Admin Order 58-97-13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Paul Beistel, 2805 University, stated that the 1986 Alton Baker Park Master Plan for the park had identified its primary goal as enhancement of recreational opportunities for metropolitan area residents and its secondary goal as preservation of open space and wildlife habitat. He said the 1995 East Alton Baker Park Plan emphasized the secondary goal and separated the park into natural habitat and public recreation zones. He said he believed vegetation in the western zone of the park should incorporate non-native species developed for urban areas. He pointed out that a park master plan needed to accommodate a significant increase in population of the area. He said the western zone of the park should be judged by the primary goal of the park and not have criteria developed for the eastern zone applied to it. He expressed his opinion that East Alton Baker serves nature and that West Alton Baker should serve people. Beth Stein, 2436 Nixon Street, stated that she represented Nearby Nature. She expressed appreciation for the effort exerted in development of the park design plan. She said the members and staff of her organization unanimously endorsed the current plan. She expressed concern that the proposed new emergency road not be available as a regular access route for vehicles, that an over-abundance of parking was planned, that the new location for the dog leash-free area could impact areas set aside for wildlife preservation. She said she supported the concept of a cultural garden, but expressed a concern that its boundary not extend into riparian areas. She suggested that language be incorporated into the plan which would indicate that incursion of a new river crossing bridge over the Willamette River would not be permitted in the park. She said she believed that the proposed path just west of the houses on Leisure Lane might be somewhat redundant, given the pedestrian and bike route along the Leisure Lane alignment, and would prefer to see emphasis put on the Leisure Lane route. Junior Robertson, Post Office 10952, said he believed natural areas had value and did not distinguish between the recreational needs of humans and the needs of wildlife. He said he was generally happy with the proposed plan, but shared the concerns of Ms. Stein regarding new access paths and dog leash-free areas. Beth Stein, 2436 Nixon Street, stated that many native plants had been developed for ornamental park uses. She said the advantages of such plants were that they required less irrigation and were less expensive to maintain. Tex Matsler, 2645 Chula Vista Drive, stated that he agreed with the assertion of Mr. Beistel that plan designs were incorrectly dividing Alton Baker Park into two zones. He said he supported the proposed plan design but that he was concerned that, by concentrating on the western area of the park, it ignored valuable riverfront areas. He pointed out that most eastern areas of the park were not in a natural state since they had been disturbed by agricultural use, gravel mining excavation, and use as a municipal dump. He said that without a general plan of the entire park, it was impossible to make plans for specific areas. He recommended that public input regarding park design be sought from a broad range of citizen interests. Meg Trendier, 2300 Leo Harris Parkway, stated that she appreciated adjustments to the park design plan made since the previous public meeting. She expressed support for providing additional proposed development--connection of new areas over the existing canal, good signage for all paths, a bus MINUTES-- West Alton Baker Park Public Hearing June 4, 1997 Page 2