CC Minutes - 06/19/02 Work Session

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A. WORK SESSION: Ordinances Adopting West Eugene Parkway Plan Amendments: Ordinance No. 1: An Ordinance Amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area Transportation Plan (TransPlan) to Include the Entire West Eugene Parkway Within the 20-Year Financially Constrained Roadway Project List And to Make Related Amendments; Amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan to Adopt Exceptions to Statewide Planning Goals 3, 4, 11 and 14; Adopting a Severability Clause; and Providing an Effective Date Ordinance No. 2: An Ordinance Amending the West Eugene Wetlands Plan to Redesignate Property Within the Modified Project Alignment of the West Eugene Parkway from Protect and Restore to Planned Transportation Corridor; Adopting a Severability Clause; and Providing an Effective Date City Manager pro rem Jim Carlson introduced the item. He called on the council to make a decision on the amendments before it. He reminded the council that the Oregon Department of Transportation (©D©T) had asked the local adopting officials to take action by August 1, 2002, to maintain the State funding allocated to Unit I-A of the West Eugene Parkway (WEP). He said that staff was ready to return with the findings needed to move the project forward on July 8, 2002. Mr. Carlson noted that the amendments in question were a legislative matter. The proceeding was not quasi-judicial. Ms. Childs said that the materials received during the process were listed on pages 4 and 5 of the agenda item summary, included in the meeting packet. She noted that the reference copies were available in the Council Chamber. Ms. Childs said that at the councilors' places, there were two documents: 1) a corrected response to question 149 on page 10 of Response Document 2; and 2) the criteria for approval of the plan amendments. Ms. Childs reported that the local land use process must be completed before the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) can take action to complete the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). She said that while local approval was necessary for the federal process to be completed, it did not guarantee approval by the relevant federal regulatory agencies, or guarantee a wetlands fill permit would be issued by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and Division of State Lands (DSL). In the case of local action, the adopting officials must look to local approval criteria in evaluating the amendments. Ms. Childs reported that staff had prepared draft findings prior to the advisory committees' public hearings in February, and revised those hearings in response to public testimony and the extensive review done by the Eugene Planning Commission. Staff recommended that additional revisions to the findings be made based on public testimony and the response to the adopting officials' questions prior to its actions in July. She said that many questions that were asked were related to mitigation of wetlands to be filled as part of the project. Those questions must be addressed prior to federal regulatory approval. She clarified that a mitigation plan was not required by the West Eugene Wetlands Plan (WEWP) prior to designation of property as a planned transportation corridor. Rather, the WEWP specifies the mitigation requirements that must be met prior to issuance of a fill permit. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 19, 2002 Page 2 Work Session