Connecting Eugene

RG Editorial: Turns out there’s another site after all – July 7, 2011

pcziko — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:38:23 +0000

Printed in the Register Guard today.

EDITORIAL: ORI finds a home at last

Turns out there’s another site after all

Published: (Thursday, Jul 7, 2011 04:25AM) Today

The University of Oregon made a good case for siting a new building for the Oregon Research Institute on the northwest corner of the Riverfront Research Park. One of the most compelling arguments was that the site was the only one available for that purpose. But now it turns out there’s room for ORI elsewhere in the research park, which raises the question of whether years of controversy and expense could have been avoided.

At its meeting today, the state Board of Higher Education will consider approving a lease agreement with a private developer for 4.2 acres. The development company would build a $17 million, 79,800-square-foot building for ORI and the Educational Policy Research Center.

The parcel is located between two existing research park buildings, set back from the Willamette River and south of the railroad tracks — unlike the previously proposed riverfront site on a former Eugene Water & Electric Board pole yard.

In April, UO President Richard Lariviere asked the developer, TC Eugene LLC, a subsidiary of the Trammell Crow Co., to study the new site. Lariviere’s request came after three decisions by the city of Eugene favoring the riverfront site had been appealed to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The city’s decisions were upheld, but the process was time consuming — ORI has been waiting for a new building for a decade, and the developer was growing impatient.

Spearheading the appeals was a campus-community group called Connecting Eugene, which opposed urbanization of the riverfront and contended that the 20-year-old master plan for the Riverfront Research Park needed to be updated. The group’s tenacity, frustrating though it may have been for those pushing the ORI project, has been rewarded. TC Eugene LLC needed only a few months to determine that the less controversial site would be adequate, and now no riverfront development is expected until after a new master plan is approved — if ever.

The switch comes at a cost. Under the agreement pending before the higher education board, TC Eugene LLC would pay the UO $1.47 million to lease the 4.2 acres — but $550,000 would be deducted from that amount to cover the expense of preparing building designs for two different sites.

ORI could have been in its new building already, and the UO could have netted one-third more income from the lease, if the UO hadn’t insisted there was no suitable alternative to the riverfront site.

This was not an example of how hard it is to get things done in Eugene. It’s an example of how sometimes the little guys can prevail.

Register Guard – ORI pursuing alternate site for new building – July 7, 2011

pcziko — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:09:03 +0000

Opponents of a planned building along the Willamette riverfront in Eugene are on the verge of a significant victory as the University of Oregon seeks permission to move the project to a less controversial site.

Next week, the UO will ask the state Board of Higher Education for permission to lease the new site to a development company for construction of a $17 million building for the Oregon Research Institute and Educational Policy Improvement Center. The site is set back from the riverfront and is between two existing buildings in the UO’s Riverfront Research Park.

If the lease is approved, developer Trammell Crow plans to begin construction of the 80,000-square-foot, four-story building in late August, with completion expected by October 2012.

The pending deal would put to rest a dispute that has simmered for nearly two years and also end Eugene-based ORI’s roughlydecade-long search for a new headquarters.

For almost two years, a group of UO students and faculty and the community group Connecting Eugene have fought the university over plans to put the ORI building on a site at the western end of the park, next to the Eugene Water & Electric Board equipment yard. It would have been the first building in the 67-acre research park to be built along the riverfront on what is now a vacant lot.

The UO plan for development right next to the river prompted a strong backlash from people concerned about riverfront development and who believed the project violated the 20-year-old master plan for the UO-owned research park. They urged the university to consider other locations, and when officials declined they filed a series of appeals and procedural challenges. Earlier this year, UO President Richard Lariviere stepped in, urging Trammell Crow to study the site that’s set back from the river and amid existing development at the eastern end of the park.

Allen Hancock, a Connecting Eugene member, said he’s happy the effort paid off.

“This is a win-win outcome as far as we can tell,” he said Friday. “This is good news for the community at large.”

It now appears that the conditional use permit that allows the UO to build along the riverfront will expire before any buildings go up. The university won an extension of the 20-year-old permit last year but is not expected to pursue any new projects along the river.

