Conte - Exhibit A <br />Comments to the Eugene Planning Commission - October 5, 2015 <br />Good morning commissioners. <br />My name is Paul Conte, and I live at 1461 W. 10th Ave. <br />My comments today are directed solely at problems arising on some streets in the Crest Drive <br />Area, in south Eugene. <br />First, some background. <br />In 2007, City Council adopted Resolution Number 4919 concerning street widths in the Crest Drive <br />Area. <br />This unanimously-adopted resolution did one thing - it reduced the minimum paving width on <br />unclassified streets in the Crest Drive Area from 20 feet to 18 feet. <br />As the City Council's adopted findings make clear on the first and second pages of the resolution, <br />this was necessary because the minimum paving width for unclassified local streets throughout <br />Eugene was 20 feet. <br />As Finding B on page 1 states, the minimum paving width was based on the Design Standards and <br />Guidelines adopted by Council Resolution Number 4608. <br />If you'll turn to page 4, you'll find Resolution Number 4608. <br />At page 6, you'll find Exhibit A of this resolution, which comprises the Design Standards and <br />Guidelines that City Council adopted. <br />At page 7, you'll find Table 2 Local Street Standards, on which the City Council based its adopted <br />finding that the minimum pavement width for all local streets was 20 feet. <br />This minimum is repeated on page 10, under subsection I. "Pavement and Right-of-Way Widths." <br />In the run-up to Council adopting a resolution to reduce the minimum pavement width in the Crest <br />Drive Area, several residents recommended that one or more of the unclassified streets be <br />reconstructed as "queuing streets," as described under section A. "Vehicle Lanes," found on page 8. <br />However, the City Council did not approve that recommendation, nor did City Council adopt a <br />finding that the total pavement width of a local street could be less than 20 feet without legislative <br />action. <br />This City Council finding was based on the standards just mentioned above. In particular, Table 2 <br />Local Street Standards on page 7 requires a minimum of 21 feet of pavement for a "queuing street" <br />because there must be a paved 14-foot wide travel lane and an adjacent, 7-foot paved parking <br />lane. <br />It's worth noting that the adopted findings in Resolution Number 4919 were never challenged or <br />appealed at the time they were adopted, and therefore are considered acknowledged as the <br />established interpretation of the standards referenced in the Council's findings. <br />At a subsequent meeting, I'll address the problems, including impediments to emergency vehicle <br />access, that have arisen on streets in the Crest Drive Area that now have only 18-foot wide <br />pavement. <br />Thank you. <br />