March 8, 2024 <br /> <br />Mayor Vinis, City Council, County Commission: <br /> <br />We are the board of the Santa Clara Community Organization (SCCO). Many of you know we <br />have been actively engaging our neighbors on their hopes and vision for Santa Clara for the last <br />20 years. Starting in 2002 we have a litany of projects that have clearly articulated the <br />challenges we face and the opportunities we see without actually creating any of the needed <br />change. <br />RR/SC Urban Facilities Report 2002 <br />Fiscal Analysis of Urban Facilities in RR/SC 2004 <br />RR/SC Transition Report 2006 <br />SC Blueprint Project 2008 <br />SC/RR Outreach and Learning Project 2012 <br />Joint Urban Services Team 2013 <br />SC/RR Implementation Planning Team 2015 <br /> <br />All these planning and information gathering efforts have been completed with countless <br />hours from our resident volunteers. When we began the River Road/Santa Clara <br />Neighborhood Plan process we knew, without doubt, that enforceable change was what we <br />were after. Code amendments, possible zone changes, legally binding language that began <br />to move the needle on the physical aspects of our environment to create the vision <br />expressed by our neighbors. We made certain it was a condition of our engaging in the <br />process. City of Eugene staff and Lane County staff agreed and we created a charter for the <br />project outlining the roles and responsibilities of each party, and the deliverables at the <br />culmination of the project. <br />The final portion of the neighborhood plan scope are zone changes and code <br />amendments that support the community vision. While some code amendments <br />and zone changes in the Action Plan will take place after plan adoption, other <br />zone changes and code amendments (i.e., new development standards) will be <br />adopted concurrently with the neighborhood plan, including (1) priority <br />amendments that could affect the broad geographic area of both communities that <br />will be identified by the CAC and project staff and vetted with the community and <br />decision-makers and (2) a more detailed approach along the River Road corridor, <br />as informed by the related Federal Transit Authority’s Transit Oriented Design <br />grant-funded project. <br /> <br />Without these assurances, we were unwilling to bring our resources to the table. To <br />attempt a project of this scope we needed collaboration and trust between residents and <br />jurisdictions, between volunteers and paid staff, and between our neighborhoods and the <br />residents working on the project. The volunteers’ biggest assets were their relationships <br />with their neighborhoods and that is where the seeds of trust got planted. A resident led <br />planning project that involved the neighbors every step of the way-the only way the <br />neighbors would participate to the level we witnessed. <br /> <br />16