15 January
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Public Meeting on LEC Master Plan

Public Input and Q&A with Consultants
January 20, 6-7:30pm @ the Lane Events Center Performance Hall, 796 W. 13th Avenue

*A virtual option will be provided via  www.laneeventscenter.org

An LEC Development Team is forming to help guide neighbor input – if you want to be involved, contact us.

Lane Events Center is in the midst of its public comment period, which will run 6-8 months on the LEC’s future development (view the LEC Master Plan). Also see the FAQ on the proposal to build a Eugene Emeralds Stadium and sports facility.This is only the first of multiple opportunities to express your desires and concerns about the future of LEC.

15 January
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January 18 JWN General Meeting Via Zoom – Understanding HB 2001
Join Zoom Meeting Tuesday January 18 6:30-8:30pm
We moved to Zoom due to Omicron, to allow more people to attend, and to ease participation by panelists
Contact us at jwneugene@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
“This meeting is intended to be a place for the respectful and civil exchange of ideas and information.  We ask all in attendance to honor this ethic by keeping questions and comments civil, concise and without commentary of a personal nature.”

Have questions for our panelists? Send them here by 6:30pm, Monday, January 17. They will take questions from the floor as well.

Background
The Eugene City Council will soon discuss implementation of HB 2001 – the state’s mandate that eliminates single family zoning by allowing up to fourplexes to be built on residential lots with no off-street parking. Staff and the Eugene Planning Commission have proposed exceeding the state’s requirements and vastly increasing density by allowing up to 70% lot coverage, increasing allowed height to 42 feet (the height of a utility pole), with minimum setbacks, and no tree, light, or air protections. They also proposed seriously undermining the neighborhoods special area zones that protect open space, air, light, and privacy that were agreed to by neighbors and the city over a decade ago. Once adopted, these new rules would be functionally un-amendable because Measure 49 mandates that the city compensate a landowner for any rule changes that reduces the value of land. More information:

Due Diligence: Attempts to get supporters of staff proposal to present
The JWN Executive Board began organizing this meeting in mid-December 2021 and in order to have diverse perspectives we invited Planning Commission (EPC) Vice Chair Dan Isaacson and Better Homes Together (BHT) Founding Director Kaarine Knudsen to participate on a Q&A panel in support of the Planning staff’s proposal. Isaacson informed us of a conflicting EPC for our normal January 11 meeting, so we changed the meeting to January 18. After some email exchanges Isaacson declined on December 30 and told us he would ask other EPC members. Knudsen did not respond to numerous emails (we got an auto-response at one point so we know the emails went through). A general message sent to BHT did not elicit a response. Only one EPC member responded to a personal email and text, and she could not attend. Having exhausted other options, on January 7 we contacted Planning Director Alissa Hansen about staff participation and she responded on January 10 that not one staff or EPC member were available.

If you are a neighbor who has the knowledge and willingness to speak in support of the Planning staff’s recommendations on HB 2001 implementation, please let us know ASAP and we will make space for you on the agenda.

Meeting Agenda

  • 6:30-7:00: Announcements and updates
  • 7:00-7:30: HB 2001 Overview -what does it mean for the JWN? (Paul Conte
    Former JWN Chair, Accredited Earth Advantage Sustainable Homes Professional)
  • 7:30-8:30: Panel Q&A
    • Paul Conte: Former JWN Chair, Accredited Earth Advantage Sustainable Homes Professional (housing-facts.org/)
    • Ebon Foder: Former engineer, professional urban planner, and researcher. Environmental and community advocate. Author.
    • Pam Wooddell: 30+ year resident of Friendly Area Neighbors and former FAN Co-Chair; Retired Registered Nurse; Awakened to land use issues by the proposed South Willamette Special Area Zone