CC Minutes - 05/29/02 JEO - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

supported the construction of the parkway. He said that people were tired of a small, nonelected vocal minority telling the community what they think is best. He said Ward 4 voters favored the parkway. Mr. Poling said there were many reasons the parkway should be built; the funding was available and would be lost if the project was not built; the parkway would facilitate planned development, and provide needed connections. He said the parkway would keep heavy traffic off West 11th Avenue and West 18th Avenue. He said the adopting officials should respect the will of the voters. Mayor Torrey called for a five-minute recess. Mr. Kelly expressed concern that the record was not going to be left open for a sufficiently long period. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved that the City of Eugene keep the public record open for two weeks. Responding to a question from Mayor Torrey, Ms. Childs said that it would be difficult to get the testimony indexed and distributed to the council in time for its work session on June 19. Mr. Kelly indicated willingness to accept the information unindexed to facilitate the process. The motion failed, 5:3; Mr. Kelly, Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Bettman voting yes. Mayor Torrey called for further testimony. Alan Stein, 1049 Almaden Street, Eugene, opposed the parkway. As a downtown business owner, he believed the parkway represented a bad business decision, and it would not lessen th congestion on West 11 Avenue. He called on the Eugene council and mayor to take into consideration the greater good of the community. He believed the community had been mislead by the proponents of the parkway in terms of its benefits and the availability of funding. Construction of the parkway would postpone several important, needed projects. He feared that if the parkway went forward, only a section would be constructed. He urged the Eugene council to oppose the project. Debra Jeffries, 3800 North Delta Highway, Eugene, urged the adopting officials to approve the plan amendments. She said the findings supported the passage of the amendments. She believed the parkway was important to the community's economic health. She hoped that in the future, the council would not choose to confuse the issue by putting forth competing ballot measures. She said that the process was costly for both proponents and opponents and it did not result in any real guidance. Maeve Sowles, 30495 Fox Hollow Road, Eugene, representing the Lane County Audubon Society, noted the society's support for the WEWP. She noted the many agencies and organizations involved in the WEWP partnership and the fact it served as a national model. She noted that birdwatching was good business and a tourist draw. She opposed the parkway because of its impact on the wetlands. She thought the parkway redundant and unnecessary. She said the wetlands area served many positive functions and was a space for rare butterflies and for birds. Eric Forrest, 2145 Elkhorn Road, Eugene, said that as a member of the Budget Citizen Subcommittee he was aware of the backlog of road maintenance needs. There was currently a lack of dollars to support such projects. He said that it was rare there was funding for a project MINUTES--Joint Adopting Officials May 29, 2002 Page 11