August 31, 2018 <br />Re: The Lombard Apartments project <br />To the Eugene Planning Commissioners - Steven Baker, John Barofsky, Tiffany Edwards, Lisa <br />Fragala, Chris Ramey, William Randall, and Kristen Taylor: <br />The Lombard Apartments project presents an opportunity for the Planning Commission and the City of <br />Eugene to take a stand for the values expressed in Envision Eugene and its Seven Pillars, the Metro <br />Plan, the River Road and Santa Clara Community Plans, and various other city planning processes over <br />the past decades. <br />As currently proposed, the Lombard Apartments project is bad for Eugene, and it is especially bad for <br />the very special piece of the Willamette Greenway on which it is located. While the Greenway Law <br />calls for maximizing open space and vegetation on projects within the Greenway, the Lombard project <br />does not offer to save even a single one of the 28 trees on this site. And the 15% of the site designated <br />to remain open space is but a token amount. I believe that any unbiased reviewer of this project will <br />quickly conclude that the design maximizes for apartment units and parking spaces, and not for the <br />elements required by the Greenway Law. I have provided detailed explanations of these and other <br />defects in the Lombard Apartments project in the attached letters which I previously submitted to the <br />Hearing Officer prior to his determination. <br />I grew up in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley during the 1950's and 60's. During these years, I saw <br />the valley transformed from a bucolic mix of orange and lemon groves interspersed with small <br />residential developments, to wall-to-wall subdivisions, streets, and parking lots. Asphalt and concrete <br />now cover the fertile soils that used to produce fruits and vegetables and provided a peaceful and scenic <br />respite from the frenetic bustle of the city. <br />Eugene still has a chance to choose a different future than the one mindlessly chosen by the developers <br />of Los Angeles. Eugene can do better than that! I hope that you, the members of the Eugene Planning <br />Commission will have the courage to advocate for the values which this city espouses. If you do not do <br />so, then the admirable values expressed in Envision Eugene have no real meaning. <br />Sincerely, <br />Steven J. Goldman <br />1495 West Hilliard Lane <br />Eugene, OR 97404 <br />135 <br /> <br />