Josephine County approves Rose Butte LLC plan to rezone 45-acre site for rural housing

Josephine County commissioners on March 9 approved a request from Rose Butte LLC to redesignate and rezone 45.03 acres at 8980 Monument Drive from Farm Resource (FR) to Rural Residential (RR-5). The board voted 3-0 after staff presented the application and the Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation for approval.

The county’s assistant planner, Terri Smith, summarized the application, noting the request would change the parcel’s Comprehensive Plan designation from Farm to Residential and rezone it from FR to RR-5 to allow future rural residential development on about 45 acres at 8980 Monument Drive. Smith told commissioners the file includes a staff report, exhibit packet, a Planning Commission PowerPoint, and the applicant’s materials, including septic evaluations, well logs and a Planning Commission hearing record. The Planning Commission reviewed the case on Oct. 27, 2025, and recommended approval to the Board of Commissioners.

Land-use attorney Chris Kobach spoke for the applicant and described the record, the Planning Commission recommendation and the applicant’s supporting materials. The application packet in the hearing record includes a septic-site evaluation and approvals for standard septic systems at proposed home sites, and well-log reports and a drilling-company letter documenting nearby domestic well yields. The applicant’s materials also include a planning analysis arguing that surrounding parcelization and residential development make traditional farm use impracticable on the site and that a Goal 3 exception (irrevocably committed lands) is appropriate.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant about carrying capacity, noting the county must evaluate water availability, septic suitability, access and hazards before rezoning. The staff report and exhibits address those topics: the applicant included a septic contractor’s test holes and approvals for standard septic installations and a consultant letter compiling well-log information in the neighborhood and explaining how nearby domestic wells have produced adequate flow for single-family use. The application also describes three mapped streams and a wetland feature on the property that would be protected by required riparian setbacks; no development was proposed within the streams’ setback areas.

After the record closed, Commissioner Colene Martin moved to approve the plan amendment and zoning change; Commissioner Gary Richardson seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Richardson—yes, Martin—yes, Smith—yes.

What the approval means: the county’s action allows the property owner to pursue subdivisions and housing consistent with an RR-5 designation, subject to subsequent land-division and development approvals. Those approvals will require engineering drawings, septic permits, well documentation and compliance with riparian and floodplain rules if development approaches the mapped waterways. The applicant’s packet advised that, if the property is changed from a resource designation to residential, the county will require recorded conflict-preference language as outlined in the code; that requirement is typically included in subdivision and permit approvals for lands transitioning from resource designations.

The board closed the hearing record at 9:34 a.m. and adjourned at 9:35 a.m.