CC Minutes - 02/18/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elaine Phillips, 1075 West 18th Avenue, asked the elected officials to preserve and protect the current wetlands plan. She did not concur with the amendments proposed by Mr. Cornacchia. Ms. Phillips said that an extensive public process had occurred and much scientific study went into the plan. She asked the elected officials to honor the community process and protect wetlands. Kathy Madison, 1401 Willamette Street, said that the community had supported the WEWP as a means to balance environmental needs with sound urban development. She urged the elected officials to continue to seek that balance as it considered the amendments. Ms. Madison maintained that the criteria proposed by the planning commissions "took us in a new direction" and removed the balance that existed in the plan. She suggested that the amendments were inconsistent with Policy 1 and Policy 5 in the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan. She supported the policy in the plan related to underground utilities. Ms. Madison endorsed the suggestions made by Mr. Cornacchia in his letter to Ms. Childs dated February 6. Bern Johnson, 1290 East 25th Avenue, urged the elected officials to adopt the planning commissions' recommendations. He noted the Board of County Commissioners' support for the plan in 1992. He said that the plan as recommended by the planning commissions was sound and removed politics from the process. The plan forced the community to take an area-wide view of wetlands instead of focusing on single sites. Mr. Johnson noted that the plan had received national attention for its balance. He said that State and Federal agencies are placing their trust in Eugene to manage the program responsibly. He asked the elected officials to honor the community process and avoid last-minute changes to the amendments. Rejection of the amendments would further bog down the process. Misha Dunlap, 358 West 4th Avenue, agreed with Mr. Johnson's remarks. She said that it did not make sense to make additional changes at this point. She said that after the amendments were adopted, Mr. Cornacchia's suggestions could be considered in a similarly lengthy process. Mark Wahl, PO Box 10148, represented the Eugene Water & Electric Board. He said that EWEB supported the utility corridor amendments and had submitted written testimony indicating that support. He said that EWEB also had several changes to recommend. Mr. Wahl said that EWEB believed it was critical that the utility have access to aboveground utilities that cross jurisdictional wetlands for maintenance, repair, and emergency response. Given current State law and EWEB's determination to adhere to the law, the situation was not tenable for the utility as it was denied access to those facilities. Mr. Wahl asked that the elected officials postpone further hearings for at least six weeks to give it time to map all the utilities in the plan area and provide that information to City staff. Mr. Wahl asked that the amendment process be reconsidered as he believed the proposed text represented a de facto ban on new utility corridors. Moshe Immermann, no address given, said that wetlands sustain life. He said that there were many endangered species in wetlands, including people. Wetlands must be protected to protect the quality of life in the community. Mr. Immermann said that State and Federal regulatory agencies have called for protection of wetlands in Eugene. Twice the planning commissions have called for adoption of the draft criteria. He said that representative government was, in a sense, on trial. Mr. Immermann said that Mr. Cornacchia's recommendations threatened to undercut the entire process. He compared Mr. Cornacchia's's recommendations with the recommendations forwarded by the commissions and asked what was the point of having a plan if wetlands and wetland diversity were not to be protected. Mr. Immermann said that Mr. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials-- February 18, 1998 Page 3 Eugene City Council/Lane County Board of Commissioners