CHAPTER 1 <br />INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND <br />Background <br />The Chase Gardens Nodal Development project is located on the site of the old Chase Gardens <br />nursery operation at Garden Way and Centennial Boulevard in the Willakenzie neighborhood. <br />When the local Chase family began production of roses on the property in 1885, the site was <br />surrounded by farmland and separated from the city of Eugene by the Willamette River. The city <br />gradually expanded northward, surrounding Chase Gardens, but the nursery operations continued <br />until 1992. <br />Between 1992 and 1995, the commercial structures on the property, including the greenhouses and <br />a 120-foot tall smokestack, were demolished. The western-most parts of the property were sold to <br />developers and apartments were constructed, primarily serving the growing University of Oregon <br />student population. <br />The northern-most land in the study area was used as a Christmas tree farm until sold to developers <br />in 1995. Along the west side of Garden Way, a cluster of five historic homes including the primary <br />Chase residence were preserved, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a <br />“Historic Ensemble.” East of Garden Way are residences and remnants of a filbert orchard. <br />During the time that the Chase family business was coming to an end, the City was involved in <br />drafting the Willakenzie Area Plan (WAP), a neighborhood refinement plan of the Eugene- <br />Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan). The WAP identified the Chase Gardens <br />property as an “opportunity area” due the large amount of vacant land located in close proximity to <br />University of Oregon facilities and major transportation corridors. About 10 acres east of Garden <br />Way was designated for commercial use, while the majority of the property was slated for high <br />density residential/mixed use development. <br />With the construction of Chase <br />Village and other apartments in <br />the area, residents along Garden <br />Way began to see significant <br />increases in traffic on their <br />formerly rural residential road. <br />Garden Way is classified as a <br />Major Collector by the City, and <br />is the only north-south collector <br />between Coburg Road to the west <br />and Pioneer Parkway to the east. <br />The single-family residential <br />areas north and south of the <br />study must also use this route, <br />adding to the growing traffic <br />burden. City plans for improving <br />and widening the roadway, <br />Garden Way Path coupled with an earlier proposed <br />method of calculating property <br />owner assessments, have drawn strong criticism from the residents along Garden Way over the past <br />several years.