Agricultural and forested lands on the fringe of the urban area, in addition to their primary use, <br />provide secondary scenic and open space values. <br />A rand water resources are especially vital in an urban area, Internal and external factors <br />contribute to problems associated with air duality and water quality and quantity, but techniques <br />are available to help reduce these problems and make the environment more livable. <br />The compact urban growth form concentrates urban development and activities, thus protecting <br />valuable resource lands on the urban fringe. But concentrating development increases pressures <br />for development within the urban growth boundary (UGB), making planning for open space and <br />resource protection a critical concern within that boundary. Planning can ensure the coexistence <br />of city and nature; one example is the Willamette Rive-F Greenway. <br />The Environmental Resources Element provides broad direction for maintaining and improving <br />our natural urban environment. Other elements in the Metro Plan that provide d-a44ig4r-more <br />detail with particular aspects of the natural environment: Greenwa River Corridors and <br />Waterways; Environmental Design; Public Facilities and Services; and Farks and Recreation <br />Facilities and Eiwi-yepi r4a! Desiog 0eeni„1 The emphasis in the Environmental Resources <br />Element is °Tis the protection of waterways as a valuable and irreplaceable component of <br />the overall natural resource system important to the metropolitan area. Waterways are also the <br />addressed in the ° ^r °~*i v T,, "Willamette P;Yo., Greenway and Public Facilities and <br />Selv_ces elements , R4--ve Qrfiders, wid W terways.-While some overlap repetition is <br />unavoidable, the Greenway element #hat-setier~cmphasizes the intrinsic value of the Willamette <br />River waterways for enjoyment and active and passive use by residents of the area. The public <br />facilities element deals with components of the natural resource system in the context of the <br />water and stormwater systcros.. The public facilities element includes findings and policies <br />related to waterwa s oundwater, drinkin water protection, the Clean Water Act and the <br />Endangered Species Act. <br />The inventories conducted as the basis for this element and the goals-,o4yec4ive-i~-, and policies <br />contained herein; address numerous Statewide Planning Goals 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 and interpret those <br />goals in the context of the needs and circumstances of the metropolitan area. <br />Lane County and the Cities of Springfield and Eugene completed the Goal 5 requirements for <br />wetlands, riparian corridors, and wildlife habitat for the area between the UGB and the Metro <br />Plan Plan Boundary (Plan Boundary}. The three local governments jointly adopted Metro Plan <br />text and policy amendments to the Environmental Resources Element to implement the Goal 5 <br />requirements in 2004. Lane County adopted amendments to the riparian protection ordinance <br />(Class I Stream Riparian Protection regulations, Lane Code Chapter 16.253) to implement Goal 5 <br />in the area outside the UGB and inside the Plan Boundary in 2004. In 2004, Springfield and <br />Eugene were undertaking work to comply with Goal 5 requirements for wetlands, riparian <br />corridors, and wildlife habitat within their respective urban growth boundaries for adoption by <br />tbo applicable jurisdictional land.use authorities. <br />Exhibit B: Proposed amendments to Chapter III-C, Environmental Resources Element, page 2 of 25 <br />of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Plan (Metro Plan). <br />Laurel Ridge Record (Z 15-5) Page 279 <br />