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.
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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.”
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APRIL 26, 2007 9