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- e e The motion died for lack of a second. Mayor Obie said money should not be spent to investigate a special district for the Extension Service. V. AWBREY/MEADOWVIEW METRO PLAN AMENDMENT PROPOSAL City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the item. Teresa Bishow of the Planning Department gave the staff report. She said the council asked the Planning Commission to prepare an amendment to the Metropolitan Area General Plan for the Awbrey/Meadowview area. She said the council can decide to initiate a Metro Plan amendment for the Awbrey/Meadowview area or to hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment. Discussing the Planning Commission recommendation about what should be included in an amendment for the Awbrey/Meadowview area, Ms. Bishow said the commission recommended that a new goal, five new findings, and two policies be added to the Economic Section of the Metro Plan. She said the Oregon Department of Economic Development and Eugene/Springfield Metropolitan Partnership staffs indicated that a site as large as the Awbrey/Meadowview site meets regional needs. The new goal addresses regional needs and large- scale heavy industrial sites that use existing transportation systems. Ms. Bishow said the staff has learned that many firms need access to railroads. Us i ng a map, Steve Gordon of the Lane Council of Governments, i ndi cated existing heavy industrial sites in the metropolitan area. Ms. Bishow said none of them have direct access to railroads. She said one of the recommended findings states that the Alternative Industrial Growth Areas Study indicates that the Awbrey/Meadowview area is the most suitable area outside the urban growth boundary for a large heavy industrial park with railroad access. She said Springfield officials have said the Natron site is within the urban growth boundary and is appropriate for heavy industrial use. Ms. Bishow said the Planning Commission recommended that the amendment include a change to the description of special heavy industrial uses in the Metro Plan Diagram text and that the Murphy Mill Site, the Enid/Awbrey Area, and the North of Awbrey Lane Area shoul d be descri bed as speci a 1 heavy i ndustri a 1 sites. Ms. Bishow said the Planning Commission also recommended the amendment include a change to the Metro Plan Diagram that would expand the urban growth boundary to include the 200-acre Awbrey/Meadowview area. She discussed the sludge treatment site north of Awbrey Lane and the reason the commission recommended it not be included in the urban growth boundary. She said construction of a spur from the Southern Pacific Railroad would require approval of an exception to the Statewide Agricultural Goal. Planning Director Susan Brody indicated the location of the Southern Pacific Ra il road west of the Awbrey/Meadowvi ew site and the Burl i ngton Northern Railroad east of the site. She said vacant industrial land with access to two railroads is rare. MINUTES--Eugene City Council ~ Session May 13, 1987 Page 7