HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 4694
RESOLUTION NO. 4694
A RESOLUTION INITIATING AMENDMENTS TO THE
WEST EUGENE WETLANDS PLAN, EUGENE-
SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN
(METRO PLAN) AND EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD
METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSPORTATION PLAN
(TRANSPLAN) TO FACILITATE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
WEST EUGENE PARKWAY.
The City Council of the City of Eugene finds as follows:
A. In 1986 the State of Oregon committed funds to and proposed to construct the West
Eugene Parkway ("Parkway"). Ordinance No. 19396 was thereafter adopted by the City Council and
approved by the Mayor on August 11, 1986 setting forth the preferred route and authorizing the City
Manager to enter into cooperative agreements with the State of Oregon and others to facilitate the
construction project along that preferred route. The Ordinance provided that it would become
effective upon its approval by the voters of the City.
B. On that same date, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 3995 referring Ordinance
No. 19296 to the electors of the City for their adoption or rejection at the general election held on
Tuesday, November 4, 1986. The Ordinance was approved and adopted by the electors of the City.
C. Subsequent to approval of the Ordinance several environmental assessment studies
have been completed. Based on those studies, recommendations have been made for changes in the
route of the Parkway from that initially proposed and approved.
D. Also subsequent to that approval, the federal government has indicated that in order
to move forward with any part of the West Eugene Parkway, the entire West Eugene Parkway must
be included in the 20 year construction project list in TransPlan. To add the entire West Eugene
Parkway to the TransPlan proj ect list would necessitate moving other proj ects totaling approximately
$71 million to the unfunded project list, or finding other federal, state or local revenues to fund those
projects.
G. On August 12, 2001, the City Council placed two measures before the voters.
Measure 20-53, Transportation Strategies in West Eugene, Not Including the West Eugene Parkway
and Measure 20-54, West Eugene Parkway.
H. On November 6,2001, Measure 20-53 was defeated and Measure 20-54 approving
the City's facilitation of construction of the West Eugene Parkway was passed by a majority of those
who voted.
Resolution - 1
I. Initiation of amendments to the Metro Plan, West Eugene Wetlands Plan and
TransPlan in response to state and federal requirements for implementation of the West Eugene
Parkway is necessary in order to facilitate construction of the West Eugene Parkway, consistent with
the results of Ballot Measure 20-54. The necessary amendments are specified in the December 1,
2000 letter from Robert J. Pirrie, ODOT Region 2 Area Manager to Mayor Torrey and the City
Council, which is attached as Exhibit A.
NOW, THEREFORE, based upon the above findings,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE, a
Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon, as follows:
Section 1. The City Council hereby initiates amendments to the West Eugene Wetlands
Plan, the Metro Plan and TransPlan, as requested by ODOT on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Land
Management and Federal Highway Administration as described in the attached Exhibit A, required
prior to completion of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the West
Eugene Parkway.
The foregoing Resolution adopted the 28th day of November, 2001.
,r~41-r' L. z:.L---/
City Recorder
Resolution - 2
Exhibit A
.11 -Oregon
John A. Kltzhaber. M.D., Governor
December 1,2000
Department of Transportation
Area Manager/Project Manager
644 A Street
Springfield, Oregon 97477
PHONE (541) 744-8080
FAX (541) 744-8088
Mayor Torrey and City Council
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street
Eugene, OR 9740 I
FILE CODE:
Subject: West Eugene Parkway
Dear Mayor Torrey and Members of the Council:
As requested, this correspondence will outline the next steps regarding land use and city
actions necessary to continue progress on the West Eugene Parkway . We face significant
regulatory hurdles in order to receive FHW A and BLM approvals of the West Eugene
Parkway Project. Securing these approvals and construction of Unit I A is dependent
upon City of Eugene actions.
Two specific actions requested from the City of Eugene are necessary to support moving
forward with the conclusion of project NEP A documentation and construction of Unit
IA:
1. Amend the West Eugene Wetlands Plan (WEWP) to designate the Modified Project
alignment as a transportation corridor; and amend the Eugene - Springfield Metro Plan to
provide an exception to Statewide Planning Goals 3, 4, 11, and 14. Unit 2 of the project
crosses lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM purchased those
lands with appropriations from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (L WCF).
BLM policy prohibits the transfer of ownership of any lands purchased with L WCF
funds. However, BLM's Washington D.C. office indicated a waiver is possible if certain
conditions are met, including a determination that the project is "consistent with the
purposes for which the public lands are being managed" 1. Consistency is demonstrated,
in part, by inclusion of the project in the applicable BLM management plan. The BLM
adopted the WEWP as its land use management plan for the subject properties.
Therefore, the project must be shown in the WEWP to be consistent with the BLM
management plan. BLM also stated that"... prior to BLM approval of an application for
right-of-way from ODOT, it will be necessary for the City of Eugene to formally amend
its Metropolitan Area General Plan to provide an exception from State Wide Planning
Goals 3, 4, 11, and 14.,,2
1 October 3, 2000 Letter from Elaine Y. Zielinsk, BLM State Director to Dave Reilly, Acting FHWA
Division Administrator, attached.
2 August 18. 2000 Letter from Diana Bus, BLM Action Coast Range Field Manager to James B.
Cox Jr., ODOT Environmental Project Manager, attached.
FHWA will not approve NEPA documentation without clearance of the BLM property.
"Before we. (FHW A) can move forward in finalization of our SFEIS, we need
assurances that BLM can transfer the needed right-ol-way interest and control to
the ODOr ,,)
Therefore, the WEWP amendment and Statewide Goal exception need to be processed to
move the project forward.
2. Amend the Draft TransPlan update to include the entire WEP project in the list of
financially constrained 20-year capital investment actions. FHW A will not complete the
NEP A process for a project in a metropolitan area unless the entire project is included in
the fmancially constrained list of capital investrilents in the local transportation plan.
FHW A recently reaffirmed this policy in the attached letter dated September 27, 2000.
To be in compliance with this policy, the entire WEP project must be included in the
financially constrained projects list in TransPlan.
It has long been understood that successful delivery of this project does not rest on
ODOT or the City alone. City and ODOT staffhave coordinated project efforts for many
years. ODOT intends to pursue later phases of the project, Unit 2A&B (west of Beltline)
and Unit IB (Hwy 99 to Seneca), until the project is completed. ODOT staff continues to
coordinate with FHW A and BLM. It is clear that project approval will not happen
without the requested support from the City of Eugene.
Thank you for you consideration of these issues and continuing staff support as we move
through the remaining steps of the project development process for the West Eugene
Parkway. If you have any questions or require additional information, please advise.
Sincerely,
(2e,t~f ~. 9 .A/~A-UL
Robert J. Pirrie
ODOT Region 2 Area Manager
Attachments
cc: Gary Johnson, ODOT
Jim Cox, ODOT
Jay McRae, CH2M Hill
Elton Chang, FHW A
Dave Reinhard, Eugene Public Works Department
Jan Childs, Eugene Planning and Development Department
3 April 26, 2000 Letter to Ms Diane Chung, BLM Coast Range Field Manager from John D
Wichman, FHWA Division Right-of-Way Officer, attached