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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2007)
tual drawing of a 58,000 sq. ft. grocery store across from the downtown library. The gro- cery would cover half the block in a five- story, full-block building that would also in- clude other ground floor retail space and an upstairs movie theater and residences. A proposal to in effect subsidize an earlier Whole Foods development pro- posal with a $12 million adjacent city parking garage caused a furor last year with local grocers and their supporters filling a three-hour public hearing to oppose subsidies to corpo- rations competing with local businesses. Citizens also questioned the need for the garage. The Whole Foods proposal on the east end of downtown fell through when the developer said construction costs had in- creased too much. The KWG proposal for tearing down much of four blocks downtown for chain stores and condos involves a subsidy of roughly $35 million from the city, including tax breaks. KWG doesn’t mention the con- troversial Whole Foods, but the square feet of its proposed grocery is nearly identical to the square feet proposed for the failed Whole Foods project last year. — Alan Pittman STOPPING THE INTERCEPTOR A public meeting April 5 on a 1.5 mile long city wastewater pipe through several acres of west Eugene wetlands drew a strong and negative response from citizen groups and individuals questioning both the environmental impact and the need for the project. Public Works Engineering is planning to ex- cavate a trench up to 21.5 feet deep and 10 feet wide to bury a 48-inch wastewater pipe be- tween Terry Street at Roosevelt northwest along the Fern Ridge bike path, across Royal Avenue to end at the intersection of Avalon and Legacy. The pipe would be buried beneath the Greenhill tributary of Amazon Creek. “The application seems to en- tirely ignore the technically chal- lenging issues of crossing of the Greenhill tributary; with no sections or engineering design,” says Lauri Segel of the Goal One Coalition. “This is es- pecially problematic, since the tributary crossing seems to violate the hydrological de- sign assumption of flat level strata.” Segel says the application does not ac- knowledge the impact to fish-bearing streams or breeding water birds, which have been ob- served on site. “The proposed Legacy Pipe project has had no alternative analysis and has failed to substantiate the reason for this specific align- ment,” says Segel. A statement from Public Works says the project is identified in the 1992 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan and is needed to “allow continued growth in the Bethel South and Bethel North subbasins, all within the exist- ing Urban Growth Boundary.” The pipe is designed to carry 20 million gallons of sewage a day and is “the shortest practic able route between the two connection points.” The city says an impervious bentonite seal over the trench will “effectively prevent surface water from infiltrating into the trench.” The statement adds, “This project ATM FEES ARE NOT NICE. GOODBYE ATM FEES. ?djheZkY_d]ekhWbbd[m BY PAUL NEEVEL H[cWhaWXb[9^[Ya_d]$ De7JC\[[iWjWdo7JC ,$&'7FO Dec_d_ckcXWbWdY[eh cW_dj[dWdY[\[[i I_cfb[h[gk_h[c[djiWffbo$ L_i_jH[cWhaWXb[9^[Ya_d]$Yec\ehceh[Z[jW_bi$ CAROL BENFIELD She was born in Eugene, but Carol Benfield grew up in Merritt, B.C. After high school she came back to Oregon, worked for a while in Eugene and Madras, then joined the Army. She met her husband, Roger, in Panama, where they both worked as meteorological observers on research projects. “It was a great job,” she says. “But they made those positions civilian and we lost them.” The pair left the Army and moved to Eugene, where both took the postal service exam. “After a year and a half they called us,” says Benfield, who has by now walked the same route, south of the UO, for 20 years. “It’s a second family for me,” she says.”I see the kids grow up and go off to college. I definitely know the cats and dogs. I love them all.” Dog lovers at home as well, she and Roger share evening outings with Deja Vue and Diablo. Benfield estimates she knows 100 dogs and an equal number of cats. “Carol is one of the strongest community builders I have met,” says neighbor Camilla Mortensen. “She engages with everyone she meets. She knows everyone by name, knows every pet by name.” I[l[d;k][d[%Ifh_d]Ó[bZBeYWj_edi +*'$,.-$()*- Ekje\7h[W0.&&$),+$'''' Jeh[Y[_l[,$&'7ddkWbF[hY[djW][O_[bZ7FOWdZ7JCh[\kdZi"oekckijc[[jj^[i[*[Wiocedj^bo h[gk_h[c[dji0'j[dYb[Wh[ZZ[X_jYWhZjhWdiWYj_edi1(ed[Z_h[YjZ[fei_jeh[b[Yjhed_YWkjeZ[X_j79>1 )ed[be]_dje?dj[hd[j8Wda_d]1WdZ*WYj_l[[dhebbc[dj_d[IjWj[c[dji$?\cedj^boh[gk_h[c[djiWh[dej c[j"oekm_bbh[Y[_l[$'&7FOWdZde7JC\[[h[\kdZi\ehj^Wjcedj^$7FOi[\\[Yj_l[*%(%(&&-WdZikX`[Yj jeY^Wd][WjWdoj_c[$<[[icWoh[ZkY[[Whd_d]i$C[cX[hi^_fh[gk_h[c[djiWffbo$ Cedj^bo3\hecj^[bWijZWoe\j^[cedj^jej^[ZWoX[\eh[j^[bWijZWoe\j^[ \ebbem_d]cedj^$&-&*D&( APRIL 26, 2007 9
