Roseburg staff preview UGB expansion to build three miles of Sunshine Park trails

Roseburg City parks staff on Nov. 4 asked the Planning Commission to review a five-part land-use package to expand the city's urban growth boundary (UGB) and annex property at Sunshine Park so the city can build roughly three miles of new nonmotorized trails.

Parks Department staff told the commission the application bundles five linked actions: an expanded UGB, annexation of the city-owned land, a comprehensive plan map amendment, a zone change to public reserve, and an amendment to the urban growth management agreement. The package is contingent and will move through the planning commission to city council and through the county process to the county board, with public hearings tentatively scheduled for Dec. 2, when testimony and evidence may be submitted.

Staff said the city acquired the property in 1999 and portions of the site currently lie outside the city limits and UGB. The city previously secured a conditional-use approval permitting many existing park amenities; a later county board denial and a remand from the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) required the city to tighten findings. To narrow the UGB review criteria, the consultant and staff proposed reducing the application area to stay under 50 acres (staff noted about 53 acres sit outside the UGB under the existing boundary).

"We received $150,000 in grant funding in order to be able to construct these trails," Parks Department staff said, citing a Recreational Trails Program award and the Oregon Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) priorities as support for soft-surface, close-to-home trails. Staff said the grant covers construction only and does not provide for ongoing maintenance.

Design work has produced several iterations. A professional trail builder (identified in materials as Ptarmigan Trails) produced a concept the city described as roughly three miles of mostly cross-country dirt trails with a potential "flow" trail, a skills area or pump track and an ADA-accessible universal trail. Staff said final design choices — for example whether a pump track would be dirt or paved — remain undecided.

Historic-resources input from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) prompted design changes. "There shouldn't be any trail within this yellow boxed area, and that's within 150 feet from the cemetery," staff said, and added that no machine work should occur within a larger 300-foot zone, where hand tools would be required. Staff subsequently described a third iteration that tightened corners and added a 100-foot buffer from private property lines in sensitive areas to address neighbor concerns.

Staff reported outreach to several agencies. Conversations with ODOT indicated no intersection improvements are required at the site entrance on Highway 138. Fire agencies, including Central Douglas Fire Rescue, told staff that trails and cleared corridors could improve wildfire response by creating breaks and access for equipment. Staff also said the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife did not identify regulated wildlife habitat on the property.

Neighbors have raised concerns about trail proximity, potential transient or homeless activity and fire risk. Staff said they have mailed notices and scheduled a meeting with adjacent property owners to discuss those concerns. To clarify boundaries, staff said recent perimeter field fencing was installed and that the city obtained an emergency-vehicle access easement across a neighbor's driveway for gated emergency access only.

On construction and maintenance, staff said the parks division plans to issue an RFP to hire a professional trail builder and that volunteers and local mountain-biking groups have offered help for build and upkeep. "We want to have these professionally built," staff said, noting a professional build would aim to minimize long-term maintenance and properly address drainage.

The commission did not take formal action on the project at the work study; the session was framed as an informational review ahead of formal hearings. Commissioners were asked to focus their review on Chapter 2 (UGB criteria) and Chapter 3 (legislative amendment procedures) in the application packet. The next joint public hearings before the city and county planning bodies are tentatively scheduled for Dec. 2.

Votes at a glance: The only formal vote taken during the Nov. 4 session was a procedural motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting; commissioners voted aloud (ayes recorded) and the motion carried.