Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPUBLIC COMMENT - KATE PERLE (3-7-17 dated 3-6-17)March 6, 2017 Kate Perle 201 River Loop 1 Eugene, OR 97404 Planning commissioners, I am a resident of Santa Clara, a long time board member of my community organization, a local fanner, and was a member of the Envision Eugene CRG. I have stayed in touch with the land use processes set in motion through Envision Eugene and continue to work to address growth and change in our cornmunity through a citizen initiated area plan for River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods. I have fanned on the edge of Eugene's UGB for the last 20 years and have witnessed the infill on previously fertile and productive lands in both River Road and Santa Clara. I am fortunate to work on Class 1 and 2 soil and am intimately familiar with its ability to return far greater yields for the same inputs than on lesser value soils. Not only is its productivity greater, the range of uses for greater yields is much broader. The USDA classifies these soils as high value with good reason. Climate change, peak oil, and a growing understanding of the finite nature of natural resources used to support the current national and international food supply we rely on all conspire to indicate that our future relies on our ability to meet our needs from closer to home. "Buy Local" isn't just a trendy choice for folks with disposable income, it's a prerequisite for survival into the future. Currently Oregon's land use laws require that we provide a 20 year supply of residential, industrial and commercial land to support adopted population projections. I assert that it is well past time to also require cornmunities to account for a 20 year supply of food growing soil, adequate water, and a quality air shed for that same population. What goodwill jobs and housing be if we have noway to feed ourselves? We are fortunate to be surrounded by high value soils which can help us secure a liveable future, if only we don't squander this resource. I appreciate the balance that needs to be struck between competing uses for the same land. This brings me to the UGB expansion in front of you. I would like to express my concerns for the proposed expansion with the hopes not of opposing the action, but informing it. I served on the subcommittee that looked at land availability for jobs. Our subcommittee work ended before coining to a discrete number of acres needed for expansion. The process was sent back to the TRG and staff to continue to identify the need for sites of specific sizes and their availability within the current UGB. I am a strong supporter of brownfield redevelopment within the current UGB and believe that we have yet to seriously work to make this a viable option for existing or new businesses looking to locate here. That not withstanding, it has been determined that we have a need for larger greenfield sites. The Clear Lake expansion is designed to address that need. The current proposed expansion is designed to accornmodate 11 sites ranging in size from 10-75+ acres. The intent of the expansion is for discrete numbers of sites of specific sizes that will remain AG zoned until such time as they are annexed for development. It is imperative that the sites be used in that manner, that they remain large sites and not be divided into smaller parcels. I would ask that as time passes, if we find there is no demand for these large lots there is a process in place to remove them from the inventory in the future and return them to exclusive agricultural usage. An apt local example is when Rexius was looking to move sites, bought 60+ acres on Awbrey Lane and due to wetland issues could not develop there immediately. After a few years of trying unsuccessfully to develop there they found that their business model had evolved to not needing such a large site and they successfully moved to a much smaller site. They continue to be a thriving local business on less land. Although on principle I do not support the conversion of high value farmland to other uses, through the Envision Eugene process and subsequent years work I have come to understand the need for compromise and am willing to accept this expansion with the understanding that we need to get it right, that there will be no "do over" in the future for another 900 acres. There is no higher use for class 1 and 2 soils than food production and we need to create a method to return any undeveloped land in the Clear Lake expansion to agricultural usage for the future.