October 9, 2013 <br />Dear City of Eugene Planning Department, <br />My name is Jane Towne. I live on 127 McClure Lane. I attended the public hearing and voiced a neutral <br />position at that time. Originally, I was in strong opposition and wrote a letter to the planning <br />department. After further review of the hearing, I find myself once again in opposition. I was <br />disappointed by the disrespectful manner of the OMC representatives, and was impressed by the <br />compassion, research and composure of my Oakleigh and McClure neighbors. I am proud to stand with <br />them in opposition. I too, think this project at the current size is not compatible with the current <br />neighborhood structure. Pushing on every property line without respect to the neighborhood's feedback <br />is simple greed and selfishness. This is not the value OMC expresses for their own community, a conflict <br />that creates distrust and disharmony in the larger community. <br />My letter today is intended to clearly register my strong opposition to the land use modification <br />(Eugene City Code 9.8) applied for by Oakleigh Meadow Co housing (OMC) to build seven large <br />condominiums, a large common house with apartments, garage buildings and 8 foot block wall on the <br />undeveloped land east of Oakleigh lane. The size, scale and impact of this development do not serve in <br />the best interest of our neighborhood and is in conflict with the existing community. I believe the <br />current OMC plan for development in Oalkeigh Meadow to be in conflict with the existing community as <br />stated in the neighborhood plan. I ask that you consider the following points in your decision to reject <br />the current application: <br />' Heritage Trees - We consider the large fir and hemlock trees on the south side of Oakleigh Meadow <br />along with the stand of lovely cedar trees on the north boundary old growth, heritage trees that should <br />be preserved as such in our neighborhood. These healthy, native trees provide homes for protected <br />wildlife and stability for our soil and river bank. Inaccuracies in OMC's application in this regard present <br />a major concern - they state that no significant trees will be removed yet in the prior paragraph they say <br />they are removing 4 large trees over 8 Inches in diameter! The fir tree, in particular, is a graceful gem, <br />that has provided shade under which even the cohousing developers have used for their meetings. <br />OMC's incongruent behavior breeds disharmony and mistrust. within our neighborhood community. We <br />consider the fir and hemlock trees as significant, old growth, heritage trees and ask that you reject the <br />current plan to remove them, preserving them for generations to come. <br />High Density - Dense housing development on the east side of the Willamette River Greenway, along <br />Goodpasture Island Road, is currently underway. This is a huge development generating loud and <br />intrusive construction noise in our neighborhood for the past 2 years. We believe the Goodpasture <br />housing development provides adequate inf ill and achieves the city's current goal of high density <br />housing and sprawl reduction. We DO NOT support additional high density inf ill in Oakleigh Meadow <br />and agree with our neighbors who spoke in opposition to this application at the public hearing. We ask <br />you to reject OMC's current plan as submitted and require the cohousing development to reduce their <br />size, at the minimum, by at least half and provide a scale of building that better matches the current, <br />existing housing model. <br />Neighborhood Compatibility - We DO NOTthink the cohousing plan as submitted to be compatible with <br />our neighborhood goals. The majority of home owners on McClure Lane and Oakleigh Lane are single <br />family modest dwellings residing on property owned by the single family. These are hard working <br />families who greatly care for the land and their children. Communal ownership of property is highly <br />905 <br />