Ordinance No. 20258 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WEST EUGENE PAR~Og/AY ~ODIF~ED F~tOJECT-..CX)NSiSTE~ WiTH THE STATEWJDE PLANNING GOALS AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING RULE 1 lth Avenue from Highway 126 will help minimize access to rural properties south of the Modified Project, as will the presence of the railroad tracks and railroad right-of-way south of the Modified Project where it rejoins existing Highway 126. A concern often associated with limited access highways is the potential for urbanizing effects outside and at the fringe of the urban area. While this potential exists for the WEP and its Modified Project alignment, any pressures for nonfarm or highway oriented development that this facility might otherwise have should be substantially constrained by the federal and state ownerships and management of many of the largest parcels nearest the proposed corridor, as well as by zoning lknkations imposed to comply with state land use requirements. As shown in Figure 2, a large pementage of the property abutting the proposed Modified Project corridor north and south of the railroad outside the urban growth boundary is under public ownership for the purposes of restoring habitat consistent with the WEWP.79 Other properties inside the UGB between the Amazon Channel/railroad separated ~ade structure and Green Hill Road south of the railroad are in similar public ownership or substantially development-constrained because of the presence of wetlands. Consequently, theSe properties effectively are not subject to urbanizing pressures. There is some rural land near Green Hill Road that is designated urban reserve land for the metropolitan area. Improved access to this area could accelerate the timeline for developing those urban reserve lands. Nearer the terminus of the Modified prOject, a larger percentage of lands are privately owned. In this area, protection from urbanizing pressures comes through development limitations resulting from the presence of wetlands, exclusive farm use or forest zoning designations, and through the very large barrier to development created by the Fern Ridge Reservoir State Wildlife Management Area. The presence of wetlands in this area substantially reduces development pressures because of the di~culties in obtaining authorization to develop wetlands and because of the significant costs involved in wetland mkigation. Also, the presence of railroad tracks south of Highway 126 creates a barrier that helps min[mi~ accessibility to rural lands in this area~ However, improved access to this area could accelerate pressures for rural residential development in areas near the project terminus designated for rural residential development with five or ten acre minimum lot sizes. Any such development would remain rural and would not be incompatible or inconsistent with acknowledged plans. Any potential WEP contributions to the development rate at Veneta, located about 5~5 miles from the western WEP terminus, should be substantially offset by infrastructure constraints, ~ncluding an inadequate wastewater treatment facility and problems with the municipal water supply. See Land Use Technical Report at 50. Overall, the significant wetlands resource, the large amount of acreage in public ownership, and the EFU zoning should provide adequate protection for rural and resource lands and minimize their accessibility. The presence of the railroad, the locations of wetlands and public land ownerships, particularly at Green Hill Road and in close vicinity to the Modified Project alignment terminus, will minimize pressures for highway oriented development in the area~ Additionally, the limked access design of the WEP with the Modified Projec~ should reduce pressures for nonfarm or h~ghway oriented uses on the surrounding rural lands. As designed, the WEP does not encourage usage by local traffic. Instead, it will serve statewide and regional "through" traffic. For 70 R. estoration preject~ incJude the ~ ~ 35 project, k~enthSed at page 43 of the ~nd Uso T~hni~l Ro~d, whlch provides for ~ova~ of d~kes by ~he US A~y Co~s ~ E~g~neem ~n ~he ama just no~h ~ (but not ~n~ud[ng) ~e M~ Proj~ be~een Ter~ Strut and Gr~ H~J~ Road to restore approx~mate~ ~40 a~s of wet,ands and enhan~ another 45 a~ of native hab~at~ and the Cone mR~gat~on s~e, a weUand m~igation proj~ ~t~ no~hwest of Tem~ Street and ~ M~ Pmje~. The 1135 proje~ excludes ~he M~ified Proje~ al~nment ~use of the potentJaJ that the ~P may be ~ted them. EXHtB~ ~l - FiNDiNGS 48