Christo Brehm, founding member of Connecting Eugene was interviewed on Jefferson Public Radio today. You can listen to the interview here.
We recently checked with Representative Peter Defazio’s office about the status of a $5M stimulus funding grant that was to be used for ORI to construct their new building. ORI had hoped to buy-in to a portion of the proposed $17M riverfront building and parking lot with these funds, with the remainder of the cost [...]
Connecting Eugene Appeals Land Use Decision, Urges University to Build South of Tracks Instead
Eugene, Oregon – Connecting Eugene is appealing a state decision that allows a private developer to construct an 80,000-square foot building and parking lot on the Willamette riverfront in the University of Oregon’s Riverfront Research [...]
More than two years has passed since the University of Oregon announced plans for the Oregon Research Institute’s office building and parking lot along the banks of the Willamette River, yet construction has not begun. Instead, the university is burning through taxpayer money and public goodwill by defending a development plan approved when Ronald Reagan [...]
Connecting Eugene Says Decision Does Not Foreclose Opportunity to Create Sustainable Development on Willamette Riverfront
Eugene, Oregon — The Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) has today affirmed the City of Eugene’s extension of the decades-old Riverfront Research Park master plan to allow for new development until the fall of 2012. The decision [...]
Last week the Whiteaker Community Council (WCC), one of the many neighborhood associations recognized by the City of Eugene, issued a statement opposing the current plans for the proposed Oregon Research Institute Building on the banks of the Willamette River. The Whiteaker neighborhood is 2-3 miles downstream from the University and provides a vibrant, eclectic [...]
VIDEO: The Riverfront Celebration co-produced by the ASUO executive and ConnectingEugene was a huge success. The speakers were passionate and loaded with information on the history of the plan to build a suburban-style office complex on the riverfront, as well as plans for moving forward and finding a winning solution for all parties involved.
The UO [...]
VIDEO: At the Campus Forum on Friday Christo Brehm, founding member of ConnectingEugene and Graduate student in Landscape Architecture and Planning and Public Policy, confronted UO President Richard Lariviere regarding the Riverfront Research Park. Christo highlighted the opposition by major groups within the University community to the UO’s current plans to build a massive [...]
On Thursday April 15, at the school-wide faculty meeting, the AAA faculty of the University of Oregon voted unanimously in favor of the following resolution:
“The standards of best practice in planning and design have profoundly changed in the last 20 years, due in large part to the environmental challenges that face us. In [...]
This week we’ve seen an amazing show of solidarity from graduate students across campus! The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF) and the Graduate Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Students (GrEBES) independently and unanimously voted to approve resolutions opposing the current riverfront development trajectory of the University of Oregon. In their discussion, they cited issues with both [...]
Our future seems a little bit brighter today following two events that presented visionary thinking and long-ranging plans for the Willamette River as it flows through our cities, and intertwines with our daily lives.
Landscape Architecture Students Present Alternative Plans for Proposed ORI Site
Today a Landscape Architecture Design studio at the University of Oregon presented alternative [...]
Today, ConnectingEugene laywer Jan Wilson of the Western Environmental Law Center mailed our “Intent to appeal” the decision by the Eugene Planning Commission to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Our appeal to LUBA indicates that we are contesting the findings of land use hearings official Jeff Litwak that the original 20-year conditional [...]
A public forum for the redesign project of the current EWEB site adjacent to the proposed ORI building and parking lot took place tonight at the Eugene Hilton. Over 200 members of the public were present to view the progress of the site redesign by Rowell Brokaw Architects. The site, as presented, will include open [...]
Local NPR affiliate, KLCC, reports that ConnectingEugene will appeal to the Land Use Board of appeals (LUBA), and that there are alternate sites available for ORI to build their building that don’t compromise our riverfront, public space, and options for pedestrian access to the Willamette River. Thanks to Jes Burns of KLCC for preparing this [...]
The Register Guard published a piece today about the ruling by the Hearings Official, Greg Litwak in response to the formal appeal filed by ConnectingEugene regarding the University’s request for an extension of the conditional use permit issued by the City in 1989 (CUP) to completely develop the University’s riverfront. As reported in this article, [...]
ConnectingEugene members Paul Cziko and Allen Hancock testify at the Eugene City Council’s public forum in regards to the outdated Riverfront Research Park Master Plan. They ask the City for help and present ways that the City Council can help resolve the contentious issue of the placement of the proposed ORI building.
Paul begins at 0:45 [...]
Hi,
Welcome to Connecting-Eugene’s Website. We are in the process of updating and developing this site so that information on this contentious issue is publicly available. You can contact us at info@connectingeugene.org
Thanks for stopping by.
The Eugene Weekly covers the controversy over the proposed ORI development as a cover story on Jan 14, 2010. The article is linked here.
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/24372033-41/research-park-building-riverfront-plan.csp