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Overview <br /> Eugene School District 4J is considering a number of elementary school <br /> sites for disposal, due to reduced student population and the need to combine <br /> enrollment in some cases. This report presents analysis of several of these <br /> sites as they may have potential use to meet public needs for neighborhood <br /> parks, recreation amenities, or affordable housing. City of Eugene staff in <br /> Public Works, Library, Recreation & Cultural Services, and Planning & <br /> Development have contributed to the analysis in this report. <br /> For purposes of this study, city staff have considered only the land base of <br /> each site for potential city use. The city is, in general, not interested in <br /> obtaining school buildings for a number of reasons. City staff have not <br /> identified any programmatic interest in using district buildings for city <br /> services. This is especially true during a period when the city is cutting back <br /> on services due to budget reductions. School buildings included in this <br /> review ranges from 40 to 70 or more years of age. Therefore, the buildings <br /> reviewed can be expected to be very energy inefficient, costly to operate and <br /> costly to convert to other public uses. Finally, all of the built structures at <br /> the studied sites have experienced a high level of deterioration, due to the <br /> age of the facilities, deferred maintenance, and the nature of their <br /> construction. Any reuse of school district buildings included in this study <br /> would come at a significant cost to local taxpayers. <br /> Following is an overview of the considerations staff included in their <br /> analysis for each of the potential uses. <br /> Neighborhood Park Suitability <br /> Each site was evaluated to determine if the surrounding neighborhood is or <br /> is not adequately served by neighborhood parks. This evaluation was done <br /> using the criteria that a residence is considered served if it is within %2 mile <br /> safe walking distance of a park. If significant barriers exist, such as high <br /> volume or high speed limit streets, these factors are considered in the <br /> determination of safe walking distance. This method of evaluating need for <br /> parkland is based on policies included within the Eugene Parks & Recreation <br /> Plan which was adopted in 1989. The city is currently undergoing an update <br /> of this plan, looking to provide a more clear and up -to -date direction for <br /> park, recreation, and open space services into the future. The Parks, <br /> Recreation & Open Space Comprehensive Plan is anticipated to be <br /> completed in Spring/Summer of 2004. <br />