The Eugene hearings official heard testimony Wednesday night regarding a zone-change request from Williams Bakery that would change the site from one that requires a site review to one that doesn't. The opposition was given one more week to submit new evidence before the issue will be closed for discussion. A decision will be made by Nov. 18.
Because of recent changes in site-review criteria, attorney Kim O'Dea said the request from Williams Bakery is legitimate.
"Under the new site-review criteria, site review is just no longer justified on this property," O'Dea said.
A site review lets the public discuss a site's impact on the surrounding neighborhood and scrutinize any aspects of the site that may be considered a nuisance.
Those opposed to the request voiced concerns with the bakery, located just east of campus, being the targeted spot for the University's new basketball arena and what the lack of a required site review would mean if the University does acquire the site.
O'Dea said the opposition against the zone change is unfounded and as soon as the opposition has a clear understanding of the current site-review criteria and of what omitting the site review entails, "much of the argument goes away."
The law does not require a site review for the parking area currently on the site, but co-chairman of the Fairmont Neighbors Association Jeff Nelson said if the University does plan on building the new arena on the site, it should be taken into consideration before labeling a site review as unnecessary.
Nelson said a site review is "critical in trying to have a buffer between the commercial area and the resident area," which is a pressing neighborhood goal. Mary Ann Holson, a 34-year resident of the Fairmont neighborhood, said she is very concerned with the possibility of the area becoming a construction site and wants to make sure the public is involved in the planning process.
"The neighborhood wants a say in what will be located on these blocks and what it will look like," Holson said.
After the meeting, Holson said she wants to make sure the beauty of the historic Fairmont neighborhood is preserved. She and her husband lived in Los Angeles during a time when many nice areas were getting "slummed out," and she said the effects on the community were devastating.
"We saw the happenings of bad planning," she said.
University architecture student Michael Hahn and two other students attended the meeting to better verse themselves in what the neighborhood concerns are about the proposed stadium. Hahn said he is in a class that is working with the architect who is designing the new arena, and he hopes to relay the concerns that were voiced at the meeting to the architect.
He said he had never considered the historical aspect of the targeted neighborhood or the idea of preserving a buffer zone between residential and commercial areas of the neighborhood.
"What they want to do makes it a difficult design problem," he said, adding that it is crucial for architects to consider any concerns residents might have.
The three-person Planning Division hearing the request issued a statement in favor of Williams Bakery, acknowledging that the
request was indeed legitimate,
according to the new site-review criteria. However, at the request of Fairmont Neighborhood Association members, both sides have one more week to submit additional
evidence and testimony to be
considered at an Oct. 27 meeting.
meghanncuniff@dailyemerald.com
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