That means opponents of the riverfront project likely will get what they have been pushing for all along, a revision of the research park’s master plan that includes significant community involvement. Hancock said it shows that citizen involvement can affect the outcome of local decisions.

“It’s gratifying to know that with a lot of persistence, research and the support of many, many other community members we can really have an effect on democracy and our local civic issues,” he said. “I’m hopeful that this situation might serve as an example to some other issues our community faces, such as Civic Stadium, for example.”

Although the university will lose the chance to make a significant expansion into the riverfront portion of the research park, officials say they’re happy to clear the various legal hurdles from the project’s path and see construction begin. Diane Wiley, the park director, said the main goal all along was having a site that meets the tenants’ needs.

“I’m pleased that it looks like we’ve got a site that’s going to accommodate them,” she said. “At this point there’s a path forward, and no one is more happy about that than ORI and EPIC. I think it’s a good solution.”

Dan Hoechlin, facilities manager for ORI, agreed. He said the priority was always a site that allows the research center to maintain its close ties to scientists at the UO, and the new location fills that bill.

“It’s going to work fine for us,” he said. “It’s been a long battle, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

But the move will cost the university. Under the new deal, Trammell Crow will pay the university $1.47 million for a 55-year ground lease. But the company will be able to take a credit of up to $550,000 against that amount to cover the cost of the building redesign, site evaluation and parking improvements.

Wiley said the building will look much the same as was planned at the previous site with only minor modifications. Some parking will be built on the new site, but the developer also will build parking in a vacant lot across Millrace Drive and will reconfigure parking in an adjoining lot.

The parking is all on property south of the railroad tracks that bisect the research park.

No time line has been established for revising the master plan for the rest of the research park, but efforts are expected to begin in the coming academic year. Members of the UO student government have allocated $56,000 toward the cost of a campuswide planning and community involvement effort aimed at determining the future of the riverfront strip.

By Greg Bolt

The Register-Guard – article here

Published: (Saturday, Jul 2, 2011 05:01AM) Today

Act/Write now – Decisive Moment! – May 11, 2011

pcziko — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:26:07 +0000

Friends of the riverfront,

UO President Richard Lariviere issued a press release last week stating that the University is willing to consider an alternate location for the Oregon Research Institute building, south of the railroad tracks and away from the Willamette River.

This is great news for our riverfront–but we can’t celebrate yet. President Lariviere said that they will continue planning for the ORI building and parking lot next to the Willamette River while they conduct a feasibility study for the alternative site. Until the university formally withdraws its application, we can’t be sure that the riverfront is safe from development.

A good place for ORI: a large undeveloped parcel between two existing Research Park buildings on Millrace Drive

We need your help right away to make sure the university changes course. Please write President Lariviere, Oregon Research Institute, and the Trammell Crow Company (the developers) to tell them that the community supports this alternate location. This is a time when letters really can make a difference!

Below is a sample letter. You can sign it and send it as is–or make it more effective by personalizing it and indicating if you are or have been associated with the University or ORI in any way. Please send the letter to all of the decision makers including UO President Richard Lariviere, ORI Executive Director Cynthia Guinn, and Steven Wells from Trammell Crow:

Pres@uoregon.edu,

Cynthia@ori.org,

SWells@trammellcrow.com

Thanks for your support,

Connecting Eugene

P.S. Until the University withdraws its application to build next to the river, Connecting Eugene will continue to pursue an appeal contesting construction. For more information see the recent articles in the Eugene Weekly and the Register-Guard.

—-

Dear President Lariviere, Mr. Steven Wells, and Ms. Cynthia Guinn,

I commend you for selecting the site at 1700 Millrace Drive as the potential new location for Oregon Research Institute.

Selecting this site demonstrates that the University, ORI, and Trammell Crow are responsive to overwhelming public desire that a new vision guide the future of University-owned land next to Willamette River.

By selecting this location, construction can proceed without the legal challenges associated with the originally-proposed site, the University can save money on infrastructure costs, and employees can look forward to working in a beautiful new facility near the Willamette River, the EmX, and colleagues at the UO.

At their meeting on May 9, members of the Eugene City Council offered congratulations that this site had been chosen for the proposed building. Working with City staff, we encourage you to draw upon the talents of your respective institutions to find creative solutions to any challenges that may arise as you move the project to this new site.

