Next General Gathering
There will be no general meeting in July but keep in mind our Annual Summer Picnic on August 9, this year with drums and music.
From the editor
Lots of news and announcements this week
Eldon Fox, Evan Rees, and Bob Larson have joined our Board, and Bob Milk has signed on as a consultant/liaison for issues affecting Treehouse HOA and Rest Haven. (Board members are appointed by the chair, with those appointments confirmed at the November general meeting.)
The City has introduced a new rule for public forums which increases the impact of Neighborhood Association board members at public hearings.
“Board & Commission Members Move to Front of the Queue
Effective immediately all members of formally recognized boards (including recognized neighborhood association board members) committees and commissions will be moved to the front of the queue when they appear at council meetings to speak at a public forum on behalf of the group they represent.
Members will need to introduce themselves to the staff member at sign-up as a representative of one of the City’s boards, committees, or commissions and they will be given their chance to speak first when the public forum begins.
Public forums are part of regular City Council meetings which are usually held the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7:30 p.m. Sign-up forms are available at the information desk at the back of Harris Hall beginning at 7:00 p.m. The forms must be submitted no later than five minutes after the meeting has been called to order.”
So it will help your local group or HOA to have a member on the Association board, or to arrange to have a board member present your ideas. You can then present them again later in the hearing, for double effectiveness.
This email newsletter now goes out to 389 addresses, sign up today!
Street News
It’s time to begin our summer street construction updates for our area
W. 39th Avenue & Brae Burn Drive: Milling and paving are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Expect one-way traffic on 39th Avenue and Brae Burn Drive, entering from 39th. Traffic will not be allowed to enter the neighborhood from 46thAvenue/Willamette Street. Watch for signs, cones, and flaggers.
E. 40th Avenue (Hilyard St. to Donald St.): Excavation continues for sidewalk ramp replacements. Watch for signs, cones, possible flaggers, and minor delays.
Donald Street (E. 32nd Ave. to E. 40th Ave.): Excavation continues for sidewalk ramp replacements. Watch for signs, cones, possible flaggers, and minor delays.
Spencer Butte Summit Trail (at S. Willamette St.): Construction on summit trail is expected to continue through the end of July. Work will require occasional partial or complete closures of the butte and adjacent section of Ridgeline Trail. Partial trail closures will continue Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 4:30pm. Next full closure is presently scheduled for Wednesday, July 22, approximately 6:00am to 10:00am, depending on weather and other conditions. For closure maps and updated project information, visit http://www.eugene-or.gov/spencerbutte.
News about the South Willamette Special Zone Plan
(1) Ed Russo from the Register-Guard is writing an article on the South Willamette Special Zone Plan. He spoke with David Kolb and Christine Sundt, among others, and his article should appear soon.
(2) We received this note from the city
South Eugene Special Area Zone
Hello Neighbors
Thank you for your continued interest in the South Willamette Special Area Zone planning process.
The South Willamette Concept Plan created by the community between 2011 and 2013 is now in the implementation phase – this includes a Special Area Zone and Design Code update for the South Willamette area. The goal of the plan is to support an attractive, healthy, walkable neighborhood with successful businesses and new opportunities for jobs and housing.
Additional information about the proposed Special Area Zone and Design Code are available at
https://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?nid=2675
The Planning Commission is currently in deliberations considering a recommendation of the plan to the City Council. Deliberations were scheduled to be complete on Monday, July 6. However, the Commission needed additional time to craft its recommendation. An additional deliberation meeting has been scheduled: July 20, 2015 at 11:30 am
Sloat Room, Atrium Building, 99 W 10th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97401
Please note that the public record for these deliberations is currently closed; Commission may only hear public comments that are not related to the South Willamette Special Area Zone.
However, staff are continuing to gather public comments for the upcoming City Council process. The record will be open again as the City Council considers the Planning Commission’s recommendation this fall. The City Council will make the final decision on adopting code revisions. Please submit written comments to: Email: Jennifer.L.Knapp@ci.eugene.or.us. Or call for more information on becoming involved.
