HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 06/16/05EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
June 16, 2005
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.ci.eugene.or, us
ILLEGAL FENCES CREATE SOME HEARTBURN
WALNUT STATION MIXED-USE CENTER COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
BETHEL CELEBRATES
HISTORY COMES ALIVE AT GRAND OPENING OF SKINNER CITY FARM
LA PASI~N SEQ~N SAN MARCOS - JUNE 24 AND 25
SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORS CELEBRATE THEIR NEWLY RENOVATED NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
Illegal Fences Create Some Heartburn
With adoption of the updated Land Use Code in 2001, fence standards changed. The most significant
change is a decrease in the maximum height for fences in the front yard setback from 6 feet to 42
inches. The front yard setback applies to every property line adjacent to a street in residential zones,
which means that some lots (such as corner lots) can have more than one front yard. Within a front yard
setback, a fence cannot be over 42 inches high within the 10 feet closest to the property line. The
standard also applies to commercial and industrial zones abutting residentially zoned property, as well as
selected other commercial and industrial properties as well.
Land Use Management staff deals with numerous cases of fence installations that do not comply with the
standards, especially in the spring and summer. Many residents and contractors appear to be unaware
of the height limitation and the special impacts to corner and through lots. In addition, residents can run
into trouble when replacing older fences. The code allows some repair, but does not allow replacement
of nonconforming fences. Promoting compliance can be somewhat easier with a fence installation in
progress. Completed fences pose a challenge, because of the difficulty in establishing the scope and
date of installation. The number of nonconforming fences, both legal and illegal, is large. The City will
continue to conduct outreach to fence contractors in an effort to head off violations and promote the
council's goal of an attractive and safe interface between homes and the public way. For more
information, please contact Mike McKerrow, Land Use Management supervisor, 682-5251, or
mike.i.mckerrow~ci.eu.qene.or, us
Walnut Station Mixed-Use Center Community Workshop
Join the City of Eugene Planning Division, urban design consultant Crandall ^rambula, and
representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation, Lane Transit District, and the University
of Oregon on Tuesday, June 21, for a community workshop on plans and ideas for the Walnut Station
Mixed-Use Center, the area around Walnut Street and Franklin Boulevard. Mayor Kitty Piercy will kick
off the event, which will take place from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. in Agate Hall, located at 1787 Agate Street.
This public workshop is the first step of the process to create a development plan for the future Walnut
Station Mixed-Use Center. Consultant Crandall Arambula will discuss opportunities and constraints to
creating a mixed-use development pattern in the area around Franklin and Walnut. Topics include the
future character of Franklin Boulevard, I-5 and the impact of a potential Franklin interchange, providing
for University expansion, a possible U of O arena, protecting the neighborhood from traffic and
development impacts, appropriate land uses on both sides of Franklin, and connections to the natural
environment. At the workshop, members of the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and
share thoughts or concerns.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
June 16, 2005
The public is invited to attend this focused discussion about the future of the neighborhood at the Walnut
Station Mixed-Use Center Community Workshop. For more information, please contact Allen Lowe,
Planning Division, at 682-5113.
Bethel Celebrates
The 4TM Annual "We Are Bethel" Celebration, held on Saturday, June 4, was a tremendous success.
From noon until 6 p.m., an estimated 3,500 people converged on Petersen Barn Community Center and
Park to enjoy free live entertainment, a youth carnival, a community art gallery, food, and various
community and business booths.
Started as part of the Bethel Weed & Seed initiative, this year's event kicked off the Hult Center's
Summer Concerts in the Park series featuring Lo Nuestro. Other main stage entertainment was provided
by school groups from Danebo, Malabon, Shasta, Cascade, and Willamette schools. Other popular
components were the Club Bethel Youth Carnival, complete with a dunk tank sponsored by Echo Hollow
Pool, a kickoff event for the Eugene Public Library--Bethel Branch summer reading program--and
information about Summer Fun For All. The Eugene Police Department contributed to the event by
hosting a booth featuring the Bethel Public Safety Station, providing event security, and supplying
several invaluable volunteers to host event parking. Red Hats from the Petersen Barn Seniors Program
could also be seen leading the annual Sidewalk Parade with the CABA Lion Dancers.
Councilors Andrea Ortiz and Jennifer Solomon, and Lorna Flormoe were all recognized during the
annual Milk Toast for their contributions to the Bethel community. Lorna, as the grant coordinator, is
finishing up the last year of the Bethel Weed & Seed initiative. Mayor Kitty Piercy appeared on the main
stage later in the afternoon to recognize a large group of youth leaders in the Bethel area.
Many organizations and businesses contribute to the overall success of the celebration; however, the
vital partnership between Bethel School District and the City of Eugene really make it all happen. Seeing
so many different City departments coming together at one time to provide their own unique services is
very exciting. For more information, contact "We Are Bethel" Coordinator Jared Tesch at 682-6042.
History Comes Alive at Grand Opening of Skinner City Farm
About 80 people gathered on June 12 to celebrate the grand opening of Skinner City Farm, the City's
newest community garden located at the west end of Skinner Butte Park. The festivities included the
unveiling of historic, locally crafted gates to the site, tours of the community gardens, vermicomposting
and worm bin demonstrations, and interactive presentations on local history, as well as old-time games,
music, food, and fun for all ages. The design, construction and installation of the historic gates, the worm
bin system with shelter, and the living fence were funded by the City of Eugene's Neighborhood
Matching Grant program.
