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Council approves land annexation and expands code to allow temporary mobile commercial vendors
Summary
At its Feb. 5 meeting the Medford City Council approved an annexation ordinance for two tax lots and adopted a code amendment to permit miscellaneous temporary mobile vendors in commercial/industrial zones; the council also set a hearing date for a larger annexation request.
The Medford City Council took three formal actions related to annexation and land-use regulation at its Feb. 5 meeting.
Annexation: Council Bill 2025-11 — Annexation approved The council approved Council Bill 2025-11, an ordinance annexing two contiguous tax lots totaling approximately 0.75 acres located northwest of the Stewart Avenue and Losier Lane intersection (addresses 1092 and 1108 Losier Lane). The Jackson County zoning designation (RR 2.5) will change to the city's SFR-00 single-family residential (1 dwelling unit per existing lot) holding zone; the properties will be removed from Rural Fire Protection District No. 2 and added to the city’s fire service area. Staff said the lots are inside the urban growth boundary, contiguous to city limits, and that the owners consented to annexation. The council voted 8–0 to approve the ordinance.
Setting public hearing for larger annexation: Council Bill 2025-09 — Hearing date set Council Bill 2025-09, a resolution setting a public hearing date and initiating annexation for three parcels totaling about 24.65 acres north of South Stage Road and east of Reid Lane, was approved by the council (8–0) and the hearing was scheduled. The applicant later requested a continuance for the annexation hearing; the council continued that public-hearing item to the Feb. 19 meeting.
Code amendment: Council Bill 2025-12 — Miscellaneous temporary mobile vendors The council adopted an ordinance amending municipal code sections to add a defined category for “miscellaneous temporary mobile vendors” and a related “mobile contractor service” definition. The amendment allows temporary mobile vendors to operate on private property in permitted commercial and industrial zones (subject to business license and site-plan review, property owner consent, restroom access, parking and setback standards) and clarifies time-and-manner rules (typical operating window drafted as 6 a.m.–10 p.m.; vendors must vacate the site when not open). The ordinance specifically prohibits the sale of controlled substances from such mobile operations. The Planning Commission recommended approval and staff incorporated minor edits requested by councilors.
On the ordinance vote, the council approved the mobile-vendor code change 7–1; Councilor John Quinn cast the lone dissenting vote. Councilors discussed potential edge cases (for example, location-sensitive businesses and uses that are conditional-use only) and staff said mobile contractor services conducted at residences (for example dog groomers or carpet cleaners) would be treated differently and not be cited when operating on a customer’s property for a limited time.
Ending: Staff will implement the code change through the business license process and will continue to refine mobile-food-truck rules separately; staff and councilors asked planning to monitor outcomes and bring any needed adjustments back to council.
