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Research Park 1988 plan be updated, with such things as more stringent setbacks required. He <br />understood there was some degree of partnership with the University of Oregon with this <br />building. <br />Pre's Trail detour <br />Mr. Richardson introduced the issue, which was being driven by the I -5 bridge project, by <br />detailing on a map the area involved. Because of the need for a staging area for trucks and <br />equipment, a section of land would be closed off, including about 1000' of Pre's trail. The OTC <br />had requested that this 1000' of trail be made up in some way, he said, and about five detour <br />options had been suggested for the construction period of just over three years. When the bridge <br />was completed, he said, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) would rebuild the <br />historic trail back to its original alignment. <br />Responding to a question by Ms. Brand about impacts on natural resources for the different <br />options, Mr. Richardson said the natural resource staff found all options acceptable, with none <br />favored over others. Only two of the five options appeared to be realistic, he added, a red loop <br />detour just east of the I -5 staging area, and a yellow loop detour south of the radio tower lease <br />area. Mr. Richardson said he had received mixed messages about whether the red loop detour <br />was acceptable to ODOT, and he would try to get a final determination from them. The yellow <br />loop detour preferred by the OTC presented some concerns for some members of the CPC. <br />Geoff Hughes said he shared some of the same concerns. After much looking at the various <br />options, he felt the red loop detour was not the best option for rerouting the trail as it was closest <br />to construction activity, and was on top of the landfill area where he thought the thin soil cap was <br />more sensitive to disturbance and could take longer to restore following completion of the bridge <br />work. <br />Mr. Sonnichsen objected to the process that was taking place, saying it should have taken place <br />in a subcommittee meeting. He said the CPC was not informed by Eugene Parks and Open <br />Space in a timely fashion about the yellow loop detour, and said he favored the red loop detour <br />to the east. He questioned whether serious runners used this trail for training runs or rather used <br />the Amazon trail. Mr. Hughes responded that serious runners were not the only concern in this <br />decision. <br />Mr. Olsen replied that serious runners did train on the Pre's trail, and that nearly every high <br />school used it for numerous cross country meets, which needed a designated course for distance. <br />He said that normally for cross country races, the start and finish were at approximately the same <br />place. Another concern about using the red loop detour to the east, he noted, was a safety issue <br />because of trucks and construction activities. <br />Ms. Behm said that the yellow loop detour also crossed the truck area, so the safety issue would <br />be similar. Ms. Mello remarked that the yellow loop detour had more elevation changes than the <br />red loop detour, and the corners would be tighter going around the radio tower. She preferred <br />the landfill area because it was more level, would be less expensive to develop and maintain and <br />would be more easily accessible to runners. <br />MINUTES — Citizen Planning Committee for July 16, 2009 <br />Whilamut Natural Area <br />