GP City Council Okays SW City RV Park and Upholds HBSC Denial of Downtown Mural
The Grants Pass City Council on Wednesday night denied an appeal of the Urban Area Planning Commission's approval of a recreational vehicle park at the corner of SW Bridge and Leonard streets. Consolidated Land Holding, LLC, will move forward with phase one of the RV park, which will initially create a 63-space facility with a nearly 3,000 square foot utility building containing showers, laundry and a recreation room. Phase two will add 24 more spaces once a wetlands area is mitigated. The vote to uphold the Planning Commission's approval was 6-2, with Brian DeLaGrange and Rob Pell casting the dissenting votes. Later in the meeting, the land for the RV park was annexed into the City of Grants Pass. The City Council then heard a second appeal, this one from the Committee on Public Art after the Historical Building and Sites Commission denied a request for a mural designated for the alleyway that connects the Beaver Parking lot at the corner of 7th and G to SE 6th Street. The proposed mural depicted dogs in various historic apparel. The vote to overturn the HBSC's denial failed on a 5-3 tally. In other business, the Council vacated property lines within city-owned Baker Park because the installation of the new Portland Loo fell inside the setback criteria to one of the property lines. The panel then approved an annexation request of 4.69 acres at 948 NE Hillcrest Drive owned by the Mid-Rogue Foundation into the city limits. The request passed on a 5-2 vote, so the second reading will be considered on May 15th. ...Read more

Commissioners Approved Library Annexations and First Readings of Code Amendments

The Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved the annexations of seven properties into the Josephine Community Library District along with the first readings of four ordinances that would amend the Josephine County Code. The Board unanimously approved the library annexations requested by landowners following a public hearing. Six of the properties are in the Grants Pass area and one is in Williams. The library district increased in size by more than 43 acres. The Commissioners okayed the first readings of ordinances that would change the County Code, with the second readings and final approvals set for May 15th. Vice Chair Herman Baertschiger said the amendments are housekeeping items aimed at removing unneeded ordinances from the Code document. Under Requests and Comments from Citizens, the Board heard from several people who had complaints about the proposed sale of The Flying Lark to River Valley Community Church, related complaints about the lack of local economic development, support for recently fired Board Secretary Trish House and a Williams resident who is opposed to the sale of the Pipe Fork timber property. As part of the Consent Calendar, the Board appointed Tom Hilton to a four-year term on the Parks Advisory Board. ...Read more

City of GP Announces New Playground at Reinhart Volunteer Park will Open Friday

The City of Grants Pass has announced that the new playground at Reinhart Volunteer Park will open to the public on Friday at 12:30 p.m.. The new playground features a "Big Kids" structure for children 5 to 12 years old along with a "Tot Lot" structure for children 2 to 5 years old. The City worked with the State of Oregon and received additional grant funding to utilize rubber tiles for the complete playground surface. There is even a section of rubber tiles laid out in the form of a hopscotch grid. Reinhart Volunteer Park is Grants Pass' most popular park destination and this two-structure playground system was chosen after input from a community survey. Money for this project came entirely from the Tourism Lodging Tax and a grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Land, Water and Conservation Fund. ...Read more