Since the founding of Eugene, the Willamette River has been vital to our city and our region’s economy and culture. Because of your leadership, citizens will have the opportunity to create a new vision for this special stretch of riverfront. Together we can safeguard the land’s ecological integrity and potential, provide a major civic connection between the University and downtown Eugene, and jump-start new economic development in our community.

Future generations will look back to this decision as a defining moment in our local history and applaud your leadership and foresight.

Register Guard: UO/TC will explore feasibilty of 1700 Millrace – May 7, 2011

pcziko — Sat, 07 May 2011 17:27:01 +0000

ORI study to take weeks

A review of an alternative building site already is finding available parking spaces to be a major hurdle

Details about numbers of parking spaces and the size of setbacks needed for an office building may determine whether a years-long dispute over the proposed Oregon Research Institute building ends amicably.

The question building experts are evaluating is whether the proposed 80,000-square-foot ORI building, parking spaces and landscaping can be accommodated on two parcels totaling 3.6 acres that are set far back from the Willamette River, as opposed to the long-proposed site of 4.3 acres right alongside the river.

University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere announced Monday that the UO is asking ORI and its developer, Trammell Crow Co., to evaluate the smaller site.

However, it’s still unclear whether the smaller property, at 1700 Millrace Drive, could accommodate the ORI project.

Trammell Crow said it will be weeks before it concludes its investigations and will be able to say whether the ORI project can be placed on the two smaller parcels.

Those two smaller parcels are on either side of Millrace Drive, about a half-mile southeast of the 4.3-acre site at 855 Riverfront Parkway.

“We just don’t know yet,” said Steve Wells, senior managing director of Trammell Crow Portland office. “We are just wading into this.”

However, Wells added his team already has determined that parking will be a major hurdle. The ORI project, as planned for the Riverfront Parkway parcel, had 180 parking spaces.

At this point, Wells said he believes the proposed four-story ORI building, as designed for the Riverfront Parkway site, could easily fit onto the bigger of the two Millrace Drive parcels, which is 2.4 acres.

But there’s not enough land on that parcel for all the needed parking, so an additional parking lot would need to be built on the second Millrace Drive parcel, of 1.2 acres, across the street. And, he said, an existing parking lot next to that land would need to be reconfigured.

Wells said building a parking garage is not being considered as a solution.

Parking garages are extremely expensive in comparison to surface parking.

Both the Millrace Drive parcels and the Riverfront Parkway parcel are owned by the state and are in the UO’s Riverfront Research Park.

Diane Wiley, director of the research park, said the proposed Millrace Drive site will be a tight fit for the ORI building. Land use rules would require the building to be set back both from Millrace Drive in front of the site and the Millrace waterway that runs behind the parcel.

“There are some challenges. We are truly at the beginning phase of looking at this. It will take us several weeks to work with designers and really test the site for feasibility,” Wiley said.

The Riverfront Parkway site is a simpler proposition from the design point of view.

It’s a large rectangular parcel with ample room for the building, parking and landscaping.

At the Riverfront Parkway site, ORI’s plans call for about a quarter of the 4.3 acres to be taken up with landscaping that would buffer the building from the Willamette River. Assuming that amount of screening isn’t needed at the Millrace Drive site, that reduces the acreage ORI needs.

A broad coalition of critics have spent many months attacking the UO administration over the Riverfront Parkway site, saying it’s inappropriate to put such a large development so close to the river.

This week they said they’re tentatively hopeful about the proposed Millrace Drive site.

But if they’re happy, Lariviere hasn’t heard from many of them.

“I’ve gotten exactly one e-mail on the topic,” Lariviere said this week.

“That e-mail said congratulations, nice compromise.”

Lariviere said the e-mail wasn’t from a name he recognized or even descriptive enough to reveal how the sender felt about the original location planned for ORI.

Lariviere said it was the community’s vocal opposition to Riverfront Parkway location that led him and his staff to push for a review of the alternative site.

Lariviere has instructed Trammell Crow to explore the feasibility of the Millrace Drive site while still moving forward with planning for the Riverfront Parkway site.

