A $28 million residential complex for former drug addicts who are firmly on the road to recovery could start taking shape next year following an Oregon land board's rejection Friday of an appeal by east Medford neighbors.
The Land Use Board of Appeals ruled a property owner, Louis Duenweg, failed to file the appeal in a timely manner against the city of Medford for the OnTrack Inc. proposal. The appeal was filed on April 10, about four months after controversy erupted over the proposed residential community, LUBA determined.
"There is nothing stopping us from continuing," said Rita Sullivan, director of OnTrack. "It was a strong LUBA decision."
Opponents of the project vowed to appeal the ruling Tuesday, but Sullivan said she still expects her agency will go forward with the project and line up the financing by next year to start construction in April.
OnTrack proposes a 6-acre development, known as Generations, which would have 104,281 square feet of buildings, including 81 dwellings, commercial space and a 5,000-square-foot day-care center. The development would include 19 homes for families with one or more members who had gone through treatment for substance abuse and who had a proven record of social responsibility. It would be located on Harbrooke Street just east of North Phoenix Road.
The other residents would be seniors who would act as mentors, providing a 3-to-1 ratio of mentors to former patients. In addition, there would be counselors on the site.
Duenweg was chosen to represent property owners because he lives in Etna, Calif., and first learned of OnTrack's plans on March 14. Under Oregon law, an appeal could be warranted if a property owner finds out about a land-use decision late in the process.
"We're going to keep on fighting it," said Duenweg. "We're just beginning."
Duenweg said he bought property near the proposed development about six months before neighbors were aware of the project. He intends to build a house on the property.
He's worried that his property values will be affected and that crime will spill over from the project. He said he's scrimped and saved to buy the property and will have to build the house on it.
"What choice have I got now?" he asked.
In its decision, LUBA stated that even if Duenweg chose to be absent from the city and was unaware of the project for so long, that wouldn't be sufficient reason to uphold an appeal, particularly because the project and controversy were well-publicized.
Generations will offer housing primarily to women who have been free of drugs for at least two years. Most of these women will be joined by at least one or two of their children.
Melissa Bauer, a White City mother with two children, is someone who would likely qualify to live at Generations.
Despite her previous methamphetamine abuse, the 33-year-old said there would be so many safeguards and so much accountability in the Generations program that neighbors shouldn't be alarmed.
"I can't see it being a danger," she said.
Almost two years clean, Bauer said it is easy for her and other recovering addicts to pick out someone who is using.
With seniors, counselors and other OnTrack employees on site, the residential complex would be well-supervised, said Bauer.
She now works two jobs to manage her bills. She said she is not proud of her past, having used methamphetamine while pregnant with a daughter who's now 5. She said her daughter doesn't appear to have developmental problems.
"What I did was horrible," she said. "I devastated my whole family."
Sullivan said OnTrack has a history of running its recovery centers without problems, a statement supported by arrest records compiled by the Medford Police Department.
She said OnTrack chose the Generations site because it was close to facilities such as a hospital and shopping center that could be used by both the seniors and clients. She said she expects to have bus service in the future.
Neighbors already have paid a $15,000 retainer to hire Medford attorney Mark Bartholomew as they vow to continue fighting the project.
"This isn't over," said Stephanie Reed of the Southeast Medford Citizens Organization. "I assume we will be appealing it."
She said OnTrack and the city didn't present the development in an honest and forthright way. She said neighbors should have been notified about the project beyond just the 200-foot radius. It was also not represented as a place that would house people who have gone through addiction-recovery programs, Reed said. LUBA noted in its decision that Medford only is required to send notification to property owners who are within 100 feet of a proposed development.
Reed said, "This is an experimental program, combining two groups of people that have never been combined before."
Neighbors don't believe there are enough safeguards and scrutiny of a project that could have profound risks for her neighborhood.
"This project is ill-conceived," Reed said. "The scale of it is too grandiose."
Reed said she thinks the project has many issues and her group will pursue many avenues to put a stop to it.
"We don't intend to just step aside and say, 'oh well,' " she said.
Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.
