CC Minutes - 08/04/99 JEO - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hauser recommended that the City apply the criteria to sites already designated and see how those sites fared before the elected officials adopted them. Mary O'Brien, 3525 Gilham Road, addressed her concerns regarding protection criterion 1. She objected to the provision in the criterion that indicated it was not met if only a small number of plants were found on a isolated site with limited suitable habitat. Ms. O'Brien referred to a study by Klaus Richter and Amanda Azous of King County Planning in Bellevue, which was based on an examination of wetlands sites around Seattle. The study indicated the size of a wetland and its isolation from other wetland sites did not matter in terms of its suitability for amphibians. She called for the elimination of the second sentence in the criterion, which she believed canceled the impact of the first sentence and would result in the elimination of habitat for rare and endangered species. Ms. O'Brien said the development standard was bad public policy because it eliminated all environmental criteria if a development could obtain a fill permit from the regulatory agencies. She said the development standard was a means of avoiding the City's processes. Ms. O'Brien called for reexamination of protection criterion 4 regarding surface water connections. She questioned the supplemental information wetland hydrology, and referred to the submittal of hydrologist John Corliss, who maintained that the information was not scientifically accurate. Regarding Ms. O'Brien's remarks regarding protection criterion 4, Mr. Kelly suggested that the criterion would mean that sites adjacent to protected wetlands would be protected as well to ensure that flow from the site did not contaminate the already protected site. Regarding surface connections, Mr. Kelly pointed out that they were relatively easy to measure. He did not know how one would determine if the criterion were satisfied if it were expanded to include subsurface flow. He asked Ms. O'Brien for assistance in how to determine that subsurface connection without including all of west Eugene. Ms. O'Brien indicated she would follow-up on Mr. Kelly's question. Ruth Duemler, 1745 Fir Crest Drive, represented the League of Women Voters of Lane County. She said that the league urged the elected officials to adopt the amendments without further delay. However, Ms. Duemler indicated her belief Ms. O'Brien's concerns should be followed up upon. Ms. Duemler noted the rapid pace at which wetlands were being lost and referred the elected officials to an article from The Register-Guard she had distributed earlier, which described the rate of loss in the Willamette Valley. She stressed the importance of interconnectedness to the success of wetlands. Ms. Duemler thanked those involved in working to preserve wetlands in west Eugene. Terry Connelly, 1401 Willamette Street, represented the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. He noted the chamber's long-time support for the West Eugene Wetlands Plan and the goals it contained. He said the chamber was seeking further information from the City about the number of newly identified wetlands sites the proposed criteria and standards would apply to. Mr. Connelly said the chamber believed the information was needed to ensure the inventory of industrial land was correct. Mr. Connelly said the chamber was also concerned about protection criterion 3. He said that some found the term "waterway" broad, and wanted to ensure that the waterways referred to were defined as those designated in blue on Map 3 of the West Eugene Wetlands Plan. Mr. Connelly suggested that protection criterion 4 be MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials-- August 4, 1999 Page 3 Eugene City Council/Lane County Board of Commissioners