Thank you,
Jennifer Knapp, Associate AIA
Urban Design Planner
City of Eugene I Planning Division
99 W. 10th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
541.682.5445
(3) Southeast Neighbors had this to say in their newsletter
The South Willamette Concept Plan created by the community between 2011 and 2013 is now in the implementation phase – this includes a Special Area Zone and Design Code update for the South Willamette area. The goal of the plan is to support an attractive, healthy, walkable neighborhood with successful businesses and new opportunities for jobs and housing.
Eben Fodor’s opinion piece in the Register Guard warns that the plan has “morphed into a heavy-handed makeover of the entire neighborhood…that will forcibly re-zone 227 single-family homes, allow five- to eight-story buildings next to homes, block views of our Spencer Butte landmark, create gentrification, generate gridlock on the streets, and result in a parking crisis.”
Other concerns neighbors have raised relate to topics such as public process, transitions between the proposed district and the adjacent, established neighborhoods, and the recent expansion of Cascade Manor.
The Planning Commission will complete deliberations Monday, July 20th. They will provide City Council with an informational update shortly after their summer break, likely in September.
Other items received from the City
(1) Hearing on the Urban Growth Boundary
As you know, we have been discussing the Urban Growth Boundary recommendation with the community and decision makers since December 2014. In January, the Council took action to direct us to prepare an adoption package for jobs, parks, and schools in the Clear Lake and Santa Clara areas. In February and April, Council discussed the housing recommendation, including different options for incorporating new population forecasts in our future planning. We are pleased to be returning to Council on Monday with a refined recommendation that responds to the feedback we have heard. You can find the Council memo detailing the recommendation here: http://eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?nid=536 Please click on “Current Council Agenda – Monday (large PDF)”.
The meeting is at 5:30 pm in Harris Hall, is open to the public and webcast live here: http://eugene-or.gov//index.aspx?NID=1438.
Thank you for your continued interest and participation.
Sincerely,
Terri Harding, AICP, Principal Planner
And the Envision Eugene Team
City of Eugene Planning Division
(541) 682-5635
Terri.l.harding@ci.eugene.or.us
http://www.envisioneugene.org
(2) Eugene Trails Plan
Open House – Tuesday, July 28
Parks and Open Space Division (POS) has received quite a few comments and suggestions since the last meeting in February related to the Eugene Trails Plan. POS has since updated the maps and plans with some of the suggestions and requests incorporated and they’ve done our best to develop a balanced plan that provides both a vision for the future as well as a range of specific implementable projects and studies that will help us begin to realize the vision.
Considering current budgets and funding it is very unlikely POS will be able to implement and maintain all the potential projects outlined within these draft maps over the next decade or two but POS has carefully prioritized the projects into three implementation categories: short range (1-5 yrs out); medium range (6-10); and long range (11-20). The project priority list will be available on the webpage soon and will be available for review at the open house.
The final open house will be on Tuesday, July 28, from 6:00-8:00 PM, at the Parks and Open Space Facility Conference Room, at 1820 Roosevelt Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97402. This will be a drop-in meeting, where staff will be available to review maps, projects, and answer questions. Feel free to stop by anytime between 6 and 8pm.
For details and downloadable maps and documents, please visit http://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?NID=2543
Emergency Preparedness Notes
(1) Emergency Preparation Made Easy:
Emergency Water Supply Storage from EWEB
We all know we should have stash of critical emergency supplies at the ready in case of a severe storm event or natural disaster. But many of us don’t quite get around to assembling our kits, which should include safe drinking water supplies.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends that each household store a three‐day supply of water (one gallon of water per person or pet, per day) for drinking and sanitation.
EWEB is again partnering with the Oregon Pacific Chapter of the American Red Cross and the city of Eugene to cultivate a culture of preparedness in our community. The ability for our community to recover quickly from emergencies and disasters begins with us.
