Item 2E - Metro Plan Amendment - Laserfiche WebLink

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only question at this time is whether the council is willing to initiate the Metro Plan amendment. This action in no way requires the council to approve the amendment when the amendment comes back to the council after public hearings and planning commission recommendations. Council Goal Action Priority This project can be related to a number of council goals, including sustainable community development, healthy natural and built environment, and providing accessible and thriving cultural and recreational opportunities. Financial and/or Resource Considerations Financial resources for the Santa Clara Community Park and related land use processes are addressed by the 1998 Parks and Open Space bond measure for park land acquisition and Parks System Development Charge (SDC) funding for park land development. Other Background Information Due to the complex nature of this acquisition proposal, a thorough analysis of the public costs and benefits of the project was conducted. This work was completed over the summer of 2003, and a copy of the report (A Community Park for Santa Clara: A Report to the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space Division from the Santa Clara Community Park Advisory Committee) was provided to councilors on January 26, 2004. (The report is available online at: www. ci. eugene, or.us/PARKS/planning/031202_sccpFinalReport.pdf) Through the community engagement process, the staff and consultant team convened a Santa Clara Community Park advisory committee. This committee, along with a technical advisory group, was assigned to help articulate community values and concerns regarding the proposal. The committee met three times in July and August 2003. Issues raised by the committee and results of a committee prioritization process were presented to the council at the November 2003 City Council Meeting. The following four recommendations were promoted by the consultant team following the committee's discussions: 1. Consider the Land Swap proposal in the context of parallel visioning studies such as Region 2050 and Rivers to Ridges. If, on the fifty-year horizon, it is likely that one or both of these sites will be added to the UGB, it becomes more apparent that acting now to acquire needed park land on one or both of these sites is prudent and cost-effective. 2. Consider negotiating agreements for easements or purchase of all or some portion of the Laurel Hill Valley site for extension of the Ridgeline trail. Several Rivers to Ridges projects taken together would form a continuous open space network along the ridgeline to the east and south of Eugene and the Laurel Hill site is an important potential link in that network. 3. Consider the new community park as an integral, convenient, accessible element of community development. Parks that return the most benefit and value to their communities tend to be those situated close at hand and organized for safe, convenient access by the people who might use them the most. In order to achieve that, parks ought to be centrally located, integrated with adjacent compatible land uses and well connected to nearby areas through local street, bicycle and pedestrian networks. 4. Bring the public into a process that develops the land use and park plan for the Santa Clara site and a future for the Laurel Hill Valley site. The three conceptual land use plans developed for the SCCP Advisory Committee can be used to initiate discussion of the possible development patterns to meet City goals. The City's Parks and Open Space Division has negotiated two agreements with the property owners related to this proposal, copies of which are included as attachments A and B. The first agreement L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040614\S0406142E.doc