Item A: River Road/Santa Clara Transition Project

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Neighborhood Governance Current Situation Governance is not a “service” in the sense of the other services – parks, fire protection, planning, water supply, etc. - discussed as transition and heritage options in this White Paper. Governance per se was also not called out as a stand-alone topic in the 2002 River Road/Santa Clara Urban Services Committee report. Nonetheless, effective neighborhood governance is a benchmark both in the 2002 Committee report and in many of the ideas presented in this White Paper, such as formation of a library cooperative, sustaining existing special districts, etc. There are two neighborhood governance ideas which merit discussion outside of the specific framework of any of the particular urban service options described in this White Paper – City Council representation, and the authority of City-recognized Community Organizations. City residents within the two neighborhoods can participate fully in City governance, up to and including service on City elected and appointed bodies. All area residents can do the same for County bodies and programs. Notwithstanding this, and given the annexation and urbanization transitions that Santa Clara and River Road are going through, most neighborhood attention may probably be primarily focused now and in the future on City actions, programs and policies. The City of Eugene City Council identified “launch a neighborhood initiative” as one of their eight priority issues for 2005, and is currently considering an action plan defining this initiative. This could be a potential vehicle for changes to neighborhood governance in Eugene (and for many of the other options discussed elsewhere in this White Paper). River Road River Road is completely within a single City of Eugene Council ward (Ward #7). Most of the River Road neighborhood is in County Commission District #4 (a small portion is in District #1). The River Road Community Organization has been very active. In addition, River Road has its own parks and recreation district and a water district Santa Clara Santa Clara is split between two wards (Wards #7 and 5) along the axis of River Road. The neighborhood is represented at the County by Commission District #1. The Santa Clara Community Organization is active; and Santa Clara is served by two fire districts (Santa Clara and Lane) and a local water district. Transition and Heritage Options Transition Options In the sense that sustaining or improving neighborhood governance can sustain the heritage of a community, all such options are discussed below as such. Heritage Options ? Option No1: City Council Representation . - Equal representation and population requirements often render it impossible to make political boundaries coincident with neighborhood boundaries. Nonetheless, action by the City to re-apportion Council wards, either by including both neighborhoods within a single ward, or by having the dividing line along the axis of Beltline Road (thus making the ward boundaries more consistent with accepted neighborhood boundaries) might make neighborhood residents feel their access to City elected officials was improved (or at least simpler). There could be a similar adjustment by the County to divide Districts #1 and #4 completely along Beltline Road. The City of Eugene did a major reapportionment after the 2000 17 River Road/Santa Clara Transition/Heritage White Paper DRAFT 11-24-05 Service provider Review