Ordinance No. 20258 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WEST EUGENE PARKWAY MODiFiED PROJECT---4'~ONSISTENCY WITH THE STATEWI~ PLANNING GOALS AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING RULE Farther west, it wouM displace two wetland/pond/vernal poo~s between the current end of Roosevelt Boulevard and the Amazon ChanneL?6 These are significant adverse environmental impacts. Moreover, the Roosevelt Extension Alternative would add a new barrier that would further fkagment the wetlands. In contrast, the other alternatives would be parallel and adjacent to the railroad which already creates a barrier and fragments the wetlands. While the environmental impacts of the Approved Design are less severe than those resulting from the Roosevelt Extension Alternative, they are still substantial and significantly more adverse than those resulting from the Modified Project. Regarding high value wetlands, the Approved Design would adversely affect 11.27 hectares of high value wetlands, compared to 6.4 hectares for the Modified Project. Regarding T&E species, the Approved Design would eliminate 22 Willamette Daisy plants and 17 clumps of White-topped Aster and eliminate habitat for the Western Pond Turtle, while the Modified Project would eliminate just three clumps of White-topped Aster and cause only temporary construction impacts to the Western Pond Turtle habitat.?7 The Green Hill Road Flyover Alternative also would have much more significant adverse environmental effects that the Modified Project. While this alignment fbltows the Modified Project east of Green Hill Road, it shifts to the Approved Design Via the flyover at Green Hill Road. The flyover would require approximately 4.25 hectares of fill south of the railroad tracks, in a rare Willamette Wet Prairie wetland area identified as a very important ecological resource.?6 The fill would fragment a large patch of wet prairie wetlands, cutting the surface hydrology connection that now exists. Overall, the fill would impact considerably more protected plants than the Modified Project. From the standpoint of environmental impacts, the Modified Project clearly has significantly fewer adverse impacts than the other three akernatives. Energy ~mpacts There Js no significant discernible difference Jn energy impacts among the four alternatives. All four alternatives would establish a four lane, limited access highway that would improve access to the West Eugene industrial area and relieve the substantial tra~c congestion along West 1 lth Avenue. Motorized vehicles traveling along any of these alternatives would consume gasoline. On the other hand~ facilitating the smooth flow of traffic at acceptable levels of service would help conserve fuel by avoiding the wasteful burning of fuel at intersections already above capacity or expected to exceed capacity during the planning period. Overall ~mpact Analysis For the reasons stated above, the net adverse impacts resultk~g from the Modified Project would not be "significantly more adverse" than would result from the same proposal being located at any of the other three locations requiring goal exceptions. Indeed, compared to the other alternatives, the net adverse impacts resulting from the Modified Project appear to be significantly less adverse, due primarily to differences in environmental impacts. 76 Alternatives Memorandum, Table 4. 77 The Willamette Valley Daisy is classified as a federal "candidate~ species and a state listed endangered species. The Whi~e-topped Aster is classified as a federal "species of concern" and a state listed threatened species. The western pond turtle is classified as a federai species of concern and a state 'sensitive cr~ical" specJes. SDE~S at 3-1 78 Wi!larnette wet prairie wet,and is very rare, with only about 0.1 percent remaining. The resource provides high biological diversity and has high significance for threatened and endangered species. See e.g. SDEIS at 3-8 3-9' Land Uae Technical Report at 88 EX~HIBIT C-1 - FINDINGS 46