Ordinance No. 20415 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ODOT's right-of-way below the new bridges. Public access to the river will not be affected in any significant long-term manner and protection to riparian areas and fish and wildlife habitat will be maintained to the greatest possible extent. Additionally, specific development details will be reviewed for minimizing impacts through compliance with applicable approval criteria, related standards and any necessary conditions of approval, as further reviewed under local permitting processes such as the Willamette Greenway and Water Resources Conservation Overlay Zone. The applicant acknowledges that the project will create some short term impacts to Willamette Greenway values during construction. Staging for bridge construction is likely to occupy up to five acres of park open space for up to four years. The bicycle/pedestrian path crossing ODOT's right-of- way will be closed for periods of up to a few days at a time; however, another path under the Canoe Canal Bridge, located approximately 600 feet to the north of this path, would remain open during any closures to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The new replacement bridges will span the Willamette River and Canoe Canal. Piers will be placed in the Willamette River to support the bridge structures. The new bridges will each have one pier near the center of the river and one on or near the south bank, but no piers will be located in the Canoe Canal. By comparison, the decommissioned bridge has five piers in the water, and the detour bridge has six, so the new bridges will provide a substantial net reduction in piers compared to the existing number. At a conceptual level, any reduction in the number of piers will have a positive rather than adverse effect on recreational use of the river, consistent with this standard. Additionally, the applicant proposes to implement a plan to prevent construction debris from dropping into the Willamette River. At a conceptual level, with the reduction in the number of piers, the new bridges spanning the Canoe Canal, and the construction measures proposed, the replacement bridges will not have an adverse affect but will have a positive affect on recreational use of the river, consistent with this standard. Regarding environmental resources, at the conclusion of bridge construction, fill placed for the detour bridge and for temporary work bridges will be removed and those areas will be restored. Bridge construction and demolition, including construction and removal of associated temporary work platforms, will impact riparian vegetation within the greenway (see Figure 6, Approximate Vegetation Disturbance Areas). However, ODOT's temporary easement for use of Eastgate Woodlands requires ODOT to restore the property within 5 years of completion of the permanent replacement bridges. The applicant also proposes several construction, site preparation, post development, and coordination measures to minimize impacts to natural resources discussed under Metro Plan Policy B.2, which is incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, preliminary data indicates that there will be a net decrease of 31 ,000 cubic yards of fill in the Willamette River (30,000 cubic yards of fill added and 61,000 cubic yards of fill removed; application, page 5). With the exception of a few of the temporary storage areas, the replacement bridges are proposed within existing ODOT right-of-way which reduces impacts to non-transportation utilized areas. Based on these measures, affects on environmental resources will be minimized and mitigated. Furthermore, additional review of detailed site plans during the federal, state and local processes will require mitigation as appropriate, subject to applicable standards. Regarding scenic values of the Willamette River greenway, the reduction in the total number of piers and in the number of piers within the Willamette River will improve views of the river and, as Exhibit A - Findings Page 6