R21: West Eugene Wetland Plan (1992)
PREFACE
When significant wetlands were identified in Eugene's
primary industrial development area, wetlands were defined as a problem.
Now, several years later, the West Eugene Wetlands Special Area Study
(WEWSAS) provides a clearer focus on the issues raised by the wetlands
discovered in west Eugene and sets forth a vision that can achieve a
balance of development needs and environmental values.
Between then and now, the study area has been the subject of a great
deal of scrutiny and study. Inventories of habitat value, wetland
boundaries and wetlands functions and values have been conducted. This
information has been shared with the community, including property owners,
environmental groups, and other interested citizens through newsletters,
workshops, field trips, and in other forums.
We now know that there are wetlands of greater and lesser value. Many
are full functioning wetlands that have the proper mix of water, soils and
wetlands plants. Some wetlands in west Eugene contain remnants of prairie
grassland communities which once dominated the southern Willamette Valley.
On these wetland sites, rare plants and insects have been discovered.
Other wetlands in west Eugene contribute to flood control and help purify
storm water.
We also know that there are at least 288 of the 1,307 acres of wetlands
that are of lower value and can be recommended for development. Because
loss of even these lower valued wetlands must be compensated for, the
proposal for creation of a system of restored and enhanced wetlands
("mitigation bank") has been developed as part of this plan. -
At the same time, it is evident that west Eugene is uniquely suited to
provide a connected system of protected and restored wetlands along the
major waterways that run through the area. With the wetland system
contemplated in this plan, the west Eugene wetlands can protect rare
plants, provide an open space greenway along the area's major streams,
provide for water quality improvements that meet increased federal
requirements, and at the same time help protect people and property from
flooding.
This unique opportunity may not only be of value for the west Eugene
area, but may serve as a focal point for wetland restoration and
replacement for development in other parts of the Eugene urban area. With
the adoption and implementation of the plan, community resources can be
marshalled to assist in development of the lower value wetlands and a
combination of federal, state and local resources can be used to protect,
restore and enhance the remaining wetlands. In the resulting Plan, federal
and state requirements can be addressed at the local level, resulting in
reduced time in the permitting process.
The community has a significant opportunity in the west Eugene area to
create development that recognizes and is sensitive to the adjacent
natural resources, while at the same time protecting that resource and
enhancing its ability to meet a range of community objectives. Many of the
public facility costs needed in the area over the coming decades can be
used for multiple purposes, creating wetlands that filter pollution from
storm run-off and replacing investments in more traditional forms of storm
drainage facilities.
It is this multiple objective approach which is reflected in this
comprehensive Plan. It is not simply a Plan to protect wetlands or
to free wetlands up for development, it is a Plan which balances
environmental concerns with development needs. It is a Plan which proposes
to meld our public facility needs with the environment to create a better
open space system in west Eugene. It is a Plan which suggests a variety
of techniques for spreading the costs of the
recommendations out among several funding sources over a period of time to
make the system affordable to this community.
In 1989, the WEWSAS planning process began with a series of citizen
workshops. The process was designed to include broad participation by
property owners, the development community, environmental groups, state
and federal agency representatives, and other interested citizens. During
1989, more detailed inventory work was conducted. This Plan is a result of
scientific study and local community involvement; it is a Plan which
strives to integrate environmental protection with economic development
within the framework of state and federal wetland programs.
The Plan's first two chapters present Plan Objectives and Highlights
and a general introduction. The next five chapters address: Resource
Protection; Development and Mitigation; Operating, Maintaining, and
Monitoring; Financing; and Future Studies. A companion document to this
Plan is the more detailed Technical Report. By putting the detailed
background material in the Technical Report, the Plan remains smaller,
provides clearer direction guiding future actions, and allows for broader
public distribution. The Plan focuses attention on the recommendations of
individual wetland sites, goals, policies, and recommended actions. The
Plan also contains a list of future public improvement projects that
directly and indirectly affect the study area. The terms "goals, policies,
and recommended actions" are defined below.
Goals are broad statements of philosophy and
are adopted by the City Council and Lane County Board of
Commissioners. They may never be completely attainable, but they describe
the hopes of the people and help establish direction.
Policies provide the basis for consistent action
to move the community toward its goals. Policies are adopted by the
City Council and the Lane County Board of Commissioners. These policies
are used to evaluate actions relative to the Plan.
Recommended Actions are ideas on how to
implement the policies, but are not adopted by the City Council or
the Board of County Commissioners. They suggest ways the policies may be
carried out and are reviewed, studied, and revised over time. They may or
may not be implemented in the form in which they appear. Recommended
actions are evaluated in light of their ability to address the Plan's goal
and policy direction while considering community aspirations, financial
options, and legal requirements.
In 1992, the Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners
adopted the West Eugene Wetlands Special Area Study, a refinement to the
Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan. Below is listed the
specific ordinance numbers and the date of adoption by each jurisdiction.
·
Eugene City Council adopted amendments to the Draft Plan, May 20,
1992, Ordinance No. 19853.
·
Lane County Board of Commissioners adopted amendments and added
additional amendments, July 22, 1992, Ordinance No. PA 1019.
·
Eugene City Council adopted new amendments, August 10, 1992, Ordinance
No. 19867.
·
