Item B: Stream Corridor Acquisition Program

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have been conducted as opportunities arise and as funding allows. The pending acquisition of 5.5 acres of stream corridor in the Willow Creek area, in conjunction with parks acquisition and shown on Map 1, is an example of what can be accomplished within the existing funding level. Open Waterways Ordinance (2000) The Open Waterways ordinance, a prohibition on piping or filling applicable to all waterways, was adopted by the council in April 2000. The ordinance was subsequently challenged and remanded back to the City by the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) in January 2001. The City appealed but lost the appeal in July 2001 and the ordinance is no longer in effect. At the time that the council approved the stream corridor acquisition study and funding strategy in October 2001, there were no waterway protection measures in place except in the west Eugene wetlands area. Therefore, the stream corridor acquisition program served to fill a gap in protections for the stream corridor sites most at risk of impact from new development. Goal 5 With the adoption of Goal 5 protection measures in November 2005, the majority of the remaining potentially available stream corridor sites are protected from encroachment of future development activities in the form of setback buffer areas. Map 2 shows the relationship of the remaining acquisition sites to the recently adopted Goal 5 protections and illustrates a strong relationship of Goal 5 protections to the remaining acquisition sites, in linear miles. The Goal 5 buffers are applied to each side of a waterway and range in width from 20 feet to 100 feet, depending on individual resource site conditions. Most of the remaining acquisition sites with Goal 5 protections have 40 foot-wide buffers (80 feet total). By comparison, the minimum targeted area for acquisition would potentially result in 150 foot-wide buffers assuming successful negotiations with property owners. Proposed Water Quality Protected Waterways Implementation of water quality protections for certain sensitive and impaired waterways is a part of the current stormwater program workplan. In this context, impaired waterways are those that are listed by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality as being “water quality limited” for not meeting state water quality standards for certain pollutants, and their tributaries. This is not a specific element of the City’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, but is a best practice employed by other Oregon communities and is consistent with the goals and policies of the City’s Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan. Staff is working to identify waterways for protection and a draft ordinance is under development at this time. The water quality waterways ordinance is tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration in November 2006. In addition to showing the relationship of remaining acquisition sites to the recently adopted Goal 5 protections, Map 2 also shows the relationship to the proposed water quality protections. The map shows a strong relationship of proposed water quality protections to the remaining acquisition sites. PROS Comp Plan The Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for City Council action on January 18, 2006. The stream corridor acquisition sites and corridors identified in the October 2001 Study are consistent with PROS Comp Plan objectives. Staff’s experiences with stream corridor acquisition have been that the City is most successful when acquiring in partnership with parks acquisition. Stream corridor acquisition funds can be used to leverage larger acquisitions for multiple benefits to the community, and in-line with adopted plans and policies. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060123\S060123B.doc