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City approves land partition and hears about library updates and more

The Cave Junction City Council held their monthly meeting March 18 at City Hall. While the meeting itself was relatively short, the council was able to hear some very important updates regarding the library renovation project. A land partition request was also approved after a few small details were ironed out.
Mayor Meadow Martell led the meeting, with councilors Jean Ann Miles and Jesse Dugas also being present. Councilors Ethan Lane and Tina Casey-Jones were excused for the evening.
Although Public Works Director Alex Ponder was not physically present, the packet of information that he provided the council with served as a sufficient update on behalf of his department. The recent sunshine allowed the SDC crew to install a drainage system beneath the playground of Jubilee Park. This is an essential part of preparing the playground for the three new pieces of playground equipment that the crew hoped to install by the end of the week. The final concrete sections of the coming splash pad were also poured, with the department still waiting for the features to be delivered by the manufacturer. There is also a leak in the roof of City Hall that the department is working on addressing.
Teresa Stover also updated the council on the library renovation project that has been ongoing for some time. Stover explained that the preconstruction meeting had been held earlier that day, and that the official release of funds for construction was estimated to be released by Friday, March 22. Construction on the new library could begin as early as Monday, March 25. While the contractor has given an estimated date of completion of August, Stover explained to the council that those spearheading these efforts “would just be happy if we can finish it by October.”
The meeting was briefly paused for a public hearing regarding a land partition application that had been submitted to the city on behalf of the owners of the lot at 600 Schumacher Street. The land had been previously partitioned in 2021, with a single family home on one of the lots being under construction. The petitioners indicated that they wanted to split the property into three large lots so that three homes could eventually be built.
Rogue Valley Council of Governments Contract Planner Rowan Fairfield spoke on behalf of the city, explaining to the council that due to the combined size of the lots, staff recommended that a future development plan be put in place. Sam Bueller, speaking on behalf of the petitioners, explained that the property owners had no plans to develop the lots beyond building the three planned homes. Fairfield then clarified that the petitioners would not need to develop the land beyond the plans that they had made themselves, but if somebody else were to purchase the land down the line, it was important not to hinder any potential future development.
There was also a brief discussion surrounding whether the land had an appropriate amount of fire hydrants in the vicinity. Bueller was able to confirm to the council that yes, there was a fire hydrant on his more recent maps of the property that was not on the city’s older maps.
The motion to approve the land partition was passed unanimously, under the condition that the property owners present the city with a future development plan to mitigate the previously mentioned concerns.