By Lauren Fox

The Register-Guard

Published: (Saturday, May 7, 2011 07:00AM) Midnight, May 7

EW: Riverfront Site Reconsidered – May 5, 2011

pcziko — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:29:17 +0000

Connecting Eugene is “cautiously optimistic” about UO President Richard Lariviere’s May 2 announcement that the school will look into an alternative location for the proposed Oregon Research Institute (ORI) and Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) building, according to Paul Cziko, a member of the student and community based group.

Connecting Eugene has long advocated the site at 1700 Millrace Drive, among others, as an alternative location for the ORI/EPIC project that would allow the riverfront to remain free of the planned parking lot and office building. The site is “an appropriate place for this building,” Cziko said.

Under Lariviere’s recommendation, the parties involved in the development would continue planning for the controversial existing riverfront site while simultaneously examining the feasibility of the Millrace location, according to the UO’s press release, which said developer Trammell Crow Company has been asked to examine the second parcel.

Connecting Eugene has also advocated for a more up-to-date master plan for the UO, one that is more ecologically, public and people oriented, said Cziko. The current master plan for development that called for the ORI/EPIC riverfront construction is over 20 years old. This is something that was also addressed in the school’s press release, which included this quote from Rich Linton, vice president for research and graduate studies: “Beyond this project, the university will launch a master planning process to help address future facilities needs for UO’s expanding role in catalyzing innovation and its ties to economic development.”

The new direction from Lariviere may have come from “concern voiced by community members, students and faculty,” Cziko said. Both student and faculty senates have voted in support of Connecting Eugene’s efforts to update the master plan and rethink the proposed building and parking lot on the riverfront. Though encouraged by Lariviere’s statement, Cziko says the UO has not withdrawn its permits for the riverfront site, nor has Connecting Eugene backed down on its case before the Land Use Board of Appeals.

“Reconsider Riverfront”

Eugene Weekly – News Briefs

Camilla Mortensen

Register Guard: New site suggested for ORI – May 3, 2011

pcziko — Tue, 03 May 2011 17:05:29 +0000

UO President Lariviere asks developers to consider putting the new building farther from the river

After years of controversy, University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere announced Monday that he’s asked developers to consider a second site for the Oregon Research Institute and Educational Policy Improvement Center Building, hundreds of feet from the Willamette River and south of the railroad tracks.

“This is the result of many long conversations among all the parties,” he said.

If the new site at 1700 Millrace Drive is approved, Lariviere said construction will begin within 30 days of the resolution. However, there are many considerations, including available space and parking, he said.

The original plan called for the $17 million ORI and EPIC building to be constructed at 855 Riverfront Parkway, just east of the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s property on the south side of the Willamette River.

However, since the plan was revealed in 2008, the 4.7-acre site, which is close to the Willamette River, has been opposed by a coalition of students, faculty, and community members.

Lariviere has instructed developer Trammell Crow Company to assess the space available at 1700 Millrace Drive and see if the smaller 2.5-acre area could accommodate the proposed four-story, 80,000-square-foot building.

“Whether or not the site is large enough for the building is still to be determined,” UO spokesman Phil Weiler said. “That is one of the questions we need to work out.”

To avoid losing time on the project in the event that the space is not large enough, Lariviere said, he’s requested that developers continue planning for the existing site at 855 Riverfront Parkway, while simultaneously examining the feasibility of moving the project to 1700 Millrace Drive.

Connecting Eugene, the coalition that opposed the proposed plan to build the ORI and EPIC building along the river, suggested the Millrace Drive location months ago.

But another research building was proposed for the site. Lariviere said that, in the time since, the construction of that building has been postponed for unrelated reasons.

Allen Hancock, a spokesman for Connecting Eugene, said his organization is “cautiously optimistic” that this announcement might be the first step toward developing a site that UO students, faculty and community members can support.

“Connecting Eugene welcomes any move that would expedite construction of the ORI building in a location away from the riverfront,” Hancock said.

Connecting Eugene has worked to slow the construction of the ORI and EPIC building near the Willamette River, doing everything from filing objections with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers saying there are wetlands on the site to more recently filing an appeal with the state Lane Use Board of Appeals.

