Ordinance No. 20259 - Laserfiche WebLink

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urban development and landscaping shall be utilized to enhance those atural features. n The overall impact of the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, including these amendments, is to protect themajority (over 1100 acres out of approximately 1500 acres) of wetlands and waterways in the Plan area. This includes protecting natural vegetation on these sites and restoration of native habitat on several hundred acres. When the West Eugene Wetlands Plan was adopted in 1992, within the West Eugene Parkway Approved Design were designated for development. Since the Planned Transportation Corridor wetland designation was not added to the Plan until 1998, the only wetland designation option available at that time to allow construction of the West Eugene Parkway was "Develop.~' The "Develop" ation, however, would also aP~ow other private development as well as roadway construction. Concurrent with the preparation of amendments to the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, a West Eugene Parkway Modified Project was also being developed, and was proposed in the August 1997 Supplemental Enviropanental ~pact Statement, which would reduce impacts to rare wetlands and to "endangered?' or "threatened'' plant species that are concentrated in the west end of the project and south of the railroad t~aCks. Reco that retaining the "Develop" designation for property along the Approved Design route would allow for a full-range of private development, not just roadway con , this was redesignated to "Protect" in 2000 by Eugene Ordinance No. 20200 and Lane County Ordinance No. PA 1107, adopth~g new or revised wetland designations for various sites within the Plan Boundary. The elected officials were advised at that time that amendments to apply the Planned Transportation Corridor des for the Modified Project alignment would be processed follo~Ang selection of the Modified as the preferred alternative. Exhibit A to these ordinances provides an asteriSk footnote in the table listing the existing and proposed designations for sites hich reads. The Eugene and Lane County Plmmmg Commissions recommended that these sites be designated wholly or in part for Planned Transportation Corridor to accommodate the proposed northern alignment of the West Eugene Parkway (~P). However~ the s for the WEP w~ll be processed at a later date~ and are therefore not included in this ordinance." The Modified Project has now been selected as the Preferred Alternative, allowing these amendments to move forward. The shift in the West Eugene Parkway alignment has reduced the impacts of this transportation project on high-quality wetlands. These apply the Planned Transportation Corridor designation to wetlands currently designated for protection or restoration along the Modified Project route. The Planned TranSportation Corridor policy requires that ~f the West Eugene Parkway is not consWacted, the area cannot be filled for any other purpose~ Therefore, these arnendments are consistent with this policy. Remaining port~ons of the refinement plato ent is consiStent~-Mth ~e rema~nin&po~ions of the refinement plan: As stated in the Introduction to the West Eugene Wetlands Plan (November 2000), the Platt "provides a framewoFk for balancing natural resource protection and urban development." West Eugene Wetlands Plan Amendments Exhibit B ~ F~dh~gs Page 13