From: <br />Sarah Steindorf <br />To: <br />Euaene RR -SC Plan <br />Subject: <br />Testimony on River Road -Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan <br />Date: <br />Tuesday, March 12, 2024 4:55:00 PM <br />You don't often get email from steiny4444@gmail.com. Learn why this is important <br />[EXTERNAL ] <br />Dear Council Members, <br />My name is Sarah Steindorf and this is my testimony on the River Rd/Santa Clara <br />neighborhood action plan. As a young person, I know there's nothing to do in this part of <br />town. There are parks, but they're underdeveloped. There are businesses, but not <br />enough are local and I can't get to them easily without a car. I still see a lot of the streets <br />I walk on not pedestrian friendly, there are no sidewalks, and I feel unsafe while walking <br />my dog on them. The development of Santa Clara has been overseen by a plan that is <br />decades old. We need new updates to urban development that in neighborhoods I've <br />grown up with all my life. This plan is not a threat to any of the businesses along River <br />Road and will help all community members have a greater sense of partnership. The <br />plan is set up so that all community input will be implemented and taken into account in <br />every step of the way. Amendments and changes can and will be part of the process, as <br />they have been since the conception and development of this plan. This plan will not <br />exclude anybody and will prove to be tremendous work with a high-quality payoff for <br />future generations for decades to come. If this plan is implemented people will want to <br />shop and move here, rather than using the Santa Clara area as a last resort. <br />I remember the Santa Clara Community Organization coming to our school, North <br />Eugene High School, and asking the Ecology Club what they would like to see in our <br />neighborhoods in 2016. Nobody has asked me what I wanted to see in my city before, <br />and it was the first time I realized that things could be different from what they are now. <br />Everyone has a voice and an opinion to make. Since then I've been to multiple SCCO and <br />RRCO community outreach events and I've see how much first-hand the leaders and <br />neighbors of this organization care about each other and believe in the plan they're <br />suggesting. Please listen to the neighbors who want to see this plan put into place- the <br />ones who see safety and community growth as a priority, where parks and harmonious <br />Living can thrive as a model for this city. I truly believe this action plan will help the Santa <br />Clara community. <br />16 <br />