The original site and building had already been designed and the city of Eugene issued a Phase I building permit for the project when, in February, Connecting Eugene filed an appeal with the land board of the building permit, which approved construction of a 200-car parking lot. Connecting Eugene’s request to void that building permit on the grounds that it violates the master plan is currently under appeal by the Land Use Board of Appeals.

Lariviere said the process has been a sensitive one that has required a lot of careful attention to detail.

“I have watched the process work here in Eugene. It is probably not as expeditious process as is good for the city, but it is what it is,” he said.

Published: (Tuesday, May 3, 2011 07:01AM)

By Lauren Fox, The Register-Guard

Connecting Eugene – ORI project moving in a positive direction – May 2, 2011

pcziko — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:49:57 +0000

Connecting Eugene supports UO President Lariviere’s decision to explore other options for ORI’s riverfront building and parking lot

Connecting Eugene commends University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere on his decision to explore an alternative location for a proposed private office building and parking lot slated to be built along the Willamette River in Eugene.

The University of Oregon announced today (attached below) that the President has recommended an examination of an alternative location for the proposed Oregon Research Institute (ORI) building. The building is currently slated to be constructed under a 1989 Master Plan at the western end of the University’s riverfront open space, just upstream from the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) property. The plan, if completed, would transform the University’s 67-acre riverfront open space into a private office complex.

Members of Connecting Eugene, a community group concerned about public involvement and the appropriate use of the riverfront, believe that the President’s recommendation may be the first step towards a win-win solution to the problems with the proposed project.

UO Graduate student and Connecting Eugene member Paul Cziko is encouraged by the news: “I’m cautiously optimistic, yet delighted that President Lariviere is responding to the concerns of students, faculty, and community members who want to see the ORI project built while protecting the riverfront from inappropriate development”.

The building’s originally-proposed riverfront location has been contested by students, faculty, and community members, including the University Senate and ASUO (student) Senate repeatedly since plans were first unveiled in 2008. The President’s proposal to examine the viability of an alternative construction location for the four-story, 80,000 square foot building and parking lot is likely to be welcomed by most opponents to the riverfront location.

Community members have previously encouraged the university to consider the site at 1700 Millrace Dr., amongst others, as a viable alternative location for the ORI project. Construction at this alternative site would conform to several goals and requirements set forth in the Master Plan, such as creating a high-density clustered development that fosters a thriving research community. Construction at the riverfront site, nearly a quarter of a mile from existing research park buildings, would not satisfy these conditions.

In February, the City of Eugene issued a permit to begin construction of a 200-car parking lot as the first phase of the riverfront development. The issuance of the building permit is currently under appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals by Connecting Eugene.

Choosing to leave the riverfront site undeveloped under the aging 1989 master plan would allow for renewed citizen involvement in the fate and use of these publicly-owned lands after the plan expires in 2012. Students are already engaged in this process; the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) recently authorized over $56,000 for educational events and opportunities for public involvement related to the riverfront. These funds will help the University determine the best practices for protecting the sensitive ecological zone next to the river while allowing for appropriate development in areas that will provide benefits to the university and the wider community.

UO Alumnus and Connecting Eugene member Allen Hancock says: “Connecting Eugene welcomes any move that would expedite construction of the ORI building in a location away from the riverfront. The site on Millrace Drive is an appropriate and responsible location for ORI’s building.”

www.connectingeugene.org, info@connectingeugene.org

UO Press Release Below

UO president recommends examination of 1700 Millrace Drive site for new Riverfront Research Park building

EUGENE, Ore. — (May 2, 2011) — University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere announced today that he has asked developer Trammell Crow Company to examine a second parcel in the Riverfront Research Park as a possible location for the proposed Oregon Research Institute (ORI) and Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) building.

Under Lariviere’s recommendation, the parties involved in the development would continue planning for the existing site at 855 Riverfront Parkway while simultaneously examining the feasibility of moving the ORI/EPIC project to the 1700 Millrace Drive location.

