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• <br /> INTRODUCTION <br /> With increasing frequency the City of Eugene is being presented the opportunity to acquire <br /> parcels of undeveloped land within the urban growth boundary. These parcels are typically non- <br /> developable, either economically due to difficult site conditions, or through regulatory <br /> restrictions, such as the size of the parcel or wetland and open space designation. A developer or <br /> individual may offer an undevelopable or marginally developable parcel to the City as a donation, <br /> for sale at or below fair market value, or as a trade. The acquisition of such parcels may prove <br /> beneficial to the City, especially if they will enhance existing park land, or help protect open <br /> space, natural resource corridors, or wetlands. However, in other instances such acquisitions may <br /> result in a net liability to the City due to maintenance and nuisance conditions. As such, parcels <br /> must be considered for a variety of factors using pre - established criteria prior to the City <br /> accepting ownership. <br /> This discussion paper will attempt to identify factors which should be considered when evaluating - <br /> whether or not to accept donation of a parcel of non - developable land. Once identified, these <br /> factors will need to be incorporated into a set of established guidelines which will be used to <br /> facilitate a decision on whether the City should accept ownership. Lacking pre- established <br /> guidelines, important issues may not be addressed prior to acceptance of a parcel. The possibility <br /> exists that a parcel could be accepted which would later create problems for the City or an <br /> opportunity to acquire a valuable parcel might be missed. <br /> In developing guidelines and procedures to evaluate the acceptance of donated non - developable <br /> parcels, the following issues need to be addressed: <br /> * What criteria will be used to decide whether or not to accept a parcel? <br /> * What will be the best use of the parcel if acquired? <br /> * What funding and finance issues might be associated with accepting the parcel? <br /> * What alternatives, besides City ownership, are there for achieving the desired land use? <br /> In addition, these donations would have to comply with all other City regulations regarding <br /> property acquisition. <br /> ISSUES <br /> 1. CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTING / NOT ACCEPTING PARCELS: <br /> There are several criteria for accepting or not accepting a parcel that will be identified and <br /> discussed in this section. These factors need to be evaluated in order to make an informed <br /> decision as to whether or not to acquire a given parcel. The first step would be to visit the parcel <br /> and perform a site evaluation and inventory to gather information necessary to evaluate the <br /> acceptance criteria outlined in this section. <br /> 2 <br />