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Status of Eugene's Selected Nodal Development Sites Royal Avenue Development and adoption of the Royal Avenue Specific Plan was a challenging and lengthy process. The 191 acre site lies at the western edge of the city in an area that is rapidly developing. It was seen at the time of its initiation, and continues to be seen today, as a model for redefining how nodal development can occur in a suburban context. This planning effort, financed in pan by a TGM grant, involved: · an extensive citizen involvement effort - including a design charrette process that extended over three days; · an inventory and analysis of existing site conditions; · an analysis of the study area's relationship to surrounding areas and nearby activity centers; · a technical analysis of the effects of development on public services, public facilities and environmental resources in the study area; a feasibility analysis for providing public services and facilities to the site; and · an analysis of the existing transportation system in the area. Following selection of a "preferred alternative" for development of the site; another analysis was conducted on the impacts of the preferred alternative on public services, public facilities and environmental resources on the site which resulted in an "Infrastructure Implementation Report" for the site. Other repons completed in this process included a Market Analysis and Incentives investigation and numerous interim repons on the preferred alternative and various aspects of the nodal development concept. While it was known from the outset that there were wetlands in the area, little was known about their specific locations or values. Initial investigations resulted in an intensive effort to map and understand wetlands and other natural resources on the site. The City conducted (and financed ) a wetland delineation for the site which revealed the presence of more than 60 acres of wetlands in the study area - almost 1/3 of the site. This factor, more than any other, dominated the planning and adoption process from that point on and resulted in a two to two-and 1/2 year delay in adopting the plan while jurisdictional wetland issues were resolved. The resolution of those wetland issues required collaboration with the US Corps of Engineers in financing and conducting a Special Area Management Plan for Wetlands in the Royal Node. This planning process, which integrated wetland and natural resource planning considerations with nodal development planning considerations, resulted in agreement among City, State and Federal authorities on an approach to wetland protection and mitigation. This approach is built right into the adopted site plan and in the standards, adopted by the City, for the design of the node's stormwater, parks and open space systems. 13