06/22/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Obie opened the public hearing. e Jim Saul, Suite 300, 111 West 7th Avenue, said he represented the owners of the Awbrey/Meadowview property. He said the council decided in 1985, and again in 1987, that it would be appropriate to consider the Awbrey/Meadowview Metro Plan amendment prior to the Metro Plan Update. Reviewing a Planning Department presentation to the council on May 13, Mr. Saul sa i d property designated for heavy industrial use with railroad access is in demand, the inventory of such property in the Eugene/Springfield area is very limited, and the Awbrey/Meadowview property is unique and has access to two railroads. Mr. Saul recommended the council initiate the Awbrey/Meadowview Metro Plan amendment now. He said the Lane County Board of Commissioners has initiated the amendment. He said the council needs more information before it decides how much the urban growth boundary should be expanded. He recommended that the council stipulate that the analyses required when the Metro Plan amendment is considered should determine how many acres should be in the Awbrey/Meadowview site. Mr. Saul said he concurred with the Planning Commission recommendation that a 40-acre minimum parcel size be required in the Awbrey/Meadowview property. He said Mayor Obie requested information on May 13 about the intentions of the property owners and that information is contained in Mr. Saul's June 18 letter. Gordon Ell i ott, 1414 Polk, said the Awbrey/Meadowview site is the best location in the area for heavy industrial use. He said it has railroad and hi ghway access; it has good water, good dra i nage, and is close to the e wastewater plant; and it has good subsurface soil for multi-story buildings. He said it can be developed cheaper than other properties and industries would be there now if it had been designated for industrial development. Vick.i Dietmeyer, 44 West Broadway, is Executive Di rector of the Eugene- Springfield Metropolitan Partnership. She said the Partnership is receiving fewer inquiries than before about special light industrial sites and more inquiries about sites for heavy and medium-heavy industrial sites. She said 10 to 15 prospects have asked about heavy and medium-heavy sites in the last six months. The prospects usually want 20- to 40-acre sites and, as the Fantas Study indicated, there are very few such sites in the Eugene- Springfield area. Ms. Dietmeyer said the existing 20- to 100-acre sites in the metropolitan area are not aesthetically pleasing. She discussed negotiations with the B.F. Goodrich Company. She said the existing, appropriately designated sites did not have a pleasant appearance, some did not have the necessary infrastructure, and some are wetlands with soils that cannot bear heavy loads. She said Partnership representatives are working with officials of a Japanese business now and the only site that meets their requirements might be a wetland. If the company does not locate in Eugene, it will be because the officials cannot find a suitable site. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 22, 1987 Page 2