NorthwestofandadjacenttothissiteisrecentlyacquiredCityproperty(knownasthe <br />DowntownRiverfront/EWEBproperty)withanabandonedsteamplantandwarehouse,slated <br />forfuturecommercialandresidentialdevelopment. <br />Neighborhood/ApplicantMeetings,ApplicationReferralsandPublicHearingNotice <br />OnNovember8,2018,theapplicantheldaneighborhood/applicantmeetingtoprovide <br />neighborsanopportunitytoreviewtheproposal,shareinformation,andidentifyissues <br />regardingtheproposal,asrequiredbyEC9.7007.Asecondneighborhood/applicantmeeting <br />washeldonJanuary11,2018.Inaddition,asdetailedintheirwrittennarrative,theapplicant <br />heldmultiplefocusgroupmeetings,informationsharingmeetingsandCampusPlanning <br />meetings. <br />OnFebruary26,2018,theapplicantsubmittedtheCUPandWGapplications.Staffreviewed <br />theapplicationsforcompletenessanddeemedtheapplicationsincompleteonMarch28,2018, <br />requestingadditionalinformation.TheapplicantprovidedadditionalinformationonJune22, <br />2018andstaffdeemedtheapplicationscompleteonJuly17,2018.Referralnoticesweresent <br />tovariousCitydepartmentsandotheragenciesonJuly24,2018.Noticeofthepublichearing <br />wasmailedtopropertyownersintheaffectedareaonAugust24,2018. <br />thestaffreport,staffhasreceivedtestimonyfromcitizensbothin <br />Asofthewritingof <br />oppositionandsupportoftheapplication.Variouspublictestimonyinoppositiontothe <br />applicationcitesthefollowingissuesandconcerns: <br />Overallimpactstotheriverandecosystem; <br /> <br />Impactstotheriverfromartificialturfrecreationfieldsandtheuseofpetro <br /> <br />plastic/chemicalbase,andheateffectonnearbyvegetationfromartificialturf; <br />Impactsonmigratorybirdsadverselyaffectedbynightlightingoftherecreationfields; <br /> <br />Lossofhabitattoalargenumbersofbirdsthatusethecurrentnaturalplayingfieldsif <br /> <br />theyarereplacedwithartificialturf; <br />Areanorthoftherailroadtracksshouldbepreservedasanenvironmentaloutdoor <br /> <br />laboratoryandresearchpark; <br />Proposeduseswouldlimitaccesstotheriver; <br /> <br />ThirtyyearlengthofCUPistoolongandshouldbe10to15years; <br /> <br />Morepedestrianandvehicularconnectionsareneeded,bothnorthofthetracksandto <br /> <br />connecttotheoldEWEBpropertytothenorth. <br />Variouspublictestimonyinsupportoftheapplicationcitesthefollowingreasons: <br />Theproposalactivatestheriverfrontlandandrevitalizesthearea; <br /> <br />Theadditionofsportsfacilitieswillfacilitateactivelifestyles; <br /> <br />Improvedriverfrontisabenefittoresidentsandtouristsforactiveandpassive <br /> <br />recreationopportunities,enhancedscenicexperience,andimprovedriveraccess; <br />Increasedcommunityengagementwithstudentsandthegeneralpublic; <br /> <br />Restorationandprotectionofakeyriparianarea,whichwillalsoimprovewaterquality; <br /> <br />Providingsafeandenjoyableriverrecreationaccess; <br /> <br />UONorthCampus(CU181andWG182)September2018Page4 <br /> <br />