Our local partnership is again offering three‐gallon water bottles at a discount price to make it easy for households to obtain emergency water storage containers. Each bottle is just $5 (retail price $17 to $21) and the cost will be applied to your EWEB utility bill. Each bottle will have useful water and electric outage preparation tips on the container, including instructions for keeping your water safe.
These BPA‐free, three‐gallon water storage containers have a reusable twist cap. Once your family has used your stored emergency water supply you can disinfect and refill your emergency water storage container or if needed, bring the container to fill at an emergency water distribution site.
EWEB customers can pre‐order an emergency water supply storage container in August 2015 for pick‐up in October 2015 at http://www.eweb.org/waterreliability. There’s a four‐container limit per household; available while supplies last.
(2) Map Your Neighborhood Earthquake Training
15 Southeast neighbors attended a workshop on June 27 to learn how to help prepare their immediate neighborhood in the event of an earthquake or other major disaster. During the hour and a half training, we identifed sources of information that will be helpful before, during, and after an emergency such as our neighborhood meeting place and care center and communication channels.
• If you would like to participate in our next training, please sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084fa5ab2ba13-mapyour
Looking for Volunteers
(1) Help Build a Sustainable Eugene!
Volunteer with the Eugene Sustainability Commission
The City of Eugene is seeking interested community members to serve on the Sustainability Commission. There is one vacancy for a term that begins July 1, 2015 and runs until June 30, 2017. The Sustainability Commission is a 13 member advisory group that provides input and advice to the City Manager and City Council on programs that will create or enhance sustainable practices within the community.
The Commission meets the third Wednesday of every month, from 5:30-8:30 PM. Volunteering with the Commission requires roughly 8-10 hours per month of your time, dedicated to meetings, project work, and attendance at community events. If you are interested, please apply online or contact Babe O’Sullivan for more information: (541) 682-5017, babe.osullivan@ci.eugene.or.us.
To learn more about the commission and the current work plan visit http://www.eugene-or.gov/sustainability . Applications are due by 5:00 pm Friday July 24, 2015.
(2) Downtown Sunday Streets! July 26!
On July 26th Downtown Eugene from Park Blocks, to Kesey, and all the way down Broadway to Monroe Park will be car-free and filled with fun. Enjoy a relaxing roll though a utopia of food, music, fitness classes and bike demos. New things at Sunday Streets this year: “Art on a Box”- enjoy 20 minute open mic sets from local artists, DUNK TANK! And an upcycle t-shirt decorating competitions- Are you Sunday Street’s Top Fashionista? There is something for everyone!
We need MORE VOLUNTEERS to join the crew and have a blast in the process. This free community event is joyfully supported by an amazing crew of volunteers, like you! It’s not too late to sign up, we need you now! Volunteer time slots average two hours between 9am and 5pm. The event is open from noon-4pm. We also need a group to go out Sunday July 19th to hang door flyers. There is a role for everyone.
Job roles include:
INTERSECTION SUPERHERO-Help with participation traffic flow, answer questions, redirect neighborhood traffic, and set up or take down barricades at your intersection. Some volunteers will be asked to count event participants at different intervals.
REHYDRATORS-Make Intersection Superheroes smile by rehydrating them with water on a hot summer day!
SURVEY TEAM- Approach participants and ask them to fill out a quick survey for the event. Do either in the Activity Center or walk the route.
INFORMATION SUPERSTAR-Answer people’s questions, hand out brochures and help set up or take down info booth
And PARK SETUP and CLEANUP CREW.
Go to
http://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?NID=1668
to sign up today!
We will have two Volunteer Trainings:
• Tuesday July 21st 5:30- 6:30pm or
• Wednesday July 22nd Noon-1pm
Contact the Sunday Streets Coordinator Emily with questions or to signup- 541-501-0390 SundayStreets@ci.eugene.or.us
SHiNA 