CC Minutes - 11/24/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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done on the issue of a new Santa Clara community park. Ms. Riner provided an overview of the community park for Santa Clara, the land swap proposal, subject properties, and next steps. She said the need for a community park in the Santa Clara area was well- documented and resulted in its inclusion in the Parks and Open Space bond measure of 1998. She said several sites were evaluated using criteria such as size, service area, affordability and suitability, flood hazard, access, willing seller, and relationship to the urban growth boundary (UGB). She indicated a short list of two sites was developed and the sites were visited and further analyzed for feasibility. According to Ms. Riner, only one site had a willing seller, who proposed a land swap. She said the owners of the property proposed removing a steep, wooded 120-acre site in the Laurel Hill Valley area, which they also owned, from the urban growth boundary (UGB) and bringing into the UBG their 197-acre site in the Santa Clara area. She said the owners agreed to dedicate the difference of 77 acres between the two sites to the City for a community park, which would result in no net gain of privately developable property inside the UGB. Mr. Meisner asked for clarification of the term "dedication." Ms. Riner replied that the land would be donated to the City for use as a park. Ms. Riner indicated that, because of the complex nature of the proposal, additional public discussions and a detailed economic analysis of the proposal and alternatives had been conducted and formed the basis of the staff presentation. She said the Laurel Hill Valley site in the south hills area was part of a larger parcel owned by the same individuals and 120 acres were inside the UBG. She said the 120 acres were currently zoned agriculture, but were eligible for annexation for residential uses, and the adjacent land outside the UGB was forest land with class 3, 4, and 5 soils. She stated the site figured prominently in the Rivers to Ridges proposal to provide continuity of the Ridgeline Trail open space system through the Laurel Hill Valley site. She added that the area was included in three of the Region 2050 scenarios as being inside of future UGB expansion. Ms. Riner related that the Santa Clara site was zoned exclusive farm use and was primarily Class 1 agricultural soils. She said it had natural resource values and was included in two of the Region 2050 scenarios as being inside of future UGB expansion. Ms. Riner said the Santa Clara Community Park Advisory Committee, which combined the efforts community members, staff, and consultants, spent the summer evaluating the proposal and developing criteria to ensure good decision-making. She highlighted some of the criteria and said the committee's final report was being printed. She said that informational presentations regarding the committee's work had been made to the Mayor's Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Committee and the Planning Commission. Ms. Riner identified the next decision points in the process, which would begin with a request from the property owners to amend the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) if the council indicated a willingness to move forward with the proposal. She said the public dialogue about the project would continue. Mr. Meisner thanked staff for its work to fulfill the City's promise to develop a community park in the Santa Clara area. He asked if the owner of the second site under consideration was unwilling to sell under MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 3 Work Session