Item 5: Public Hearing on Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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LOWE Allen D From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Scarafina 1 @aol.com Monday, November 07,200510:59 AM *Eugene Mayor and City Council LOWE Allen D; Scarafina1@aol.com Testimony in Support of Chambers Special Area Zone Monday, Nov. 7, 2005 To: Mayor and CC@ci.eugene.or.us From: Carol DeFazio scarafina1@aol.com Subject: Testimony in Support of Chambers Special Area Zone Cc: Allen.D.Lowe@ci.eugene.or.us Testimony in Support of Chambers Special Area Zone November 5, 2005 Dear Mayor Piercy and Councilors: Until the current Chambers MUC study, I had not actively participated in a public process. When the Chambers Node project began in Autumn of 2004, I first thought UThey've already got it figured out. The public process is just a formality." However, early conversations with neighbors and my attendance at the first public meetings of the CNR planted in my mind the possibility that this time it could be different. It appeared that the city, the staff, and the consultants truly wanted our participation to deal with a challenging problem. A substantial group of committed neighbors were ready and willing to take it on. Having lived in Eugene since 1965 (in my current home since 1976), I had firsthand experience of our inner city neighborhood. I was acutely aware of its fragility, having witnessed over the years the profound negative impact of each thoughtlessly designed uinfill" project that came into the area. The prospect of more to come distressed me. I felt it was important to the city to have healthy, stable neighborhoods surrounding the downtown core. I also felt it was vital to the cultural life of the city to maintain our diverse older neighborhoods. The first rule of progress, someone has said, is to not lose what we already have. It seemed to me that we were letting a treasure slip away. Was anyone paying attention to the on-the-ground reality of our neighborhood? Could we neighbors work together to halt its inevitable deterioration and decline? In the Chambers Reconsidered project, I saw an opportunity to address these concerns. Throughout this process, as a member of CAFHN's Steering Committee, my goal has been to encourage all of us---neighbors, consultants, staff, Planning commission and Council---to look beyond the false perception that we must sacrifice neighborhoods or have urban sprawl. What we really need are actions that support healthy neighborhoods so as to encourage compact growth. 1