Item A: West Eugene EmX Update - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

An example of these design reviews is the one suggested by Councilor Pryor held at Goodwill th Industries on Seneca Road, off of West 11Avenue. At this meeting, a question and answer session helped clarify the purpose of the project and provided an opportunity to respond to stakeholder questions about how the project would work, potential property impacts, options, and the project timeline. The design review meetings have been well attended (averaging 20 attendees) and have resulted in increased awareness of the project. Additional meetings are scheduled, and will continue to be offered to allow for broader dissemination of this important information. One-on-One meetings with property and business owners LTD has prioritized staff time on the project for meeting with owners of residential property, th th th commercial property, and business owners along West 11Avenue, West 13 , West 6 and th 7Avenues, and the downtown business area to go over specific designs of alternatives adjacent to their property. These meetings have resulted in changes in designs, when possible. These individualized meetings provide an opportunity to find solutions to reduce or eliminate impacts to property and business owners, as well as to address the purpose of the WEEE project. Due to the large size of the project area, the property and business owner meetings are an ongoing effort. LTD staff are prioritizing contact with those property owners who may be faced with potential impacts to buildings and off-street parking. In the next month, LTD staff will continue to contact property owners to discuss potential project impacts. LTD also is very willing to hold additional meetings with these stakeholders at their request. Attachment B is a list of the contacts with businesses, residents and property owners between July 2008 and September 30, 2009. This list does not include the larger WEEE public outreach efforts such as general public meetings and community design workshops, weekly public design meetings, agency meetings and public engagement efforts through various media. Expanded WEEE Corridor Committee At the May 13 work session, the Council expressed a strong expectation that stakeholders directly affected by an alternative alignment would have an opportunity to be heavily involved in the project. To this end, LTD has recruited several new stakeholders to join the West Eugene EmX Extension Corridor Committee. These new members include two business th representatives from the West 11 Avenue area and a representative from the Eugene thth Chamber of Commerce. In addition, LTD is talking to businesses along 6 and 7 Avenues th and 13 Avenue to recruit representatives from those areas. Formed in September 2007, the stated mission of the Corridor Committee is “facilitating collaborative discussion of project-related issues between those who may be affected by the project and those making decisions about the project.” A list of Corridor Committee stakeholders is provided in Attachment C. Quick Response Project As indicated at the May 13 meeting, the State of Oregon has agreed to fund a ”Quick Response” project as part of the overall WEEE effort. The study area extends between the thth Eugene Station and Arthur Street, and north of West 6 Avenue to south of West 13 Avenue. The intent of this project (funded through the Department of Land Conservation and Development) is to provide a range of context-sensitive design elements that could serve as mitigation measures for each of the alternative alignments proposed in that area of the corridor. This project will include at least three meetings with 12-16 stakeholders from the study area and two public workshops. Through this effort staff hope to provide an opportunity for a deeper engagement of the residents and businesses in the area. Attachment D outlines the process 3