Item B: Ordinance Concerning Goal 5 Natural Resources Study

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RECEIVED SEP 2 6 2005 945 Lorane Highway Eugene, Or. 97405 9/24/05 CITY OF EUGENE PLANNING DEPARTMENT Dear City Council members, I object to the proposed "protective overlay zone" for my property at 945 Lorane Highway. I do not believe it is justifiable to lose control of nearly half my property to protect an already protected 1-2 foot drain ditch. The drain ditch lies in a 30 foot wide utility easement and according to information from the City of Eugene; the easement prohibits alterations of any kind. I have never objected to the restrictions placed on the utility easement but I do strongly object to an additional overlay zone of 40 foot setbacks. This additional set back comes right to the edge of my house and includes a terraced hillside planted with ivy nearly 60 years ago. It also includes a portion of my tool shed (under the canopy of trees and not seen in the Arial photo map) which sits on a concrete pad at the edge of my concrete driveway. This is the site at which I have intended to put a garage with rental unit- the obvious location. - For much needed retirement income. With the additional set backs this would no longer be possible. We property owners have been told there will be no compensation for loss of our assets. Property taxes will continue to increase as in the past. Without expensive legal assistance property owners are offered no representation or protection from confiscation during this process. The loss of use of nearly half my property will make it impossible to realize my plan for retirement. I have lived here since 1971 and have paid ever increasing taxes. I am told the protective set backs will increase the value of my property but the obvious reality says otherwise. Just what is being protected, why and for whom? These are questions that have yet to be answered to those many affected property owners by the decisions made by two people simply because they can. This in unethical! E81 was considered to be of low significance during the inventory phase, supporting my contention that the proposed 40 foot set back (80 feet on my property) is needlessly excessive. The site description suggests "habitat for reptiles and amphibians". In the 3 7 years I have lived here I have never seen wildlife in the ditch, I do not hear frogs in the summer time and many years the water in the ditch dries up in August. A neighbor had the ditch water tested for pollutants when her dogs became ill and found it was loaded with Roundup and other herbicides. As housing construction uphill from this location has increased over the years, increased flow has deepened the drain ditch as well as increased pollution. Set backs will not change this reality nor further protection of wildlife as construction continues in outlying areas with perfect suburban lawns and the chemicals used to make them so. I challenge the powers that be to show me the wildlife the ditch supports. My safety concerns as regards the proposed set backs are as follows: 1. FIRE HAZZARD-trees die and fall regularly. Unless brush is removed my house could easily burn down if there were a fire do to the narrow panhandle access (see map)