commission has awarded more than $75,000 in grants to 15 museums throughout the state as part of the Oregon Museum Grant Program -- including two museums in Jackson County. The grants will help fund a variety of projects including collection preservation, interpretation and heritage tourism. Award amounts ranged from $1,052 to $8,000. Locally funded projects include providing a shared presentation system housed at the Gold Hill Historical Society Museum including a speakers' bureau and equipment for five participating museums in Jackson County. Grant money is also being provided to the Southern Oregon Historical Society in Jackson County to scan and associate with the catalog records of about 50% of the Deeds of Gift collection. The Museum Grant Program is offered annually by the Oregon Heritage Commission, which is part of the Oregon Heritage program at the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The grant program began in 1965 when only 24 organizations were eligible for the program. It is funded by ORPD lottery dollars.
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GP Residents Encouraged to Support Police & Firefighters in Red Cross Blood Drive
Grants Pass residents are being called upon to support their police officers and firefighters in donating blood at tomorrow's "Battle of the Badges." Please join the Grants Pass Police Department and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue in supporting the American Red Cross by donating blood in the GPPD Training Room at 726 NE 7th Street on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Battle of the Badges is a friendly competition between the agencies. You can show your support for either the police or fire departments by telling Red Cross staff which agency you are donating blood on behalf of. Of course, both GPPD and GP Fire & Rescue would appreciate your support. But the most important thing is to donate blood and blood products to the Red Cross as it prepares for the summer season. You can make an appointment through the Red Cross Blood Donor App, by calling 1-(800)-RED-CROSS or by visiting "RedCrossBlood.org" where you can simply enter "GrantsPassFireRescue" to schedule your appointment.
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