Bryan Deboer was unequivocal that land his family owns and intends to build on on a wooded hillside west of Lithia Park will be protected for public access, not cut off as stated in some rumors circulated on social media warning of impending loss of access to a popular trail.

In a phone call to Ashland.news Tuesday, Deboer said, “the trail will never be closed.” Instead, the family has been working with Ashland Parks & Recreation to create an easement on a section of the “ditch trail” along the Ashland Canal where it runs between Granite Street and Strawberry Lane since April of last year.

Reached by email Tuesday, Ashland Parks & Recreation Director Rocky Houston confirmed the easement is in process and the land owned by DeBoer was previously identified on the Ashland Parks, Trails & Open Space Map released last year.

“The parcel in question is #11 on our Parks, Trails and Open Space map as an identified property of interest by the Parks and Recreation Department. … We are working on securing an easement that would connect the trail through this tax lot,” Houston wrote.

In a text message, APRC Commissioner Rick Landt said that, while the lot is on the open space plan, that was “only on to ensure the ditch trail (along the Ashland Canal) would remain open. The intent was not to own the property long-term.”

DeBoer, Landt added, “immediately and enthusiastically” offered to provide the easement when contacted by Landt in 2024.

A map on the Ashlandtrails.com website additionally shows a red dotted line across the lot, indicated in the map’s legend as a proposed trail.

“As is our standard practice, we do not discuss property transactions publicly until they are formally presented to City Council. Over the past year, we have been collaborating with the property owner, and we are now preparing to present the matter to City Council for their consideration,” Houston wrote.

Ashland Parks & Recreation Commissioner Rick Landt said while the land was listed on the map, the easement to secure access to the trail was “what we wanted.” Landt said that while he normally follows the practice of APRC to avoid publicizing property transactions too soon, he would make an exception in this case.

“Information about obtaining an easement for the ditch trail that runs through Bryan DeBoer’s property has already been disclosed to some community members. Thus I am comfortable sharing with the public that Mr. DeBoer has worked collaboratively and in good faith with myself and Parks and Recreation Department staff to provide an easement to Parks and the City. The easement agreement should be finalized soon,” he said.

The DeBoer’s application for the development of a single-family home at 231 Granite St. required exceptions to the city of Ashland’s code due to the steepness of the slope in the area and tree removals to prepare for construction, resulting in the development’s inclusion in the March 11, Ashland Planning Commission meeting, as previously reported by Ashland.news. 

The housing project became the topic of conversation on social media after flyers warning of threats to public access were posted on trees near the trail, then posted and circulated on Ashland Facebook groups.

Torsten Heycke, President of the Ashland Woodlands & Trails Association, responded to a Facebook message from Ashland.news Tuesday affirming their cooperation with DeBoer in making the trail a reality and that the posters were incorrect.

“AWTA’s interest is in preserving access along the ditch trail and Bryan has been and continues to be in support of this. … Some misleading flyers were posted in the area,” Heycke wrote.

Reading from emails and relating the chain of events over the phone, DeBoer said he was contacted by Landt in April of 2024. Ashland Parks had been attempting to obtain an easement on the land but had not been successful in working with the previous property owner.

Heycke said he was also rebuffed on “multiple attempts” to gain the easement over a period of roughly 10 years.

“I had tried several times to obtain a recreational easement from the previous owners of the property in question, but the owners were not interested,” he said.

Landt confirmed he was the first to contact DeBoer who he described as “magnanimous and community minded” in working on this easement.

DeBoer said he offered the easement free of charge in conversations with Landt and subsequent conversations with previous APRC Director Leslie Eldridge. It was primarily the trail that attracted the family to purchase the lot in the first place. As an Ashland native, a runner and a cyclist, he said, love for the natural area runs as deep as familiarity.

“I know these trails like the back of my hand. … The park to me, the trails in the park and the watershed, are probably as important to me as anyone,” he said.

The design of the 3,700-square-foot home includes an additional large basement area, bringing it to a total size of 4,798 square feet, according to DeBoer and a project description submitted by DeBoer’s architect in the planning commission meeting materials. 

The home was designed without “pitched” roofs to lower the lines of the structure and thereby minimize disruptions to the view, Deboer said. It will be painted “dark natural colors” to allow the home to “blend into the shadows of the trees,” he said. The home will also be screened with terraced landscaping. The structure was designed to be built with the closest access to the road and least possible disturbance to the area, he said.

Deboer said he and his wife, Stephanie, also worked with a landscape architect and Ashland Fire & Rescue to ensure the development would lead to fewer tree removals and that adequate measures would be taken to mitigate wildfire risk.

The staff report included in the meeting materials for the March 11 meeting details 67 trees slated for removal to make space for the development. Eight trees are dead while four are listed as “significant” for their trunk diameter.

The city’s Tree Management Advisory Committee reviewed the request for removal at their March 6 meeting, the report said. The city of Ashland does not have this committee listed on its committee page, but the final recommendation on page 10 of the Planning Commission’s staff report is approval of the development.

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.