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5. OTHER RELATED ISSUES <br /> Relationship to West Eugene Wetlands Mitigation Bank <br /> The parcel may be suitable for enhancement and restoration as part of the West Eugene Wetland <br /> Mitigation Bank. Such an acquisition may be used to offset development on another wetland <br /> parcel and help provide additional acreage to the Bank. <br /> Relationship to Other Development Requirements (setbacks) <br /> One method to obtain preservation of land which is well suited for conservation, but is in private <br /> ownership and subject to development, would be to require development setbacks. These setback <br /> requirements would prevent development within a specified distance from an identified <br /> conservation feature, such as a creek. A drawback is that property owners may violate the <br /> setback requirements. Thus, some form of City enforcement authority would be needed to ensure <br /> compliance with any use restrictions on privately owned land for the purpose of natural area <br /> protection. <br /> An additional drawback of attempting to protect natural resource areas through private ownership <br /> is that public access may be limited. As this may reduce a site's educational and recreational <br /> opportunities, it may be desirable to obtain public access easements for these areas. <br /> Public Utility Easements <br /> Another issue is the granting of public utility easements across a City owned natural area. An <br /> easement could be allowed so long as the utility infrastructure placed in the easement would not <br /> significantly impact or detract from the natural values of the site. Easements should not be <br /> allowed across these parcels if a significant negative impact on the natural value or public <br /> enjoyment of the site will result. <br /> Density Transfers <br /> With a density transfer a developer may want to transfer development density from the portion <br /> donated and add to the portion retained for development. Suppose a property owner had a 5 <br /> acre parcel and wanted to donate 2.5 acres to the City which consisted of a wet bog area. If the <br /> original 5 acre parcel had a given development density, should the developer be allowed to <br /> transfer the density from the donated portion to the developed portion so that the property owner <br /> does not lose development potential by making the donation? Policy should be set on this issue <br /> as developers are likely to ask for such a transfer. <br /> Private Property Rights <br /> At both the Federal and State level is a growing concern about property rights issues An <br /> example is the Dolan v. Tigard case. This and similar cases question Government's right to take <br /> easements and place use restrictions upon private property. It may have bearing on City's future <br /> ability to regulate land use in effort to preserve natural features on privately owned property. <br /> 8 <br />