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Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Statement of Reasons
Page 1 of 94
BEFORE THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

FOR THE COUNTY OF JACKSON

STATE OF OREGON

IN THE MATTER OF AMENDING THE
JACKSON COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN BY TAKING REASONS GOAL
EXCEPTIONS TO GOALS 3, 11 AND 14
TO PERMIT A SAFETY REST AREA/
WELCOME CENTER AND CONNECTION
TO AN EXISTING SANITARY SEWER
LINE LOCATED WITHIN AN EXCLUSIVE
FARM USE (EFU) ZONING DISTRICT;
APPROVING A LIMITED USE PLAN MAP
AND ZONING DESIGNATION FOR THE
REST
AREA;
AND
AUTHORIZING
CONSTRUCTION OF AN ACCESS ROAD
TO SERVE THE REST AREA/WELCOME
CENTER ON LAND OWNED BY STATE
OF OREGON AND LOCATED SOUTH OF
CROWSON ROAD NEAR THE URBAN
GROWTH BOUNDARY FOR THE CITY
OF ASHLAND, IN JACKSON COUNTY,
OREGON

Oregon Department of Transportation:
Applicant

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PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT T
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
AND STATEMENT OF
REASONS

Applicants Exhibit 1


November 28,
2007


I.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Applicant Oregon Department of Transportation (hereinafter ODOT or Applicant) seeks
to relocate a Safety Rest Area/Welcome Center on land it owns that has been
incorporated into the right-of-way of Interstate 5. The new Rest Area would be located on
the east side of I-5 between Mileposts 12 and 13, approximately 500 feet south of the
City of Ashland urban growth boundary (UGB) and approximately 1.5 miles south of the
I-5 South Ashland Interchange at Milepost 14.
1


The Southern Oregon segment of Interstate 5 was constructed more than 30 years ago.
When built, it was supported by a Rest Area (the Siskiyou Rest Area) located near
Milepost 10 on the east side of Interstate 5.
2
The Siskiyou Rest Area was built on a steep

1
The terms Rest Area and Rest Area/Welcome Center are used interchangeably in this document. In all instances,
the term Rest Area means a Rest Area/Welcome Center.
2
The former rest area included a welcome center.

ODOT Siskiyou Rest Area/Welcome Center




Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Statement of Reasons
Page 2 of 94
(6%) downgrade, with a separate truck escape ramp located within 1,000 feet of the rest
area entrance ramp. The rest area entrance ramp had insufficient length for the safe and
adequate deceleration of vehicles leaving the freeway, and only marginal clear sighting
distance for vehicles leaving the rest area and entering the main traffic flow.

The Siskiyou Rest Area was closed in January 1996 because of an accident history
involving run-away trucks and the potential for serious accidents and fatalities. The
potential for serious accidents was great due to steep grades, the rest areas proximity
conflict with the runaway truck ramp, poor sighting distance for vehicles leaving the rest
area, and weather conditions that often produced snow and icy road conditions.

This application would provide a new safety rest area to replace the closed Siskiyou Rest
Area. The proposed location for this new Rest Area is about 2.5 miles north of its
original location, outside the snow zone of Siskiyou Pass and along a more level
section of Interstate 5.
3
Like the former Siskiyou Rest Area, the new Rest Area would
serve as a visitors information center for the Rogue Valley area and the State of Oregon.

The relocated Rest Area is intended to achieve the following objectives:

To provide an area for drivers to rest and avoid fatigue after having traveled through
the Siskiyou Pass, which is steep, circuitous, and at times dangerous. During certain
periods of inclement wintertime weather, when icy road conditions generally end near
the subject property, the Rest Area will also provide a place for motorists to remove
traction devices. The Rest Area is intended to serve only passenger and recreational
vehicles. Trucks will not be permitted within the Rest Area but instead will be
diverted to the Port of Entry located near Milepost 18 to the north. All trucks which
have a gross vehicle weight of 20,000 pounds or more are required to stop at the Port
of Entry to be weighed.

To provide tourist/visitor information and a venue for advertising Oregon features
and destinations to northbound Interstate 5 travelers.

The Rest Area would occupy approximately 18 acres and contain entrance and exit
ramps, automobile and RV parking areas, restroom facilities, an interpretive area, kiosks,
a Welcome Center displaying travel and tourist information, walkways, drinking
fountains, garbage receptacles, and ornamental landscaping served by an automated
underground irrigation system. ODOT proposes to connect the Rest Area to an existing
underground public sanitary sewer line already extending through the property that
ODOT built in 1975 to serve the former Siskiyou Rest Area. The Rest Area also would
connect to public water via lines located near Crowson Road.
4
A service access road east

3
The mainline grade of Interstate 5 is approximately 2.4 % approaching the Rest Area and approximately 1.0% where
the Rest Area ramp rejoins the mainline. The slope of the Rest Area itself is calculated to be approximately 2.45%.
4
On July 1, 1997, the Ashland City Council approved ODOTs request to allow the new Rest Area to connect to the
sewer and water systems of the City of Ashland. See Exhibit 29, October 24, 2000 letter from Paula C. Brown,
Ashland Public Works Director, to Debbie Timms, ODOT Project Leader.

ODOT Siskiyou Rest Area/Welcome Center




Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Statement of Reasons
Page 3 of 94
of Interstate 5 will provide access to the Rest Area for service vehicles, ODOT
maintenance personnel and Welcome Center staff via a connection to Crowson Road.

Code of Federal Regulations
, Section 752.5 (Safety Rest Areas) provides that in selecting
a rest area site, the scenic quality, accessibility, adaptability and availability of utilities
are the most important determinants. The proposed site has all of these characteristics.
Code of Federal Regulations
: Title 23, Section 752.7 Information Centers and Systems,
allows the State to establish information centers at safety rest areas for the purpose of
providing the traveling public with additional information regarding services and places
of interest. The State has some flexibility in the construction and operation of the center,
as it may construct and operate the center itself, construct the facility for a leased operator
or lease both the construction and operation of the center to another entity. The AASHTO
Report of Commercialization on Interstate Highway Rest Area
, July 1990
(Recommendation 10, State Operated Welcome Center) clarifies that each state should be
permitted to establish tourism or welcome center operations within the Travel Services
Rest Area.

A temporary Welcome Center is currently located at the Ashland Ranger District on
Washington Street in the City of Ashland. An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 visitors visit
this Welcome Center each year to obtain information about state and local attractions.
According to ODOT and Travel Oregon, an estimated 1.5-2 million people will visit the
Rest Area every year. See Exhibits 18, 28. Should 50% of these visitors visit the
Welcome Center, this would result in a more than 12-fold increase in annual visitations
over current numbers and would provide substantial increased benefit to the state and
local tourism industry.
5


Relocating the Rest Area/Welcome Center on land zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU)
requires goal exceptions pursuant to ORS 215.283(3) and the Land Conservation and
Development Commissions Transportation Planning Rule, OAR 660, Division 12.
Because a Rest Area/Welcome Center is a transportation facility, the applicable exception
standards are those set out in OAR 660-012-0070.
6
A Goal exception might also be
needed to connect the Rest Area to an existing