Filed under: Riverfront Research Park | Tags: Connecting Eugene, Eugene, Oregon Research Institute, Riverfront Research Park, University of Oregon
On Wednesday January 20, a group of 70 people gathered at 5 pm in Eugene’s City Council chamber for a hearing regarding the controversial Riverfront Research Park (RRP).
The main issue: whether to extend the University of Oregon’s (UO) 20-year-old conditional use permit over the land, which would allow construction until October 2012 without changing any of the original 1989 design plans. The extension was initially granted in December, and then appealed by Connecting Eugene, a group of faculty, students, and alumni at the UO, and other citizens, who contest the UO and the Oregon Research Institute’s (ORI) development plan of the park.
Hearing officer Jeff Litwak oversaw arguments for and against the extension of the permit at the meeting, which was the first formal outlet for community involvement and input.
The land in question lies on the south side of the Willamette River, north of the train tracks, and adjacent to the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) equipment yard. As of now it is a field bounded by a chain-link fence.
Over the fence boundary you can see the land in question, and the distant train tracks.
The UO plans to construct a $17 million, 80,000-square-foot building to house ORI.
Currently ORI is located in two rented offices near the UO and seeks a larger space. The ORI project design will situate the building 100 ft from the riverbank and aims to meet LEED Gold certification requirements, which are sustainable building practices that include energy-efficient lighting and plumbing, solar panels, and insulation. Additionally, the site plan will widen the South Bank Bike Path to 14 ft and provide path lighting and safety railings.
The South Bank Bike Path borders the fenced ORI site.
The building will also include a 200-car surface parking lot.
That’s not the only point that opponents object to. The surrounding properties have changed in the 20 years since the permit allowed construction. Any development on the land now will significantly impact these sites, especially if the design process for the ORI building and RRP master plan do not receive any public input or undergo any change.
After the comment period, the hearing officer will issue a decision in February regarding the extension of the permit. If the extension is granted, it could be appealed again.
The Register Guard’s report on the hearing
From Connecting Eugene’s website, a map of the land
The Register Guard’s Op/Ed approving the ORI plan
From ORI’s website, a sketch of the new bike path
Eugene Weekly’s 1/14/10 cover story opposing the ORI plan
Blog By: Rebecca Sedlak
Photos By: Rebecca Sedlak (taken 1/28/10)
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