[IMAGE: Abe Farkas, caption: "Wetlands are a national issue."]

Creation of an $18.6 million wetland reserve in west Eugene is the best way to protect the area's most valuable wetlands while allowing development to proceed on the remainder, according to a new city study.

In a draft plan due for release next month, the city is proposing to seek federal funds to buy 1060 acres of west Eugene wetlands that would be off-limits to future development. Limited development would be allowed on another 360 acres of isolated, lower-quality wetlands. But property owners still would be required to replace or "mitigate" for any lost wetlands, the plan says.

The goal is a network of interconnecting wetlands along the Amazon, Willow Creek, old Amazon Creek, and other west Eugene channels. Some of the wetlands would be accessible as public parks. Some would be reserved for rare plant populations, wildlife, or flood water retention.

Development has been at a near standstill in west Eugene since the city in 1987 discovered an extensive network of wetlands in the heart of what was to have been the city's future industrial growth area.

Because of a $12 million public investment in streets and sewers in the area, city officials decided to search for a way to preserve most of the wetlands while simplifying the federal and state wetlands permit process to make it easier for development to occur on some of the sites.

The result is a 69-page plan that already is receiving national attention for its comprehensive and innovative proposals, local officials said.

The Eugene Planning Commission this week approved release of the 69-page plan after some minor editing changes. Printed copies should be available to the public by mid-March, said Steve Gordon, a Lane Council of Governments planner who served as the project manager.

Because the plan includes areas of wet Eugene outside the city limits, the City Council and the Lane County Board of Commissioners both will hold public hearings on the plan this spring before considering its adoption.

West Eugene property owners helped draft the plan but Gordon said he doesn't expect all of them to be happy with the final result, especially those who would not be able to develop their properties.

"There're some property owners that will not like the recommendations in this plan, I guarantee it," he said.

The plan's cost represents another potential stumbling block in a city reeling from the effects of Ballot Measure 5, the statewide property tax limitation measure passed by voters in November.

Abe Farkas, Eugene planning and development director, said the city is seeking $6 million in federal funding for land acquisition and for constructing new wetlands. He said he believes that the city has a good shot at obtaining federal funding.

"Wetlands are a national issue," he said. "The feds are looking for solid demonstration projects in the wetlands."

Other possible revenue sources identified in the plan include state grants, a local bond measure, development surcharges, private donations, and a storm water utility fee.

No one expects the system of wetlands to be created overnight. The plan calls for a 10-year effort at a minimum. "We're trying to do this thing realistically, recognizing that it's going to take a phased approach," Farkas said.

Planning commission member John Van Landingham attempted this week to fend off criticism of the plan's cost.

"I think we ought to make it real clear right up front. This is not just pretty," Van Landingham told other planning commission members. The plan is "easily justifiable" for helping the community to meet a variety of goals, he said.

Besides responding to the need to help conserve the nation's dwindling wetlands, a wetlands network in west Eugene could help improve flood control, water quality and wildlife habitat and spawn new recreation and education programs, officials said.

The wetlands also could be used to help the city meet 1990 federal storm water treatment regulations without having to build as many new storm sewer pipes, the plan says.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the plan is a proposal to create a regional "wetlands mitigation bank" under which the city would build new wetlands and then allow developers to buy wetlands credits to compensate for development projects in which wetlands would be lost.

Another goal of the plan is to enable the city to obtain a regional fill permit, thus transferring authority for approving fill permits to the city from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The city's plan was applauded Wednesday by Clayton Walker, a local developer and real estate broker who represents several west Eugene industrial and commercial properties.

"It's certainly a lot better than having to go through a fill permit process" with the corps of engineers, which can be "never ending," he said. Walker said he has been trying for 18 months to obtain a fill permit for a residential development in north Eugene.