Citizen Comment Document <br />Oakleigh Meadows Tentaiive Planned Unit Development (PDT 13-0001) <br />Willamette Greenway Permit (WG 13-0001) <br />public comments talk about newsletters, emails and such but I have never been offered the <br />opportunity to receive these unless I was to reach out to them. With that being said, I should <br />have made the effort to reach out to them; but I was under the mistaken impression that they <br />were planning 8-10 units and I was fine with that size of development; again understanding that <br />development is inevitable. At mediation sessions the members have stated that their intent is to <br />invite us to participate in their activities and become a neighborhood "hub" for activity, but have <br />they asked us what we need in terms of a neighborhood "hub?" <br />In July 2012, Grist.org wrote an article on cohousing stating that sounds nice, right? A little <br />crunch-tastic, maybe, but nice. And the opportunities for making this type of housing eco friendly <br />are many. But there's one problem: That sounds at first like a good way to save money - <br />sharingplay space, a group kitchen, etc. - is every bit as expensive as traditional housing, <br />meaning that it's out of reach for many people who could benefit from it." They go on to state <br />" , Clearly, the model needs to adapt- especially because the very people it shuts out could <br />be the ones who benefit most fi-om its built-in support network: low-income families who could <br />share childcare and meals, seniors who need companionship and rides to doctor's appointments, <br />or developmentally disabled adults able to live semi-independently. "A lot of those populations <br />need support that can come from community, not social services, " says Grace Kim, a principal <br />at Schemata Workshop, a Seattle architecture f irm planning a cohousing community in the city's <br />Capitol Hill neighborhood. "We're trying to figure out how those two models can merge so that <br />cohousing can evolve into more than just homeownership for wealthy white people. " <br />As a Licensed Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor working at St. Vincent de Paul.Society of <br />Lane County (SVdP) I endorse the above ideals. I work primarily with the homeless and <br />disabled populations and would love to see a mixed community cohousing go in at the end of <br />Oakleigh Lane; make it smaller and leave some of the beautiful natural resources and habitat that <br />exist there and I'm happy. The Willamette River Greenway is a treasure that we should value <br />and appreciate; not destroy. Again, l am personally not against cohousing; I believe it to be a <br />great ideal. Furthermore, as a Program Director at SvdP I see the efforts made by our Housing <br />Department, the 1100+ units we have around Lane County and the efforts to blend into the <br />communities that we build with our units. Ideals such as fronting certain units with single story <br />housing that is reflective of the neighborhood, putting all parking and other activities inside the <br />complex so that the neighborhood views just housing units, not concrete walls and the maximum <br />allowed height of multi-story townhouses as is proposed at OMC. <br />Regarding Eugene City Code 9.8320 (12) The proposed development shall have minimal <br />off-site impacts, including such impacts as traffic, noise, stormwater runoff and <br />environmental quality. While I am not an expert on environment impacts, I am a full-tune, <br />year round bicycle commuter and I am very concerned about the increase in traffic. I also am a <br />grandmother of nine grandchildren who come to spend time with their grandparents and have <br />grown up over the last 10+ years feeling safe, learning to ride bikes and more. Increasing the <br />housing more than twofold on this one block lane will have a significant negative impact, not to <br />mention the safety concerns. Already when they have their meetings in the meadow we see a <br />significant rise in automobile traffic. One Sunday I watched a silver SUV drive down our lane at <br />910 <br />