Celebrating 15-Years of Protecting the Rogue Valley!

This month, we are celebrating our 15th anniversary of working to protect farmland, forests, and open space in the Rogue Valley by recognizing highlights to mark this milestone! Often working quietly from behind the scenes and sometimes going without notice, we bet some of these actions may surprise you. We hope you learn something new and get to know us better! Looking …

Ashland Amends Annexation Process, Granting City Broad Discretion to Bypass Safety and Accessibility Standards

Ashland, OR. As a result of Rogue Advocates’ successful May 2021 appeal of the Grand Terrace annexation, the City of Ashland was forced to acknowledge the multitude of ways in which the annexation’s approval violated the City’s laws. But rather than require that the applicant conform to Ashland’s annexation code––which mandates that newly-annexed areas provide “safe and accessible” bicycle, pedestrian and …

Rogue Advocates Wins Two Appeals at LUBA

Ashland, OR. May 14, 2021 – In response to two separate petitions filed by Rogue Advocates, a public-interest land use watchdog, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) has reversed an annexation approval by the City of Ashland and remanded a zone change approval by Jackson County. On May 12, LUBA agreed with Rogue Advocates that the City of Ashland did not follow their municipal code in approving the Grand Terrace annexation just north of the city limits on Highway 99. The next day, LUBA again ruled in favor of Rogue Advocates when they …

Rogue Advocates Appeals Ashland Annexation

Ashland, Oregon, January 13, 2021—Rogue Advocates, a non-profit land use organization based in Jackson and Josephine Counties, gave notice today of their intent to appeal the City of Ashland’s approval of an approximately 17-acre annexation near Ashland’s northern city limits. Located adjacent to a 45-mph section of Highway 99 on land currently occupied by a single home, the annexation would …

Rogue Advocates Appeals Ashland Annexation

On December 15th the City of Ashland approved the 17-acre “Grand Terrace” annexation at the northern edge of the City’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) along the west side of Highway 99. Rogue Advocates is highly-supportive of Ashland’s efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing, particularly within mixed-use, transit, bike, and pedestrian-oriented developments. Additionally, Rogue Advocates supports developments that serve to …