|
Is the city turning back on its
pledge to protect the south hills forests?
The city website brags about it. The UO peddles it to prospective
students. Hikers, bikers and runners cherish it. Eugene's wooded
ridgeline defines the city, and local land use laws aim to preserve
it.
But the land-use nonprofit Friends of Eugene and several neighborhood
groups worry that today, the city is faltering on its commitment
to protect Eugene's forested slopes. They cite four potential
developments, each at different stages in the planning pipeline,
that could forever change the ridgeline.
The debate centers on the way that citizens and city planners
interpret the South Hills Study (SHS), a policy that the city
adopted in 1974 to preserve the wooded slopes south of 18th Avenue.
The SHS directs the city to preserve the ridgeline for public
use and keep developments to a minimum. It's a binding part of
the city code, but its language leaves some wiggle room.
The SHS offers development guidelines based on elevation. Land
above 901 feet is to be "preserved from an intensive level of
development," with two exceptions: single-family homes on existing
lots and special-case subdivisions that the city regulates through
a process called Planned Unit Development (PUD). Major developments
on steep slopes between 501 and 900 feet also require PUDs.
The clear-cut lots of the Brookside subdivision,
near the current Spring Knoll PUD
So far, the SHS has kept developments above 901 feet to a minimum.
(The houses on Spring Boulevard are a notable exception.) But
in recent years, city planners have given the green light to a
handful of intensive developments above 901 feet, says Kevin Matthews,
president of both FoE and the neighborhood association Southeast
Neighbors.
City planner Gabriel Flock says that the city has always complied
with the SHS - but the document's intent is debatable. It could
mean that there shouldn't be any development above 900 feet, or
it could mean that intensive development is OK if the city regulates
it. City planners have gone with the latter interpretation. "[The
South Hills Study] statements don't necessarily preclude an intensive
level of development if it goes through the PUD process," Flock
says.
Consultant Eben Fodor, who has been hired by the Southeast Neighbors
to examine several of the properties in question, suggests that
developers have taken advantage of a forgiving city planning staff
coupled with a complacent public. "I think that a lot of people
aren't aware that a lot of these properties are on the chopping
block," he says. "If there isn't a strong effort by the community
and the city to take action, these places are going to be gone."
Green Valley Glen PUD
Some call it the East Fork Amazon Headwaters Forest. Some call
it Green Valley Glen. The names both sound green and squishy,
but they describe entirely different visions for a 40-acre plot
of land between Nectar Way and Dillard Road in southeast Eugene.
Those who call it the East Fork Amazon Headwaters argue that
the parcel - which spans from about 500 to 800 feet in elevation
and contains Amazon Creek headwaters, seasonal wetlands, upland
wildlife habitat and more than a half-dozen rare plant and animal
species - should be preserved as a public open space. But on Sept.
26, Portland developer Joe Green submitted a Planned Unit Development
(PUD) to build 110 houses on the property, which he calls Green
Valley Glen.
Green's PUD outlines provisions to protect sensitive species,
preserve riparian corridors and steep slopes, and leave clusters
of oaks and madrones standing. But those measures don't satisfy
members of Southeast Neighbors, who worry that the PUD fails to
address key resource protection measures such as tree preservation,
erosion control and stormwater runoff. Southeast Neighbors board
member Lisa Warnes hopes that the city will use its power of eminent
domain to condemn the property and turn it into public open space.
Green's attorney, Mark Hoyt, feels that the protest is unwarranted.
"We certainly understand that change is hard, but this property
is zoned for development," he says. "We would really hope that
the neighbors are able to recognize that this is a very environmentally
responsible approach."
City planner Alissa Hansen, however, is unconvinced that the
PUD is good to go. On Oct. 20, she returned the PUD to Green,
asking for more information about how his development will preserve
trees, protect rare and native vegetation, minimize impacts to
streams and wetlands, and design buildings on slopes to blend
with natural terrain.
Green now has 150 days to complete the PUD. A public hearing
will follow. Interested community members can track the PUD's
progress on the East Fork Amazon Preservation website: www.efn.org/~ksl
Spring Knoll PUD
The Spring Knoll PUD, on 12 acres in the southeast hills at
43rd Avenue and Wendell Lane, is a testament to perseverance -
on the parts of both the developers and the neighborhood activists
who dog them.
