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City, public need more details on UO project
Eugene residents made a good point last week about the University of OregonÈs planned north
campus development: The UO has provided too few specifics about the project. ItÈs no wonder that
the project received a frosty reception from many of the people attending a public hearing before a
Eugene hearings officer.
The area along the Willamette River needs to be redeveloped, but it needs to be done in a
responsible manner. The plan currently envisioned by the UO might be the right approach, but itÈs
difficult to tell. The explanations given by UO officials were aspirational for what might happen
over the next 30 years.
To state the obvious, 30 years is a long time. The community and the university will have changed
in ways that cannot be precisely forecast. It is understandable that university officials want
flexibility in how they approach the phased project. But many of those UO staff members will leave
the university during the next 30 years. Unless locked in, the aspirations and commitments made
today might not hold up tomorrow.
The university is seeking the cityÈs approval for a conditional use permit for 77 acres north of
Franklin Boulevard, an area currently occupied by university buildings and sports fields.
The project has the potential to increase student and community interactions with the Willamette
River. The UO has pledged to restore the riverfront, but community members fear the proposed
artificial turf fields might leach substances that could harm wildlife habitat and the river. University
officials said a 200-foot buffer would exist between the river and any development, keeping any
potentially harmful materials from the river.
The assurances are helpful. But again, there are insufficient details to know for sure. In any project,
itÈs as important to acknowledge what could go wrong as it is to include what would go right.
There is a reason that MurphyÈs law Ä popularly cited as ÅAnything that can go wrong will go
wrongÆ Ä has endured across the ages.
The community and city officials need more concrete details about the project. Without that
knowledge, no one can make a good decision.
Misjudgment by the state
The state has unintentionally made it difficult for many families to pay their college tuition this fall,
whether at the University of Oregon or another institution.
Hundreds of people, including UO parents, reportedly found themselves locked out of their Oregon
College Savings Plan accounts for days.
The problems were not unexpected. The Oregon College Savings Plan is under the auspices of the
Oregon Treasury, but the plan is changing its outside administrator. That includes switching
money from old to new mutual funds and getting everything into a new website.
The timing Ä at the start of a new school year Ä was bad. State officials said they had little choice.
If so, that is unfortunate.
In any case, no one anticipated how many plan participants would have questions despite being
contacted this summer by email and letter about the changes. Wait times this week at the call
center were reported to be as long as an hour. That is unacceptable.