04/13/1992 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Nancy Lochner, 1965 Charnel ton Street, testified in support of a voluntary approach for reasons which she said have already been stated. Tom Slocum, 1950 Graham Drive, testified in support of a voluntary approach in preserving trees and expressed concern about the cost of administering a mandatory tree protection program. Tom Wester, 3495 Honeywood Street, testified in support of a voluntary ap- proach to preserving trees. Jim Breeden, 366 East 40th Avenue, said suggestions made by him and the Homebuilders Association have been ignored and that such suggestions were made to reduce housing costs. He expressed concern about added difficulty and costs that discourage growth and development. He quoted Councilor Boles from a recent interview with The Register-Guard about possibly compensating property owners and asked how compensation could be of more importance than increasing City revenues and the city's tax base. Bruce Bergby, 3357 Videra Drive, Tree Commission member, asked about concerns regarding the costs, solar access requirements, and fire prevention relative to tree preservation. Robert Conrad, 3960 Dillard Road, suggested implementing a voluntary tree preservation program with existing resources. He said as an advocate for low- and moderate-income homeowners, he is opposed to any added costs to develop- ing affordable housing, unless they are for health or safety issues. He suggested using the resources to develop a revolving construction-loan fund to be used for developing affordable housing. John Carliss, 2998 Washington Street, introduced himself as a retiree of the Forest Service who specialized in land use planning. He felt policies were needed regarding fire prevention, solar access and tree height requirements, and the protection of trees within riparian zones. He also felt that the proposed ordinances should be prioritized and that heritage trees should be identified as a public resource. Randy Prince, PO Box 927, said he felt Eugene's urban forest has diminished in the last decade under existing regulations. He asked the council to keep in mind concerns regarding the maintenance of heritage trees on property that is not owner-occupied. He described tree preservation programs using volun- teer organizations that have been used in other cities. Gretchen Pierce, 31434 Fox Hollow Road, President of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, said she supports the effort to preserve heritage trees, noting that she is a property owner of at least one, and possibly two, heritage trees. She said the definition of heritage tree in the UFMP was unclear. She suggested conducting an inventory of all heritage trees within city lim- its, followed by public hearings on the inventory and providing an appeal process for property owners. She said that the question of whether to have mandatory or voluntary compliance may then be moot. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 7:30 April 13, 1992 Page 10