Testimony for River Road Santa Clara Draft Neighborhood Plan Joint Planning Commission <br />Hearing October 17, 2022 <br />I am Jon Belcher and although I am Co -Chair of the River Road Community Organization and of <br />the Community Advisory Committee of the River Road /Santa Clara Neighborhood Planning <br />Group, I am speaking as an individual tonight. I reside in Ward 7. <br />It is extremely unfortunate that Covid 19 took a two-year bite out of our project because we lost <br />the exemplary trajectory of our Neighborhood member involvement and likely was a factor in our <br />loss of three principal City planners during the 6 -year interval of the process. It is also <br />unfortunate that the Planning Department pulled the plug on the process before we could reach <br />consensus on a final draft of a plan that met the original goals of the planning Process. <br />1. The Neighborhood Plan Project Charter signed by the two Neighborhoods, the City of <br />Eugene and Lane County defined the deliverables of the project including: <br />"zone changes and code amendments (i.e., new development standards) will be <br />adopted concurrently with the neighborhood plan, including (1) priority amendments that <br />could affect the broad geographic area of both communities that will be identified by the <br />CAC and project staff and vetted with the community and decision -makers and_(2) a <br />more detailed approach along the River Road corridor, as informed bV the related FTA <br />TOD grant -funded project. Other code amendments and zone changes in the Action <br />Plan will occur as part of future plan implementation or other concurrent planning <br />processes, which will involve continued collaboration between the community, City and <br />County as outlined in the Action Plan. (Scope pgs. 4 & 5). <br />2. A primary reason for this area plan is to meet the goals of Envision Eugene: <br />This is from Envision Eugene A Legacy of Livability Draft Proposal March 2, 2111 <br />Create area plans that integrate land use, transportation, parking, parks and open space, and <br />existing historical and cultural resources through urban design. <br />o Recognize the unique characteristics of each area and provide localized consideration <br />and treatment in planning and as necessary, in the land use code. <br />Until Planning Staff decided to abandon the River Road Corridor Study as informed by a $450,000 grant <br />from the Federal Transportation Authority, we were working towards drafting a Special Area Zone that <br />would meet the primary goal of creating a 20 -minute neighborhood along the corridor and enhance the <br />commercial opportunities therein. So the agreement from the project charter has not been met the River <br />Road/Santa Clara Area Plan joins the South Willamette Concept Plan as the second time that the City of <br />Eugene has failed to meet their promise from Envision Eugene . <br />Instead, Planning Staff is proposing to develop a single set of code that will cover Franklin Boulevard, <br />West 11th, West 6th & 7th, Highway 99, South Willamette, River Road & Coburg Road to be completed <br />years into to future. Our experience with working to add multifamily housing to River Road has made it <br />excruciatingly clear that the devil is in the details, and it seems highly unlikely to me that a single set of <br />code will please anyone. <br />I raise this concern because this planning process has failed to address three key issues that are likely to <br />make the River Road Community worse off rather than better: <br />34 <br />