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

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John Larson, 440 Broadway, said that balance was needed in the plan, and the plan addressed an urban area where growth was inevitable. He said that the elected officials' task was to manage that growth, not eliminate it. He endorsed Mr. Cornacchia's recommendations as an attempt toward balance. He said that the City should take advantage of the infrastructure that served the west Eugene area. Mr. Larson preferred planned and managed development inside the urban growth boundary. He expressed concern about the supply of vacant buildable land in Eugene. Greg McLaughlan, 2401 West 22nd Avenue, represented the Friends of Oregon, and supported the planning commissions' recommendations. He said that the plan was scientifically sound, was supported by the regulatory agencies, and represented the minimal effort necessary to preserve wetlands. Mr. McLaughlan believed that Mr. Cornacchia's proposal would dismantle key protections of plan. He maintained that the proposals were made because one wealthy, powerful corporation wanted to see the plan rewritten. He said that if one company could pressure public officials to rewrite the rules, the community was on a sad path. Adoption of the changes would erode both the environment and the public trust. Bob O'Brien, 3525 Gilham Road, said that the bulk of his testimony was an abstract he had written for the Sierra Club newsletter. He read the conclusion of the article: "So we must ask ourselves, if a large and powerful corporation wants the option of buildings on this site, is it reason enough to allow them to do so? Should they not be subjected to the same rules that all other businesses and landowners operate under? These rules were designed to protect the wetlands for all of us, for the wildlife, and for other ecological values." He said that of 1.1 million acres of original wet prairie in Oregon, approximately 1,000 acres remained. Mr. ©'Brien noted that a January 28 article in The Register-Guard indicated that the best area left for three threatened species was The Nature Conservancy preserve, directly across from Hyundai's Phase III site. He asked the elected officials to adopt rules that would protect some of the site. He asked the elected officials to reject the proposals made by Mr. Cornacchia for the protection of the remaining wetlands for reasons of fairness. He said that it was not right to change the rules for one company. Jan Wostmann, 2645 Riverview Street, was outraged that last-minute amendments have been proposed after two years of public process and citizens were allowed only three minutes to respond to the proposals. He believed that the original criteria in WEWP were reasonably balanced, and while the amendments lean somewhat more to development at expense of protection, they were still relatively balanced. Mr. Wostmann said that Mr. Cornacchia's proposals skewed the plan in favor of development. He suggested that if the elected officials wished to achieve balance, they should adopt the recommendations of the planning commissions. Mr. Wostmann said that if the community were to achieve a balance, it would protect the small amount of wet prairie left. Kathy Ging, 2878 Harris Street, said that Mr. Cornacchia's attempts to accommodate Hyundai were regrettable, particularly since the company has already created so much controversy. She noted that the campus light industrial zone was considered inappropriate by many for Hyundai given the nature of its business. She said that those involved with drafting the designation were shocked to know its applications. Ms. Ging said that Mr. Cornacchia's proposals were in direct opposition to the intent of the plan and would signal the country that developers could continue to pollute in Eugene. She said that only a few people in the community would benefit from the changes proposed by Mr. Cornacchia. She said that the elected officials were public servants, not Hyundai employees. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials-- February 18, 1998 Page 9 Eugene City Council/Lane County Board of Commissioners