07/01/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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- --- . Regarding the issue of taking, Ms. Sirnio noted that the Eugene Planning Commission recommended the addition of Policy 15 to address concerns raised by the issue. Ms. Sirnio said that the joint planning commissions had added the North 66th Street site to the inventory in response to public testimony, while at the same time directing staff to contact affected property owners with informa- tion regarding the implications of the natural resources zone and the date of tonight's hearing. She added that the commissions also agreed that the eco- nomic value of the sand and gravel extraction site outweighed the environmen- tal values due to the extent of the disturbance that had already occurred and the owner's investment in the site. Ms. Sirnio noted that the Eugene Planning Commission had also recommended adding "earthquakes" to Goal 3 in the Environmental Resources element of the study. Ms. Sirnio recommended adoption of the study. Ms. Dumdi opened the public hearing. 7. Public Testimony Chuck Davis, 6588 North A Street, Springfield, said he represented the Springfield Utility Board. Mr. Davis indicated he had sent a letter to the . elected officials in support of the inclusion into the study of the North 66th Street site. Mr. Davis said that the groundwater protection measures in the study will assist the Springfield Utility Board in providing good-quality water to the public. He said that Springfield is completely dependent upon ground water for its drinking water. Mr. Davis said that the North 66th Street site con- tains part of the city's wellfield. The well field provides about 32 percent of the utility's production capacity. Mr. Davis said that the utility is currently working with the Environmental Protection Agency on a demonstration grant study of wellhead protection. He showed the elected officials a chart entitled "Weyerhaeuser Well field" and pointed out the area identified by a consultant as the "zone of contribution" to the well within a five-year time of travel period for recharged water. Mr. Davis said that the zone extends past its Thurston wellfield site. Con- sequently, the utility wished to ensure that potential sand and gravel ex- traction is proceeded by a study of whether the extraction will affect groundwater quality. Mr. Davis stressed the importance of such a study for all sites identified for development. He said that he had identified all the public wellfield sites in Springfield and all were adjacent to natural re- source inventoried sites. Mr. Davis asked the elected officials to keep the issue of groundwater quality in mind as they considered the study's recommen- dations, and further asked that study recommendations regarding groundwater protection become policy. . MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials July 1, 1992 Page 9