The 1700 Millrace Drive site is available because of a recent decision made by University of Oregon leadership to temporarily forego construction of an additional building within the park until after a new comprehensive master plan for the Riverfront Research Park has been completed. Initial UO plans had called for developing a new building for ORI and EPIC on the site at 855 Riverfront Parkway, a former EWEB pole yard north of the railroad tracks, in addition to another multi-tenant research building on the vacant parcel at 1700 Millrace Drive south of the railroad tracks.

“The decision to postpone development of another new building within the research park allows us to re-examine the best location for the ORI/EPIC building,” Lariviere said. “By exploring the feasibility of the 1700 Millrace Drive site, I am confident that we will arrive at the best possible outcome for everyone involved,” he said.

“The UO remains committed to assuring that Trammell Crow, ORI and EPIC can develop an outstanding research facility,” said Rich Linton, vice president for research and graduate studies at the UO. “If the 1700 Millrace site proves feasible, it will provide a desirable location for housing major research programs at ORI and EPIC that support hundreds of jobs in this community,” he said.

“Beyond this project, the university will launch a master planning process to help address future facilities needs for UO’s expanding role in catalyzing innovation and its ties to economic development,” Linton added.

For the past two years, Trammell Crow Company has been working to redevelop a former brownfield site near the Eugene Water and Electric Board facility, adjacent to the Willamette River and north of the railroad tracks. The 80,000-square-foot LEED Gold building planned for the parcel would house the Oregon Research Institute and the Educational Policy Improvement Center. The site and building have been designed and the City of Eugene has issued a Phase I building permit for the project.

“The primary concern for the Trammell Crow Company is to construct a high-quality, energy-efficient facility that meets the needs of ORI and EPIC and enhances Eugene’s built environment. While we remain fully committed to moving forward at the former EWEB pole yard, we are willing to simultaneously explore the feasibility of the Millrace Drive site,” said Trammell Crow representative Steve Wells.

“We look forward to working with Trammell Crow and the university as they determine the feasibility of the new site,” said Cynthia Guinn, executive director at Oregon Research Institute.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of “Very High Research Activity” in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Phil Weiler, UO Office of Communications, 541-346-3873, pweiler@uoregon.edu

Register Guard – Choose Another Site for ORI – Mar. 15, 2011

pcziko — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:20:28 +0000

Zachary Stark-MacMillan, ASUO Senate President

As the University of Oregon and Oregon Research Institute move forward jointly with plans to build a private office building and parking lot on public lands next to the Willamette River, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon have acted decisively to begin a student-led process of creating a new vision for the future of the university’s riverfront property.

Using special funds, the ASUO recently granted $56,000 to host lectures and workshops throughout the coming year, providing opportunities for students and the public to learn how communities around the world have protected and restored urban riverfront land and an opportunity to create a community vision for our valuable riverfront.

The grant also will allow faculty across disciplines to offer courses and sponsor research using the riverfront as a classroom. It could include gathering ecological data, writing projects or preparing an economic impact study. Students are hopeful that these events and classes will provide the basis for a new vision for the riverfront once the current plan expires in 2012.

Unfortunately, the city of Eugene issued a building permit to allow construction of a parking lot for the proposed ORI building. If constructed, this building would foreclose on unique academic and recreational opportunities that students are seeking. It is time to prioritize the education of students and the needs of the community by selecting another site for the ORI building.

(Letter to the Editor)

What’s Your Vision? – Mar. 4, 2011

pcziko — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:22:09 +0000

We Have Wonderful News!

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) granted $56,000 to student groups to begin a process of creating a new vision for the future of the university’s riverfront.

The grant will provide opportunities for students and the wider community to learn about the riverfront and to help people imagine what it could be like in the future. Student organizations will host public lectures and workshops throughout the coming year. We’ll keep you posted.

The grant will also allow faculty across disciplines to offer classes and sponsor research that focuses on the riverfront–such as gathering ecological data, initiating a creative writing project, or preparing an economic impact study. We’re hopeful that these events and classes will provide the basis for a new vision for the riverfront once the current plan expires in 2012.

Unfortunately…

The city of Eugene issued a building permit for the UofO to begin construction of the parking lot for proposed ORI building. Connecting Eugene responded by filing a lawsuit on grounds that the proposed building is in violation of the approved master plan. We have been saying this for a year and a half, but we have only now been able to bring these substantive, site-specific issues to court.

