DRAFT WILLAMETTE RIVER GREENWAY DESIGN PLAN <br />Separately, Goal 15 requires the establishment of the Greenway Boundary as part of an implementing <br />measure for Greenway compatibility review: <br />6. The establishment of Greenway compatibility review boundaries adjacent to the river within which review <br />of developments shall take place. Such boundaries in urban areas shall be not less than 150 feet from the <br />ordinary low water line of the Willamette River,• in rural areas such boundaries shall include all lands within <br />the boundaries of the Willamette River Greenway; <br />OAR 660-015-0005, section F.3.a. The Goal requires that in urban areas the Greenway Boundary must <br />be at least 150 feet from the ordinary low water line of the Willamette River. Goal 15 does not provide a <br />definition for "ordinary low water" line. ORS 274.005(4) Submersible and Submerged Lands includes the <br />following definition: <br />(4) Line of ordinary low water" means the line on the bank or shore to which the low water ordinarily recedes <br />annually in season. <br />ORS 274.005 also includes a definition for "ordinary high water" line, included here for context: <br />(3) "Line of ordinary high water" means the line on the bank or shore to which the high water ordinarily rises <br />annually in season. <br />ORS 274.040 authorizes the Oregon Department of State Lands (ODSL) Board to determine if a waterway <br />is navigable for title. The term "navigable for title" means that the ownership of the waterway or lake, <br />including its submerged and submersible land, was passed from the federal government to Oregon at <br />statehood. ORS 274.005(7) and (8) also provides definitions of submerged and submersible lands that are <br />helpful for context of this discussion. <br />(7) "Submerged lands," * * * means lands lying below the line of ordinary low water of all navigable waters <br /> <br />(8) "Submersible lands,"* * *means lands lying between the line of ordinary high water and the line of <br />ordinary low water of all navigable waters and all islands, shore lands or other such lands held by or granted <br />to this state by virtue of her sovereignty, * * * <br />According to ODSL, the Willamette River is a navigable waterway from River Mile (RM) 0 to RM 187 <br />(confluence of the Coast and Middle Forks). This stretch includes the segment within Eugene's UGB. <br />Oregon's Removal-Fill law (ORS 196.795-990) requires a permit for removal or fill or material within "waters <br />of the state" which include navigable waterways. The jurisdictional boundary, or the boundary by which <br />a waterway is considered a "water of the state" under the Removal-Fill law, for rivers is the ordinary high <br />water (OHW) line. <br />There is commonality between the definition of "top of bank" (TOB) and OHW. OAR 660-023-0090(1)(g) <br />states that "top of bank" shall have the same meaning as "bankfull stage" as defined in OAR 141-085- <br />0010(12), provided as follows: <br />(6) "Bankfull Stage" means the two-year recurrence interval flood elevation. <br /> - Page 58 of 91 <br />WILLAMETTE RIVER GREENWAY CODE AMENDMENTS 23 <br />