<br />Re:False statements in PUD Application (PDT 24-1 and ST 24-3) and State Lands Wetlands Fill Application <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Gioello, <br /> <br />I own and live at the home at the address shown above. I am writing to correct false statements in the PUD application and <br />wetlands fill/removal application that are pending before your agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Oregon <br />Department of State Lands, as well as similar false statements I believe have been made orally by persons acting on behalf of <br />the property developer, Piculell Properties, and its owner or principal officer, Al Lundstrom. <br /> <br />My home is on the ridge line to the east of, and overlooking, the 15-acre property that is the subject of the proposed <br />development referenced above. Both of the applications in question make statements to the effect that wetlands on the 15- <br />acre property are being fed by a suspected broken storm drain pipe near the property line on the uphill side of the development <br />to the east. (See Attachment 1: Wetlands Permit Application, pp. 2-3, Section B; Attachment 2: PUD Application Materials, <br />p. 98, KPFF Memo of 3/5/24, “Proposed Conditions”). It is my understanding that representatives of the developer have also <br />made similar statements at public meetings regarding the development both this year and last year. <br /> <br />There is no broken storm drain pipe or stormwater outfall and Mr. Lundstrom knows it. The water that is feeding the <br />wetlands comes from a natural spring at the bottom of the hill on my property. The spring is located in a rocky area about <br />twelve feet from the property line dividing my property from the Piculell property. <br /> <br />In 2022, there was a code compliance enforcement action taken by the city against Piculell Properties and/or Mr. Lundstrom <br />for an unauthorized attempt to divert water from the area of the spring by means of an excavation and French drain. The <br />enforcement action is referenced in the Agenda Materials for the recent July 10 Zoom hearing on PDT 2401 as “Case Number <br />22-00839.” The city later ordered Mr. Lundstrom to repair the damage from the unauthorized diversion attempt, which he <br />mentions in his wetlands fill/removal application as Case Number 22-00949. <br />Mr. Nick Gioello <br />July 30, 2024 <br />Page Two <br /> <br />In April, 2022, a few months before Mr. Lundstrom attempted to divert water from the spring, he came to my house. I recall <br />the month because we were doing construction work on our house at that time, and the walkway from the sidewalk to my <br />front door, which bridged a deep gap, had been temporarily removed. For this reason, Mr. Lundstrom was unable to ring my <br />doorbell, so he waited in his car in front of my house until I noticed him and came out through the garage door. I took him <br />down the steep hill behind my house and showed him the spring, which bubbles up 365 days a year at the base of the hill. I <br />pointed out that this was obviously a natural spring and not a broken pipe, and he said something like “well, I don’t like that at <br />all.” I understood this to mean that he would have preferred it if the water had been coming from a broken pipe rather than a <br />natural spring. <br /> <br />I have taken short videos of the spring and am submitting them with this letter. (See attached videos.) The videos were made <br />on July 23, 2024, in the middle of Eugene’s dry season. There has not been any substantial amount of rain in Eugene in <br />months, and since there is no stormwater, the water from the spring cannot be coming from a broken stormwater pipe.