9-25-2023 <br />Eugene Planning Commission c/o Elena Domingo <br />City of Eugene Planning Division <br />99 West 10th Avenue <br />Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br />Re: River Road -Santa Clara Specific Code Amendments <br />Planning Commission Members: <br />This letter is written in opposition to the River Road -Santa Clara Neighborhood Specific <br />Code Amendments as is currently proposed. My comments apply to a relatively small <br />triangular corridor within the greater River Road -Santa Clara area. For your ease of <br />review I will refer to this area as the "River Avenue/Beltline Triangle" which is defined <br />as, land originating at River Road and follows River Avenue East to the end of River <br />Avenue, then turns West and follows Beltline Hwy back to River Road. <br />Historic Overview: My name is Gordon Howard and my wife and I own the property at <br />65 Ross Lane which is bordered by Beltline Hwy on one side and River Avenue on the <br />other side. Beltline Hwy and River Avenue form a one of a kind island of developed long <br />standing businesses. River Avenue business owners helped craft the River Avenue road <br />improvement project years ago to provide an environmentally beneficial road, bike <br />path, and swale project that serves the community and business owners. The <br />businesses on River Avenue are made up of small business owners who have been good <br />partners to the City of Eugene and we should find a way to continue that relationship, <br />one that allows us all to prosper and not selectively wipe out our longstanding way of <br />life. The proposed code amendments read like a "hit list" for the existing businesses. <br />Virtually every business that currently exists in the "River Avenue/Beltline Triangle" will <br />be prohibited if the amendments are implemented as proposed, which will have a <br />devastating impact on many current small business owners and land owners. <br />Practical Alternative: I hope that the Planning Commission is interested in coming up <br />Page 119 of 122 28 <br />