Item B: Parks, Recreation and Open Space Comprehensive Plan

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. . , . >t. ~ . ~ October 17, 2005 Eugen&Area Chamber of Commerce John Lawless, President . Eugene Planning Commission clo Susan Muir, Executive Director, POD 99 West 10th Avenue Eugene, OR 97401 RE: PROS Comprehensive Plan Dear President lawless and Planning Commissioners: Thank you for keeping the record open from your October 11 pubUc hearing. I wanted to submit in writing the key points I made to you at the hearing on behalf of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. . I want to state upfront the Chamber believes parks, recreation and open space do make a positive contribution to the overall quality of life of our community, including the economy. And Eugene is certainly fortunate to have so many great attributes in our inventory of parks, recreational facilities, and open space. . Therefore, we don't want these comments to be interpreted as being critical of parks or of the commitment of those who developed the PROS Comprehensive Plan. Nor are they critical of staff. Staff made certain to reach out to us for purposes of discussing the plan. Rather, we view the PROS Comprehensive Plan as a land use matter that deserves your attention in that context. Although we understand why the project list has been removed from PROS and placed into a separate plan it does make it a little more difficult for those who want to view the whole parks plan in a comprehensive manner. Having said that, you can be certain we'll comment on the budget and financial implications of the PROS Comprehensive Plan when the city council considers the project list. Presently, we have many concerns about how much it will cosUo implement and maintain the project list. And, we'll be concerned about how the projects get prioritized and paid for relative to other pressing needs in the community. A primary concem we have right now with the PROS Comprehensive Plan is whether or not this can truly be a comprehensive parks plan if it doesn't take into account existing public land and private land that provide open space and recreational opportunities. And perhaps more importantly for your Cbnsideration as the planning commission, is this truly comprehensive planning if PROS is not integrated with other ongoing planning activities such as Goal 5 Natural Resources. or with future planning for infrastructure such as transportation and utilities. tn many respects, our concerns about PROS are not unlike those which several of you raised at your October 10 worksessiof'}. In fact, they are very similar. 1401 Willamette Street P.O. Box 1107 Eugene OR 97440-1107 TEL: 541.484.1314 FAX: 541.484.4942