Laserfiche WebLink
From Wayne Gaddy 09/19/2016 <br />I want expressmy support forthe motion sponsored by MikeClark some months ago that was initially <br />passed bythe council. I haven't seen the Brown-Clark proposal referred to at tonight'spublic forumat <br />South Eugene High but I gather it's along those lines. I urge you to move carefully on rezoning in the <br />Southeastern area oftown. This is already a densely populated area of many modest homes owned by <br />people of modest incomes. A number of us are senior citizens who have limited physical and financial <br />resources to move if they find a multi-story apartment building built right up to their property line. <br />For someone likemewhohas spent 29years remodeling inside and building an attractive yard and <br />garden outside thatradical a change would be intolerable. If youwant to rezone properties that are <br />being used asrentals that's one thing. No homeowner who bought a residence to live in and does live <br />with the <br />expectation that similar homes would be on either side should have kind of a change imposed <br />adjoining property without his /her consent orcompensation. MUPTE should not be extended further <br />south or anywhere else. If there really is a need foran increase in apartment buildings they willbe <br />built It's called thefree market.Rather than destroy thecharacterof neighborhoods, I would rather <br />see the Urban GrowthBoundary expanded toaccommodate a rapid population growth thanto see <br />wide swaths of our city turned into a sea of condos and tenements like What's happening in central <br />Seattle. This is an area that is carrying more traffic than its streets can handle. Now that school is back <br />in session, afternoon traffic on Willamette is considerably worse and I expect it to get worse when <br />the university opens for fall term. The Hub is an eyesore that you would have expected to see in East <br />Berlinbutatleastit'son a transportationcorridor. Yourplanningdepartmentapproved a zoning <br />changeacrossthestreetonthreeadjoininglots thathad single houses, lawns, and the ability to see a <br />skyline above them. The planner incharge toldme there wouldbe four discrete duplexes wherethere <br />were three houses, therewasnoway an apartment building could be built and it would be no taller <br />than the 2 story houses in the immediate area. All three of those promises were wrong. The owner <br />bragged to his workers that he had already flipped thebuildingto a California corporation for a profit <br />of $300,000. One subcontractor told me thebuildingwas so cheaply built itwould start falling apart <br />within ten years as he thinks Capstone will (Yes, he did work on that project) I feel like a fool for <br />trustingyour planning department whenover the years I'd been warned by people not to trust city <br />staff. I'll never make that mistake again. The cityneedsto set up a structure whereby neighborhood <br />people are brought in from the beginning to develop changes in zoning and liveability. The planning <br />departmentshouldnotbeabletogetyoutoimposeradicalchangeswhen there is clearly strong <br />opposition to those who will suffer from the changes. Frankly, I think the city government is more <br />responsive to the affluent and the developers.who see modest neighborhoods as easy pickings. It also <br />looks like you would never do this to the most expensive neighborhoods that live on big spreads and <br />enjoy views of empty land in the distance and little traffic or noise in their areas. Our area includes <br />decades long residents who have always provided the strongest yes votes when the city has needed <br />money from voters I think attention should be paid to thoseof us who have contributed to ourcity <br />for decades as opposed to focusing so intently on those who may come here in the future and may <br />not set roots here. Those whocomehere shoulddo some planning as I did 41 years ago to make sure <br />they aregoingto a place where they can find affordable housing. All neighborhoods should share <br />equally the burdensthat future growth may bring. <br />Wayne Gaddy <br /> <br />