Southeast Neighbors argued that the original PUD would have
violated the SHS by failing to adequately protect existing vegetation,
wetland areas or ridgeline trees. In February, the city's hearings
official agreed and denied the PUD. The developers, Derril and
Alice Simpson, appealed to the Eugene Planning Commission, but
the commission upheld the original ruling and the application
died.
The story might have stalled there, but due to changes in the
city land use code, it didn't. Until recently, developers had
to wait a year after a PUD is denied before filing a new one.
But in 2001, city staff removed the waiting period provision.
The Simpsons filed a slightly revised PUD in July.
Matthews says the changes are insufficient; the developers still
propose to clearcut large swaths of land, rather than just the
places where buildings will be constructed. "The result would
be big holes in the forest and a big bald spot along the skyline,"
he says. "Either there needs to be a mechanism that preserves
the trees outside of the buildings' immediate area, or else the
PUD should be denied."
The public comment period for the Spring Knoll PUD closed on
Oct. 26. A decision is expected by late November.
Timberline PUD
The Timberline Hills PUD is a 100-acre parcel south of Timberline
Drive and west of Hawkins Lane. Developer James Breeden would
like to build 255 units on the land - more than 100 of them above
901 feet, the range at which the SHS recommends minimal development.
The bowl-shaped parcel contains a creek, 7.5 acres of wetlands
and forested hillsides.
The city deemed the application complete in August, held a public
hearing on Sept. 28 and closed the public record on Oct. 12. A
decision is due by Oct. 27.
Beverly property
Yet another parcel is a player in the planning game: a 25-acre
plot near the intersection of West Amazon and Martin St., containing
an oak and fir forest, wetlands, two primary branches of Amazon
Creek and several threatened plant communities.
Developers Martin and Leslie Beverly filed a PUD to develop
the property in 2000, but the city denied it because it failed
to adequately protect natural features.
In the subsequent years, the developers have removed some of
the larger trees and understory vegetation from the property.
They recently held a pre-application meeting with the city, but
they haven't yet filed a PUD. They suggest that they're willing
to sell the land to the city, but they're asking a hefty price:
$2.6 million.
FoE and Southeast Neighbors are scrambling to purchase the property,
hopefully with the city's help. "If we're ever going to fulfill
the community vision of connecting Amazon Creek from the ridgeline
to the existing Amazon Greenway for a wildlife and recreation
corridor, this is it," Matthews says.
Solutions
The city's land use code is interpretive, but two points are
clear: One, the urban lands in the South Hills are zoned for residential
development. Two, the city must make sure they are developed in
a way that minimizes the impacts on trees, soils, wildlife, streams
and wetlands.
We can do both, says Eugene Tree Foundation President Phillip
Carroll. "These are urban lands," he says. "We can build housing
to our density goals and still have healthy ecosystems."
Carroll points to one housing development as a model in eco-conscious
building: Timber Village, which in 2002 received the Eugene Tree
Foundation's Bigleaf Award for excellence in the stewardship of
Eugene's urban forest. "The homes were built among the trees and
the trees were retained, in keeping with the natural context,"
Carroll says. "Homeowners are proud to live there."
Carroll, Matthews and Fodor agree that where the land-use code
is vague - regarding when and where trees can be cut, how dense
developments can be, and what lands to preserve as public open
space - citizens can help the city form more conclusive policies.
"I don't want to villanize the developers, and I'm reluctant to
say that the city is failing us. That's a little too easy," Carroll
says. "It's not a matter of good guy versus bad guy. It's a matter
of the community coming together to meet our goals on all of those
levels."
Matthews agrees. "The community needs to re-affirm our commitment
to protecting the hills, much as we have a commitment to protect
the river and the wetlands, if we're going to maintain the essence
of Eugene as a city that embraces the natural," he says.
Citizens will have a chance to weigh in during the upcoming
land-use code amendment process, which will include a public hearing.
For more information, contact Interim Planning Director
Steve Nystrom at 682-8385 or
•
|
