Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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January for the purpose of obtaining permits with the ultimate goal of having the bridge completed by December 12, 2012. Mr. Dodson outlined the public input process ODOT had undertaken, which included engaging local involvement whenever possible and a regularly updated Website that had been available since 2006. He related that an advisory group had been convened that represented the neighborhoods, the parks, the University, and the Chambers of Commerce and had met for 11 three-hour meetings. He said ODOT had held three open houses in each city, had met with neighborhood associations, and had held design workshops to help inform the bridge designers. He stated that ODOT had received comments on the environmental assessment and had conducted a Web survey, responded to by 1,285 people. Mr. Dodson underscored the urgency regarding the schedule. He said it was critical to gain approval of the amendments in order to begin work in 2009. He urged the Joint Elected Officials to help ODOT meet its schedule by approving the amendments before them. Mark Greenfield , 495 Northwest Greenleaf, Portland, land use consultant for ODOT, pointed out that city and county staffs had recommended approval based on compliance with all of the applicable standards, including local code standards. He underscored the need for an exception to the Metro Plan in order to place a non-dependent transportation facility in the Willamette River Greenway, which would require some fill. He stated that it would not have a significant effect on the greenway and because the development would be entirely within the Willamette Greenway there would be no reduction in the amount of permanent open space available in the surrounding park land – public access to the river would be maintained as would the bicycle and pedestrian paths. He said impacts to significant natural resources in the area would be addressed through the permitting processes of the two municipalities and could be mitigated. He also noted that the new bridge would reduce the number of piers in the water to only one. Councilor Bettman called for testimony that was neither in favor nor opposed. Charles Biggs , 540 Antelope Way, indicated that he lived within the Willakenzie Area Plan. He was neutral on the change because he was uncertain of the impacts. He felt that placing additional fill would raise the water level and increase flood levels in the flood plains. He asked if ODOT had conducted hydrological studies on how the fill would impact surrounding areas. He conveyed a request by Mr. Sonnichsen to hold the record open for seven days. Lauri Segal , 642 Charnelton Street, expressed disappointment that much of the community focus had been on design elements. She averred that there were still legal issues to be resolved. She asked why Division 20 of Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 660 was not relevant. She related that it was the Willamette River Greenway portion of the OAR. She thought ODOT had jurisdiction over plan segments in the Greenway, identified in the OAR and the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) adopted the plan segments. She asserted that procedures had to be followed when amending the plan. She wanted to know if it was relevant to the proposal to make the bridge larger. She alleged that talk of ramps would fall under segmentation issues and federal highway law. She wondered if the plan segment plan had relevance to ODOT’s plan and, if so, why the Oregon State Department of Parks and Recreation had not received notice of the proposal. She asserted that the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODF&W) also had not received notice and should be notified. John Dotson , 2447 Canterbury Lane, said he was neutral to the project. He considered the Metro Plan to be “another layer of bureaucracy.” He felt that the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) and the Metro Plan were intended to dilute the authority of the county commissioners and blur the lines between the cities. MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— June 24, 2008 Page 3 Lane Board of County Commissioners and Eugene and Springfield City Councils