From:Jolene Siemsen <br />To:*Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager <br />Subject:River Road Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan <br />Date:Tuesday, March 5, 2024 2:06:40 PM <br />[EXTERNAL ] <br />Dear Mayor and City Council, <br />I am writing as a River Road neighbor and participant in the neighborhood planning process. I have <br />lived in the River Road neighborhood for over 35 years. My children attended neighborhood <br />schools, we walk, drive, and bike regularly along the River Road corridor, including along the West <br />Bank river path, we shop and utilize services in the neighborhood, and enjoy our neighbors and all <br />that this beautiful area has to offer. <br />I am a past co chair of the River Road Community Organization, I was a member of the Advisory <br />Committee for the Lower River Road Concept plan, and more recently, as part of the neighborhood <br />planning process, I sat on a Working Group responsible for development of the planning details and <br />proposals for the River Road Transit corridor <br />Over the years, including during the robust public outreach for this neighborhood plan, I have had <br />many opportunities to listen to my neighbors and this is what they say: <br />We want a thriving and safe community. A place where our kids can walk to school or ride a bike, a <br />place that connects us to the rich environment of the Willamette River and adjacent Greenway, a <br />place where we can walk, bike, or easily drive to obtain nearby goods and services, a place with <br />good schools and inviting streetscapes, a place that develops sustainably over time, for the benefit of <br />our children and future generations. <br />At a recent City Council work session there were concerns raised about the proposed code <br />amendments included in the RR SC Neighborhood Plan document. Amendments addressing <br />revisions to building height and allowable uses would support the vision and goals of many of my <br />neighbors in creating a thriving neighborhood that improves the quality of life of those who live and <br />work here. <br />And yes, we are a Garden District, and we want to remake River Road as it becomes so much more <br />than the highway it was in the last century. As more housing is built and uses intensify along the <br />busy corridor, attention to these details is urgently necessary. <br />Delaying discussion and implementation of code amendments only leaves my neighborhood <br />vulnerable to development or redevelopment that could seriously negatively impact the area and <br />would negate the years and hours of work that has gone into this plan. <br />Proposed code amendments are in line with Climate Friendly development goals, and the current <br />Special Overlay Zone that was applied to the Lower River Road area. <br />I am in favor of these proposed code amendments and urge you to honor the work of my neighbors. <br />22