UNIVERSITY OF OREGON <br />NORTH CAMPUS <br />CONDITIONAL USE & WILLAMETTE GREENWAY PERMIT APPLICATION <br /> <br />Through consideration of the reduction in the number of fields, community feedback, and further <br />analysis of potential university needs, the university determined it would propose a limited number <br />of buildings north of the railroad tracks in the areas closest to existing and planned public <br />infrastructure. While none of the potential buildings have been assigned specific uses, potential <br />building types(that came up as ideas and potential needs during the Conceptual Study) include a <br />10 <br />field house to support the recreation fields, a facility for the Outdoor Program, research <br />greenhouses, an academic and/or research building focused on ecology, and other potential <br />academic/and or research buildings. The conceptual study confirmed that the scale of these <br />buildings could be accommodated in the limited areas. During the Conceptual Study, some <br />members of the university and wider community questioned the universityÈs need to locate <br />physical education and recreation fields north of the tracks due to their concern about the impact <br />of year-round fields (if artificial turf with field lights) on the river environment and wildlife. When the <br />Framework Vision Project assessed locations for fields, it found that they could not be <br />accommodated on existing campus open spaces due to their required dimensions. Amongst <br />many other considerations, siting the fields elsewhere on campus would displace other uses that <br />needed to be in those locations (in addition, a field would not necessarily fit in these locations). It <br />is also not possible to locate recreational fields on top of buildings or parking structures because <br />the required field footprint greatly exceeds possible building footprints. Possible locations for <br />recreational fields on campus lands were reassessed as part of the Conceptual Study and <br />confirmed the results of the Framework Vision Project. <br />The decision to allow physical education and recreation fields (outdoor classrooms) in North <br />Campus is based on the need for physical education and recreational classes and activities to be <br />in proximity tothe students and other classroom facilities. The universityÈs current recreational <br />fields (four artificial turf fields and two grass fields) accommodate thousands of students in <br />physical education, club sports, and intramural sports annually. In addition, they accommodate <br />open recreation for students and the community, university and community events, marching band <br />practice, and summer camps. <br />Specific timing for when the university will need additional recreation field capacity is not known. <br />At the time the need is identified, the university would follow the process in the and <br />Campus Plan <br />conduct a site selection study. If the university decides to build new fields in North Campus <br />(which would include a replacement of the existing two fields), the university would carefully <br />consider field surface materials and implement design strategies to mitigate the impact of fields <br />andpotential lighting on the environment and wildlife. In addition, the fields would be configured <br />to maximize their distance from the riverÈs edge, as shown in the Conceptual Study and further <br />refined in the Master Site Plan (which further reduces the number of allowable recreation fields to <br /> <br />Project suggested building sites in other areas of campus that may not be feasible. Therefore, the need to <br />accommodate future development in North Campus is greater than the study suggests. As mentioned, the <br />Framework Vision Project is not an adopted plan, but a study which serves as a tool for informing changes <br />to the Campus Plan and decisions related to campus development. <br />10th <br /> The Framework Vision Project identifies its current Outdoor Program location on 18 Avenue and <br />University Street as a potential site for a future academic building, which if developed, would displace the <br />current Outdoor Program facility. The project team explored the idea of locating a replacement facility <br />near the river because of the programÈs relationship to the river and outdoors. Being located near the river <br />would be beneficial to its aquatic programs and nature courses. <br /> <br /> <br />Cameron McCarthy FINAL SUBMITTAL | Revised August 13, 2018 20 <br /> <br />