City Councilor Andrea Ortiz (in photo at right)
was on hand to dedicate the gates, along with
the artists who created the them--Susan
Applegate, descendant of the original
Applegates, Mike Gould, Jan VanderTuin, one
of the founders of the Skinner City Farm non-
profit organization that manages the farm, and
Karl Benedek. Ortiz related personal
experiences about gardening and touted the
project as a great asset to the community.
While the children played potato sack and 3-
legged races, adults enjoyed a live, historical
presentation about Eugene and Mary Skinner
near Skinner's Cabin, "talking circles," where
members of the community shared their
perspectives on local history and our community, a natural history presentation by Erik Burke, and blues
guitar and kazoo by Eagle Park Slim. The talking circles were led by Bob Hart, director of the Lane
County Historical Museum, and Alice Parman, local exhibit planner. Some of the stories shared will be
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
June 16, 2005
compiled and displayed as a web-based exhibit.
"It was encouraging, satisfying, and hopeful to see the event bring such life and community to the west
end of the park," says Robin Hostick, park planner and author of the Skinner Butte Park Master Plan, in
which Skinner City Farm was originally conceived.
Skinner City Farm, a local non-profit organization, manages, cultivates and develops educational
programming for the City's historical community gardens at Skinner Butte Park. The site was once a
prairie, inhabited by Native Americans, and part of the original donation land claim by pioneer farmers
Mary and Eugene Skinner, for whom Eugene is named. Educational programming emphasizes the
historic and agricultural importance of the site, food security, and farming and gardening. Currently, 14
youth and 21 families from five different community groups that serve people in need are tending plots at
the farm. For more information about larger organizational garden plots or educational programming at
the farm, call Skinner City Farm at 344-8322 or visit www.efn.org/~scf. For more information about
individual garden plots or the City's Community Gardens Program, call Program Manager Matt McRae at
682-4845 or visit www.ci.euqene.or, us/PARKS/howto/commqardens.htm. For more information about
Skinner Butte Park or the park's master plan, call Robin Hostick, park planner, at 682-4915.
La PasiOn Seqfm San Marcos - June 24, 25
Don't miss the Northwest premiere of La Pasi6n Seg~n San Marcos. The Passion of Jesus Christ
According to St. Mark -- in the form of a South American street festival -- opens this season's Bach
Festival and unfolds in a brassy, percussive parade of sensory images, ritual dances, and heart-stirring
vocals. Composer Osvaldo Golijov, commissioned once before for the Bach and the Americas project
"Oceana," brings forth a passion with ritual, drama and rhythms hot enough to dance to. Conducted by
Venezuelan conductor Maria Guinand, and accompanied by the Schola Cantorum and Brazilian jazz
singer Luciana Souza, the passion blends ever-shifting rhythms of salsa, mambo, flamenco, and tango
with the mystery and meaning of the Gospel of Saint Mark. It speaks to our time with a culture-crossing,
barrier-breaking celebration of the strength of the human spirit and a faith in a greater destiny. "A
passion resounding with Latin America's rambunctious vital 21st century voice." says the Chicago Sun-
Times. For more information, contact the Hult Center Ticket Office at 682-5000.
Southeast Neiqhbors Celebrate their Newly Renovated Neiqhborhood Park
On June 15, Councilor Betty Taylor helped
re-dedicate Milton Park with the chant, "Red
Rover, Red Rover, send the kids on over!"
Scores of local kids from the southeast
Eugene neighborhood dashed through the
crepe paper ribbon (at right) and officially
re-dedicated the recently renovated park,
nestled in the 3300 block of University
Street. Over 100 park neighbors came out
for a summer picnic in the park, complete
with sub sandwiches, old fashioned field
games, and live music by "The Tuesday
Night Barn Group", a lively, homegrown
blue grass ensemble.
Councilor Taylor, along with Philip
Richardson, the park's planner, and Vincent Martorello, neighbor and member of the Friends of Milton
Park, addressed the crowd gathered on picnic blankets in the verdant open field and at the new picnic
tables. Councilor Taylor acknowledged an 80-year-old neighbor named Annie for her persistence in
advocating for renovation of the park. Martorello said the Friends of Milton Park formed when a group of
neighbors began talking to each other and wondering what could be done about their outdated, decrepit
neighborhood park. He thanked City Parks Planning staff for their responsiveness to neighbors. "They
sifted and distilled our input into a wonderful park with diverse forms of play for children of all ages. The
park really is a jewel for the neighborhood," Martorello said.
The renovation of the 0.6-acre park was funded by the 1998 parks and open space bond measure.
Originally developed in the 1960s, the park now has a new play area, including a simulated rock climbing
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
June 16, 2005
wall, slide and sand play area with water play equipment, benches, picnic tables, a drinking fountain, a
new half-court basketball court, and sidewalks. All of these new features were well-used at the
re-dedication celebration, especially the sand area, where many kids spent the duration of the
celebration constructing elaborate canals in the sand and flushing them with water. In addition to the
new amenities, the park's lawn and landscaped beds were rejuvenated, and a new irrigation system was
installed to maintain them. Several unique tiles by local artist Betsy Wolfston were also installed in the
sidewalk. During construction, local construction contractor, Triton Group, worked closely with Sperry
Arborists to help preserve the park's many mature trees. For more information about Milton Park, call
Park Planner Philip Richardson at 682-4906.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
June 16, 2005