Open Record 3 final rebuttal by applicant (10-17-18)

Virginia Gustafson Lucker, Hearings Official October 17, 2018 Page 3 C. Termination of IGA and Extension of 1988 Master Site Plan In the 1986 IGA, the City agreed to enact an ordinance establishing a Riverfront Research Park Commission (the RRP Commission) to study and make recommendations on development of the research park. See IGA at 4 and IGA Exhibit B. The RRP Commission met for a number of years, but concluded in 1999 that the RRP Commission had become an impediment to development of the research park. The RRP Commission therefore recommended termination of the IGA, dissolution of the RRP Commission, and for the University to become the sole operator of the research park. See Letter from RRP Commission (Dec. 10, 1999), included in the Universitys October 3, 2018 first open record period materials. The City and the University agreed with the RRP Commissions conclusions and disbanded the RRP Commission by declining to appoint commissioners for the year 2000 term. The City and the University also signed a new intergovernmental agreement in 2000 transferring funds held by the City for the research park to the University. See Nov. 30, 2010 package from Richard Lariviere, former University President, and Nov. 30, 2010 memorandum from Glen Klein, City Attorney, included in the Universitys October 3 open record materials. In 2009, the University applied to the City to modify the 20 year 1988 CUP to extend the duration of the master site plan for an additional three years to 2012. The City approved the request, and a group of opponents calling themselves Connecting Eugene appealed the Citys decision to LUBA. LUBA rejected the opponents arguments and affirmed the CUP extension. See Connecting Eugene v. City of Eugene, 61 Or LUBA 439 (2010). Led by current opponents Allen Hancock and Paul Cziko, Connecting Eugene then attempted to challenge building permits for the Oregon Research Institute (ORI) facility in the S-RP zone before LUBA. See September 12, 2018 Cziko File at pdf pages 119-120. It appears that the appellants voluntarily dismissed this appeal. ORI then proceeded to construct its facility south of the railroad tracks at the property now addressed as 1700 Millrace Drive. See 2018 University Plan application narrative at page 34. D. The Universitys New Master Site Plan The 1988 CUP expired in 2012. The University then developed the Plan that is the subject of this proceeding. Unlike the 1988 master site plan, the current Plan commits the area between the railroad tracks and the Willamette River primarily to conservation and open space uses. Specifically, the Plan generally establishes a 200 foot development setback from the top of the river bank that applies to buildings and recreation fields, which is far more than required by the Eugene Code. The Plan also dedicates 31 acres of the Universitys 77 total acres in the S-RP zone to environmental conservation, plus additional areas for other open space uses. .