County continues appeal over road‑widening requirement for McMahon family partition

The Josephine County Board of County Commissioners continued an appeal on April 13 after hearing arguments over whether the county can require a property owner to widen North Applegate Road as a condition of a three‑lot family partition.

The appeal concerns a Planning Director decision issued Feb. 5, 2026, denying a request by the McMahon Trust to remove conditions from a previously approved tentative partition. The trust asked the board to strike conditions from the January 2025 approval that required redesign and reconstruction of the county frontage to meet Rural Major Collector standards, including road plans, profiles and slope easements. The application materials describe the request as a “Request for an Appeal of the Planning Director's Decision to deny a Site Plan Review for a Modification of the county road standards conditioned by Public Works.”

Why it matters: Public Works says the roadway is functionally obsolete and the conditions are intended to protect safety and mobility on a Rural Major Collector; the applicant argues those improvements would be infeasible, disproportionate and unrelated to the immediate impacts of a small, three‑lot partition.

What the applicant said: Engineer Justin Gerlitz, representing the McMahon Trust, told the board the partition is intended to divide acreage among family members and not to enable large‑scale development. Gerlitz cited physical constraints — steep slopes on the property, an irrigation canal that crosses the hillside immediately above the road, houses and septic infrastructure close to the right‑of‑way — and a contractor estimate that the applicant submitted showing a roadway reconstruction cost in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gerlitz and supporting materials argued the project would add little traffic and that the scope and cost of the roadwork are not proportional to the partition’s immediate impacts.

The applicant’s attorney, Zach Mittge, pressed a legal argument that Public Works’ conditions were keyed to the parcel’s “potential” future subdivision rather than the present proposal, and are therefore disproportionate. The applicant’s exhibit packet included a contractor estimate, traffic counts and a legal memorandum supporting the proportionality argument.

What Public Works said: County Engineer Neil Burgess told the board Public Works applied the conditions to ensure compliance with county road standards and to address safety. He said N. Applegate Road is “functionally obsolete” — travel lanes and shoulders do not meet current width standards — and that standards are set with an eye to long‑term infrastructure needs as well as the potential for further division of the parent parcel. Burgess said the department is open to design modifications in some cases but said no such alternative that would avoid frontage improvements had been submitted for this partition.

What happened procedurally: The Board heard staff and both parties in a de novo evidentiary appeal. Planning's staff report described the application history: the original tentative partition approval on Jan. 6, 2025; a modification application filed Oct. 17, 2025; the Planning Director’s Feb. 5 denial; and written Public Works comments submitted to the record. After testimony, rebuttal and surrebuttal, the board closed the record at 10:00 a.m. The Board then entered deliberations and voted to continue the appeal to April 27, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Colene Martin made the motion to continue; Chair Ron Smith seconded. Commissioner Gary Richardson was absent. The roll call vote was Martin — yes; Smith — yes; Richardson — absent. Motion carried 2–0.

Evidence and key details: The applicant’s package included a schematic contractor estimate (Robco, Inc.) listing a bid total of $290,030 for widening and related work; recent traffic counts submitted by the applicant show average daily traffic counts in the 800–900 vehicle range for nearby segments of N. Applegate Road; the applicant cited an older (2011) traffic impact study showing the partition would add only a small number of peak‑hour trips. Public Works relied on its analysis of the road classification and on county design standards.

Next steps: The board will reconvene on April 27, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. for additional hearing or deliberation as scheduled. Neither party requested final action on April 13; the continuance preserves both sides’ opportunity to supplement the record.

Reporting note: This account is based on the administrative record and public testimony at the April 13, 2026 Josephine County Board of Commissioners land‑use hearing and the exhibits entered into the hearing record.