HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/11/1982 Meeting (2)
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M I NUT E S
Eugene City Council
e Work Session
Bethel/Danebo Refinement Plan
McNutt Room, City Hall
August 11, 1982
1:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Gus Keller; John Ball, D. W. Hamel, Mark Lindberg,
Gretchen Miller, Emily Schue, Betty Smith, Eugene City Council;
City Manager Micheal Gleason; Irv Berman, Public Works; Pat Decker,
Bill French, Planning.
Mr. French said that the plan before the council was an update of the Bethell
Danebo Neighborhood Refinement Plan, which was adopted in 1975. He said that
the area covered by the plan included the area represented by the Active Bethel
Citizens and Bethel Triangle neighborhood associations. He said that the plan
covered land both within the City limits and outside the City limits but within
the urban growth boundary. Mr. French said that, in response to elements of the
recently adopted Metropolitan Area General Plan, the updated plan included
establishment of three new development nodes in the Bethel/Danebo area and
movement of the urban growth boundary from Terry Street west to Greenhill Road.
Mr. French then discussed the three development nodes. He said that the node
located on Barger Drive between Highway 99 North and Beltline Road called for
e the following uses: 5 acres commercial land, 16 acres high density residential
land, and 71 acres medium density residential land. Mr. French said that the
node at Royal Avenue and Danebo Street totaled 40 acres, with 10 acres of
commercial land and the remaining 30 acres designated for residential use.
He said that selection of a location for the third node had been based on need
to balance resources available and that this node had been designated for the
north side of Royal Avenue, between Terry Street and Greenhill Road. This node
would contain 5 acres of commercial land and approximately 20 acres of medium
density residential land.
Mr. French said that these nodes had been established to accomplish the intent
of the Metropolitan Area General Plan to provide for efficient use of energy and
resources by locating residences near shopping and employment areas. He said
that the nodes would also provide alternative housing types in the Bethel/Danebo
area. Mr. French indicated that the two nodes located on Royal Avenue would
serve as a resource for the industrial areas located to the south.
Mr. French said that citizen involvement in the refinement plan update was good,
with two planning teams representing the Active Bethel Citizens area and one
representing the Bethel Triangle Neighbors. He said that these planning teams
had made presentations to and received feedback from the neighbhorhood groups.
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Mr. French discussed the major issues raised at the Planning Commission Hearing
e on the plan. He said that two concerns had been stressed: 1) concern that
existing parkland in the Bethel/Danebo area has not been developed, including a
sentiment that development of existing parkland should take priority over
acquisition of new sites; and 2) a desire to retain existing parkland in its
present location. Mr. French said that the latter concern stemmed from concern
that the City might exchange a parcel of parkland it now owns in the East Irwin
and West Irwin streets area for another parcel that is located to the north of
the drainage channel and outside the neighborhood area.
Mr. French said that another major concern was with planned improvements to
Roosevelt Boulevard. He said that property owners and residents of the area
were concerned that they be given an opportunity to participate in the planning
and design of these improvements.
Mr. French said that there had also been testimony at the Planning Commission
hearing from an individual concerned with three lots designated in the plan for
a split of residential and commercial uses and zoning. He said that, as a
result of this testimony, staff recommended deleting the residential zoning on
those parcels.
Mr. French said that the council public hearing on the refinement plan update
was scheduled for September 13, 1982.
Ms. Decker said that the Planning Commission had received correspondence from
property owners in the area outside the urban growth boundary north of the city,
e who were interested in having that boundary expanded to include their properties.
She said that the Planning Commission's response to this had been that the
refinement plan was not the proper context in which to address this concern and
that it should be addressed in the context of the Metropolitan Area General
Plan.
Ms. Decker said that there had also been a request for location of an additional
development node in the area south of Barger Drive, outside the City limits.
She said that the staff's response was that there is already another neighborhood
commercial area nearby with undeveloped property; that it is unlikely that the
City will be growing in this direction for some time in the future; and that
extending commercial use into the property in question would only continue a
pattern of commercial strip development that already exists to some extent along
Barger Drive. Ms. Decker said staff felt that there is already enough commercial
strip development in the Bethel/Danebo area. She said that, for these reasons,
staff felt that the three nodes identified in the Metropolitan Area General Plan
and reflected in the draft refinement plan update were sufficient. Ms. Decker
also noted that Lane County's decision to allow commercial use on land in this
area had been appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals. She said that tentative
indications were that LUBA had determined the commercial designation to be
inappropriate.
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MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session August 11, 1982 Page 2
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Responding to a question from Councilor Hamel regarding the neighbors' concerns
for development of parkland before acquisition of new land, Mr. French said that
he had explained to the neighborhood associations that separate funds were used
for park development and acquisition.
e Councilor Ball referred to statistics on parkland available in various parts of
the City and noted that the BethellDanebo area only has one-quarter of the
amount of parkland identified as lIaveragell for City neighborhoods. He expressed
concern that the policies and proposals in the refinement plan update for parks
not be treated as though they were listed in order of priority. Mr. Ball was
especially concerned with Policy 2, regarding encouraging private developers to
set aside land for parks, which he felt was an unrealistic expectation.
Councilor Ball was concerned with the inadequate provision in the plan for
parkland, particularly in proximity to the development node in the area north of
Barger between Highway 99 North and Beltline Road, with its designation of
sizable pieces of property for medium and high density residential use. He felt
that the large numbers of people who would be living in these nodes required
provision of additional parkland. Mr. French said that the City did own parkland
in this area and was currently negotiating to purchase additional land to create
a parcel of approximately five acres of parkland. He also pointed out that
development of land in these nodes through the Planned Unit Development process
would include provision of usable open space.
Councilor Ball said that he was concerned with the Planning Commission's
consideration of addition of a seventh policy in the Parks section of the plan,
which would make development of existing parkland a higher priority than acquistion
of additional land for parks. Ms. Decker said the intent of the Planning
Commission was that, in the early stages of reviewing the Parks Master Plan, the
e City should consider identifying park development as a priority for the Bethell
Danebo area. She said the Planning Commission believed this responded to the
concern of residents of the area that this issue be addressed early in implemen-
tation of the Master Plan and that the commission had not intended to indicate
that further acquisition was any less important than development.
Councilor Schue said that the issue of selling Bethel Park land and using the
proceeds to enlarge Golden Gardens Park had also been raised. She said that
this had been a recommendation in the Parks Master Plan and that residents of
the area had testified to the Joint Parks Committee in opposition to this
action. Ms. Schue said it was her recollection that, as a result of this
testimony, the committee had decided to change this recommendation.
Returning to the earlier comparison of amounts of parkland in the BethellDanebo
area with amounts in other areas of the City, Councilor Miller said she believed
that the figures were skewed, since much of the land used in arriving at the
figures was not neighborhood parkland but regional facilities, used by the
entire City, such as Hendricks Park. She felt that statistics for usable
neighborhood parkland would be considerably different. Councilor Miller expressed
her appreciation to the Planning Commissioners for their efforts to provide
clear, straightforward wording in the plan update.
p.m.
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MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session August 11, 1982 Page 3