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)
Filed under: Riverfront Research Park | Tags: Eugene, Oregon Research Institute, Riverfront Research Park, Trammel Crow Co., University of Oregon
We’re fighting them on the beaches. The University Senate, along with a few students of the UO’s School of Architecture, are fighting to keep the Oregon Research Group, along with Trammel Crow Co., from breaking ground on the as-of yet undeveloped land of the defunct Riverfront Development Park.
The storied history of the university-owned plot begins in the late 1980′s, when the first master plans to develop on the ex-waste dump were drawn up. The plans came with a conditional use permit for the UO to begin construction, with a shelf-life of 20 years.
Fast forward to the present, and we’re sitting in the decision hot seat. Eager to break ground, the research group is pushing to develop north of the tracks – now. A dispute over the true starting date of the permit, the precise date of which had been muddied by a 3 year long appeals process by the city, may give the opponents of the research center ammunition to prolong the construction until 2012.
The university has indicated they are keen to build, however, as they sought an extension on this date in order to keep the permit valid while the construction commenced.
It’s not that no one wants anything to ever be built there, however; many just think the originally approved 1989 master plan is outdated, and needs to be updated to modern standards. Newly proposed plans for the waterfront include ample green space for biking, walking, and integration into the riverside environment, a big improvement on the parking lot wasteland the original plans had unceremoniously called for. Development of these parking lots may quash any hope of ever cleaning up the toxic waste that lies beneath the proposed site.
Some, however, still vehemently oppose absolutely any construction on the waterfront. Even the School of Arts and Architecture is in internal conflict, with faculty Ron Levinson and others up in arms about harming the hallowed ground. “This is a tragedy. The land is sacred ground!” he exclaimed. The city has received hundreds of complaints from concerned citizens, almost every one of them in opposition to the plans.
The research group has a vested interest to build now and not let the issue be struck down. After all, they still have well over a half million dollars already sunk into the project.
The University Senate will remain opposed until the master plans get updated. They passed a resolution on Wednesday, Jan. 13th, stating that they will remain opposed to the building “until the University undergoes a student and faculty inclusive, open process for revising the RRP Master Plan.” They claim that the views of students, faculty, and the Eugene community have not been properly considered in the planning process.
The site is prime real estate for building. 20 years into the process, it seems a bit ridiculous now to throw the whole thing out the window. Questions remain as to whether the university is legally obligated to allow the construction to proceed as planned. Signs indicate that the Senate is ready to oppose the resolution to build as long as they can, at least until a further investigation and revisionary efforts have been granted.
Majority wants a new planning effort before construction begins
Riverfront Research Park Master Plan 1989
Sneak Peek at EWEB waterfront redesign options
UO Senate passes riverfront resolution
Blog By: Erik Maurer
