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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2011)
Burning desire to be noticed? Man, have we got lights. 10% to 20% Off — on our huge selection of lights and reflectives. Thru August 31st, over 100 brilliant choices. at our Eug. Celebration booth! ÓÇäxÊ7>iÌÌiÊ-ÌÊUÊx{£°{n{°x{£ä Mon–Fri 11–7, Sat 10–6, Sun 12–5 JANE GIBBONS GARDEN DESIGN Change the look of your garden today! • Consultation • Design • Installation Giving your garden a helping hand since 1970 Celebrate Eugene Locally Owned 50% OFF a 2 hour consultation 20% off 1-5 gallon Evergreen Shrubs (regularly $85) Call for an appointment now This weekend only 8/25-8/28 off er good through August 31, 2011 89719 Armitage Rd Eugene, OR 97408 (541) 687-5919 Facebook: Bloomer’s Nursery Open M-S 9-6 Sun 10-5 (541) 484-9058 Eugene, OR bonded & insured LCB#7789 {a locally grown, yummy, four-course dinner prepared by C. Ashley Hawkins} Mt. Pisgah Arboretum September 1 5:30 pm ~ Beverages & Starters 6:30 pm ~ Dinner All proceeds benefit the Civil Featured Speaker George A. Kimbrell Senior Attorney Center for Food Safety Music by Sol de los Andes Live & Silent Auctions $35/$65 per couple $10 kids 12 & under Liberties Defense Center rsvp @ 541-687-9180 or www.cldc.org 10 AUGUST 25, 2008 EUGENE WEEKLY BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN Pushing Boundaries Lane County looking to control more land L Win a Burley Travoy Trailer Bloomer’s Nursery news ane County is updating its Eugene- Springfi eld Metropolitan Area General Plan, and the changes in the Metro Plan could have far-reaching effects on everything from new homes to new gravel pits to clean drinking water. Mia Nelson of 1000 Friends of Oregon says the boundary changes affect 20,000 acres and have “unintended consequences” to vast land areas and tens of thousands of people. The Metro Plan is the offi cial long- range comprehensive plan for metropolitan Lane County and the cities of Eugene and Springfi eld. It sets forth general planning policies and land use allocations, and it designates “urbanizable land” to accommodate urban expansion. The plan is periodically updated, and in February 2011 the commissioners directed the Land Management Division (LMD) to amend the plan and adjust the boundaries. Commissioner Rob Handy says the plan to amend “started innocently enough but has some deep ramifi cations.” acquisition, putting those lands under the control of the county alone. Other areas involved include farmland around the airport and land around Lane Community College. Springfi eld Utility Board (SUB) has expressed concern about the plan and its effects on drinking water. In a memo to the LMD in April, SUB pointed out that if the Metro Plan boundary is altered so that it is coterminous with Springfi eld’s UGB, Springfi eld will no longer have a deciding vote on certain land use actions outside of the UGB, which might affect the city’s water source. According the Metro Plan webpage, the Delta Sand and Gravel debacle was one impetus for the plan changes, and “Specifi cally, commissioners have expressed frustration about the ability of the cities to override board decisions on county land use issues.” Knife River — Northwest, a gravel mining company that owns property within the area affected by Lane County’s proposal and within the area SUB is concerned about, Amending the Metro Plan ‘started innocently enough but has some deep ramifi cations.’ — Commissioner Rob Handy The process involves Eugene, Springfi eld and Lane County planning commissioners, city councils and the county commissioners. Keir Miller, a senior planner with the Lane County Department of Public Works confi rms that the record on the proposed Metro Plan changes will close Sept. 13, meaning deliberations on the changes will be based only on the information and comments entered before that date. The Metro Plan has historically acted as a “check and balance” on land use decisions. For example, when Delta Sand and Gravel attempted to expand its gravel mining operations, nearby neighbors objected, citing noise, dust and groundwater issues. Lane County agreed to the expansion, but the city of Eugene voted against it in 2008. Because of the Metro Plan, the gravel mine’s 72-acre planned growth was held at bay. The proposed Metro Plan updates would take place in two phases. Phase 1 would modify the Metro Plan boundary east of I-5 so that the plan boundary would be coterminous with the city of Springfi eld’s UGB. Phase 2 would result in a similar boundary change to Eugene. This means that the county, without city input, would have control over 20,000 acres of land previously under joint control. Nelson says the two-phase plan is not only unnecessary; it could create problems. She says, for example, if the Eugene and Springfi eld city councils and the County Commission agree to Phase 1 but not to Phase 2, Eugene and Lane County wind up alone on the west side of I-5 making land use decisions on the “urbanizable land,” but Springfi eld alone making decisions to the east. Nelson says the proposal will remove the entire Howard Buford Recreation Area from the Metro Plan, as well as the Nature Conservancy’s 1,270-acre Wildish lands has presented testimony in favor of the amendments that would allow Lane County to make the land use decisions without city input. Knife River specifi cally objected to SUB’s attempts to protect Springfi eld’s drinking water. Nelson says, “The interests of Knife River and Lane County are not the public’s interest.” In order to protect drinking water, SUB proposed three options at the June 30 Metro Plan meeting: retain the Metro Plan boundary around the water resource areas, create an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would allow the city to participate in decisions that would affect the water resource areas, or adopt the Springfi eld Drinking Water Protection Plan into the Lane County Code. Knife River calls those proposals “unnecessary.” Springfi eld city staff agreed originally agreed with the third option, but Miller wrote in a July 18 memo that it is “unclear if the board would be willing to undertake” that option “for a variety of reasons.” Last year an attempt by Lane County to protect its drinking water was defeated in response to politics, misinformation and loud opposition by some landowners. As of the August public hearing on the issue, Springfi eld staff have recommended that the IGA be formed, and it would sunset when Lane County adopts a drinking water protection plan. Handy says these changes to the Metro Plan would put decisions into the hands of the county, which has shown “little oversight on county rules and compliance follow up.” He adds, “The county has not shown the ability or the will to hold the line” on land use protection. For more information go to http://wkly. ws/13n or contact Deanna Wright at 682- 4082 and Deanna.Wright@co.lane.or.us ew WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
