West neighborhood to vote on plan
By KENT KULLBY
Of the Emerald
The West University Neighborhood is
ready to approve a new urban planning
proposal intended to protect the area’s
residential character from encroaching
business development.
The West University Refinement Plan
— four years in the making — will be
voted on by neighborhood residents
Thursday and passed on to the Eugene
Planning Commission.
Residents of the South University
Area Neighborhood will vote on the
plan at a meeting May 20.
The plan would affect land-use
policies between Willamette Street,
across the University to Agate Street
and between Franklin Boulevard to
20th Avenue.
The area is Eugene’s most crowded
neighborhood, housing most of the
University's 16,500 students, many of
Sacred Heart Hospital's 1,800 workers,
and 6,500 of the city’s low-income re
sidents.
Controversial parts of the plan in
clude proposed zoning changes that
would reduce the amount of non-re
sidential land use permitted.
The plan would not allow new busi
ness development, such as profession
al offices, medical clinics or parking
garages, in the area bordered by High
and Hilyard streets and 14th and 19th
avenues.
Sacred Heart Hospital and local
medical clinics object to the plan, con
tending that the medical service in
dustry needs more land for expansion.
In a prepared statement to the West
University Neighborhood, Sacred Heart
Hospital officials say the city should not
discourage the industry’s growth
because it is vital for improving the
county’s depressed economy.
Representing the Lane County
Medical Society, physician Bert Hoe
flich says good health-care planning
demands that clinics and hospitals be
located near one another so they can
use each other’s facilities.
The zoning proposals in the plan
would not allow concentrated growth of
the industry within the neighborhood,
he says.
Instead, the plan designates the area
from High Street to Patterson Street as
primarily residential.
The plan suggests excluding au
tomobile traffic from some streets in the
area to allow more room for pedes
trians, bicyclists and open spaces. The
plan would direct the city to encourage
preservation and renovation of older
homes in the area. The 1977 Neighbor
hood Analysis reported that 59 percent
of the buildings there were sub-stan
dard.
The West University Neighborhood
meeting Thursday will begin at 7:30
p.m. in the Central Presbyterian
Church, 1475 Ferry St.
When approved by the
neighborhoods, the plan will go to the
Eugene Planning Commission for an
other public hearing. The plan then will
go to the city council for more hearings
and final adoption.
Horton, Burks decry
law department cuts
By CAROL MORTON
Of the Emerald
Lane County District Attorney
Pat Horton told the county bud
get committee Tuesday that
proposed cuts in his budget are
“desperate and unacceptable.”
Both Horton and Lane County
Sheriff Dave Burks said their
budgets are evaluated and cal
culated differently than most
other county departments.
The law enforcement and
judicial budget cuts are part of a
plan to reduce spending by
$3.48 million to balance the
county budget.
Burks cited statistics indicat
ing that major crimes are in
creasing in Lane County. To
provide the same services next
year, the county would have to
add money to the sheriff’s
department, he said.
“Crime rates cannot be con
trolled," Burks said. “The cri
tical areas of the criminal work
load have increased and will be
higher during the summer."
County general administrator
George Morgan says the key
question is whether enough re
sources have been allocated for
the operations division. The
operations division — the divi
sion in the sheriff’s budget most
severely hit — supports general
police patrols in unincorporated
areas.
Administrative court services
in the sheriff’s budget are man
dated by state statute, Burks
says. As a result, police officers
are bearing the weight of the
cut.
“That’s highly unfair," Burks
says.
Horton and Burks contested
the process by which Morgan
and the budget staff recom
mended department budget
cuts.
As elected officials, Horton
and Burks have the authority "to
deal with the budget the way the
departments see fit, and neither
wants to relinquish that duty,"
Horton said.
Although budget recommen
dations were sent to each
department for responses,
Morgan said he did not receive a
response from Horton. Instead,
Horton presented his alterna
tives to Morgan and the budget
committee at the hearing Tues
day night.
Horton’s alternative list was
within the dollar amount set by
Morgan — cuts totaling
$422,000.
In Horton’s alternative bud
get, proposed cuts focus on the
district court division. The dis
trict court is the revenue-gener
ating part of the court system,
Horton said.
Horton said he realizes the
county is in financial trouble
and his department has an ob
ligation to help reduce costs
and minimize revenue losses to
the county. However, reports
indicate major and violent crime
is rising in the county, and that
is his highest priority, he said.
Burks said his cuts in patrols
are based on crime statistics in
different parts of the county.
More neighborhood patrols
mean less people overstepping
their bounds, Burks said.
County jails also are funded
through Burks’ budget.
The budget committee, Burks
and Horton will discuss budget
differences at a future budget
workshop.
-cmu
Food Service
Fishbowl Grill
B.B.Q. Beef. . on french roll 1.25
Kulbassy Sausage 1.10
BURGERS
Burger Basket 1.35 Reg burger .70
Burger Deluxe .95 Reg cheeseburger .80
Cheeseburger Deluxe 1.05 Fries .40
Soup 1.00/Chili 1.20
The
Jos. SCHLITZ Brewing Company
proudly announces
the appointment of:
Twin Cities Distributing Co.
750 McKinley
Eugene, Oregon 97402
(503) 345-2351
Wholesaler for:
©1979 Jos Schlitz Brewing Co . Milwaukee, Wis