Agenda Packet 6-17-19 Public Hearing

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June 17, 2019, Public Hearing – Item 1 Thirteen letters of support for the project have been received as of the writing of this report and are attached as Attachment D. Any additional written testimony received prior to close of the public record will be forwarded to City Council for consideration. Public comments, notice, and all other record materials are included in the council binder, which is available at the City Manager’s Office. Consent of Abutting and Affected Property Owners In accordance with ORS 271.080, the applicant has provided evidence of consent to the vacation from owners of at least two-thirds of the property within the affected area. In this case, the affected area per state law is the land lying on either side of the vacated area to the next lateral street, and 400 feet beyond each terminus of the alley to be vacated. ORS 271.080 also requires the applicant to obtain concurrence from all abutting property owners. Both properties abutting the proposed alley vacation are owned by the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts. Based on the signed consent forms submitted with the application, the applicant has obtained consent for the proposed alley vacation from the property owners of approximately 84 percent of the affected area, which exceeds the requirements of ORS 271.080 and EC 9.8710. A map showing the affected area and the area of property owner consent is included as Attachment B. Applicable Criteria The Eugene City Council must determine whether the consent of the owners of the requisite area has been obtained and whether notice has been duly given, and must address the relevant approval criterion from EC 9.8725 in making a decision on the proposed right-of-way vacation, as listed below: The city council shall approve, or approve with conditions and reservations of easements, the vacation of improved public right-of-way, public ways acquired with public funds, or undeveloped subdivision and partition plats, or portions thereof, including public right-of-way and improved public easements located therein, only if the council finds that approval of the vacation is in the public interest. Findings addressing this approval criterion are provided as an exhibit to the Draft Ordinance in Attachment C. The requested vacation is for 160-foot long segment by 14-foot wide of East 8th Alley between High Street on the east and High Alley on the west. The applicant requests vacation of the subject right-of-way to: • Improve pedestrian circulation pattern that enables patrons to park and walk to and from the building in safety. • Comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards by raising the sidewalk grade gently over the central half of the block length to eliminate a non-ADA compliant step into the building. • Reconfigure the existing surface parking lot north of the Shedd including to reorient parking to north-south and shift access to East 8th Avenue; and • Consolidate property to enable the construction of a future building (John G. Shedd Institute Annex) within the vacated alley and the existing surface parking lot.