An alternative:

There’s no need to build next to the river! The picture below shows a 3.7 acre parcel of buildable land in the Research Park right next door to ORI’s current location and away from the river. It’s designated for construction and could accommodate a new building without the added cost of extending the road and utilities a third of a mile to the riverfront. A win/win solution is possible.

Want to go on a walk?

Join us for a walking tour of the riverfront this Saturday, March 5 at 2:30pm as part of the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. We will meet in the lobby of the law school at the corner of 15th and Agate Street and walk (rain or shine) to the river on paved surfaces.

Want to Help?

We are seeking donations to help cover legal costs. Please contact us if you would like to contribute or volunteer.

Thank you for your support

The President should be wary – Mar. 1, 2011

pcziko — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:26:04 +0000

Connecting Eugene appeals city’s permit for riverfront development

Opposition group attempts to delay University’s efforts to expand Oregon Research Institute

Stefan Verbano | News editor

Riverfront development opposition group Connecting Eugene filed an appeal with the State of Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals last Tuesday, challenging the City of Eugene’s issuance of a building permit for the controversial Oregon Research Institute project within the University’s Riverfront Research Park.

Though the preliminary permit only allows for excavation and grading of the 4.3-acre site, Connecting Eugene considers the University’s headlong construction efforts to construct a private office building and large parking lot for ORI in violation of provisions in RRP’s 1989 Conditional Use Permit.

By appealing the city’s permit, the opposition group hopes to delay construction and mandate a public hearing to determine whether the current project — undertaken more than 20 years after the original RRP’s plans were cast — is still in the public’s favor.

The proposal to construct the private office building on a public swatch of Willamette’s riverfront land has been challenged on a number of fronts recently.

The ASUO Senate and University Senate both passed resolutions last October and November, respectively, opposing the project and demanding that the plans undergo an inclusive process of public input.

In a University Senate meeting in January, faculty members questioned whether the school had complied with local laws and the city’s contractual obligations requiring public participation in the planning process.

Senate members, joined by a spattering of ASUO members, have alleged that the University has failed to satisfy provisions in the original RRP Intergovernmental Agreement, a 1986 document spelling out the conditions under which the park can be developed.

The document, ratified more than 20 years ago by the City of Eugene and the State Board of Higher Education in conjunction with the University, stipulated that construction in new “sectors of development” must be reviewed by the Riverfront Research Park Commission, which has not met in more than a decade.

Without the commission’s analysis, Connecting Eugene views continued construction efforts to be in direct violation of IGA provisions and Eugene City Code, which mandate public hearings to “study, investigate, analyze and make expert evaluations of proposals concerning development for the Riverfront Research Park.”

Because the oversight body has not met in more than a decade, continued construction efforts could be deemed unlawful and get the school into legal hot water.

Paul Cziko, a Connecting Eugene member and University graduate student, said the appeal makes a public hearing possible, which is a necessary fail-safe that insures continued riverfront construction efforts are in harmony with the spirit of the 1989 Conditional Use Permit.

“We would like the city to hold the required hearing before issuing this building permit,” Cziko said.

“Under Oregon State Law, whenever a public body makes a discretionary land-use decision, they are required to hold a public hearing.

The present appeal deals simply with whether the city made a discretionary land-use decision, and therefore whether a public hearing is required.”

In light of University President Richard Lariviere’s push for greater funding and governance autonomy under his New Partnership plan, Cziko said the president would be unwise to neglect calls by students and staff to halt development so all stakeholders can voice individual concerns.

“The campus community is overwhelmingly opposed to this project,” Cziko said.

“The President should be wary of driving this project through against wishes of the faculty and the students if he wants to build support and trust for his New Partnership plan.”

Allen Hancock, another Connecting Eugene member, said the entire contentious project could be remedied if University administrators only agreed to move the building site away from the fragile riverfront, closer to existing RRP facilities.

“The research park’s master plan specifically calls for development to occur south of the railroad tracks before construction occurs on the riverfront,” Hancock said.

“There’s ample room away from the river to construct the building for ORI now, while we work together to determine the best use for the riverfront after the 1980s plan expires next year.”