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November 16, 1995 <br /> Charles E. Morgan <br /> 1772 Happy Lane <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br /> Dear Charles Morgan: <br /> I received your letter several days ago with the request to purchase a strip of Bond Lane Park to <br /> enable an expansion of your garage. After considering a number of factors both for and against <br /> accepting your offer I find that the best interests of the park would not be served by selling a <br /> portion of the park at that location, at least not at this time. <br /> In coming to that conclusion I considered the issue of park width and configuration to be the <br /> prime criteria for rejecting. You are probably aware that we have being trying to make the park <br /> wider at that latitude to both increase the options for what the park could become, and to provide <br /> greater buffering (distance) for park activity from adjacent residences. We view the proposed <br /> cul -de -sac in the northwest corner of the park not so much as a narrowing, as you suggest, but <br /> rather taking away a portion of the park which is not suited for park activity in the first place, and <br /> dedicating it to the termination of the street, which we will have to do at some point in the future. <br /> A second consideration was visual access into the park and the elimination of obscure corners. <br /> The 10 foot jog in the boundary that would be created if we accepted your offer is the type of <br /> park configuration we try to avoid. <br /> Finally, it would be legally impossible to do at this time because of planning controls <br /> (Willakenzie Plan). <br /> I do want to offer a scenario that might become viable in time. It would first require that the <br /> Willakenzie Plan be modified to create some flexibility in adjusting park boundaries, if it can be <br /> shown that the park and/or park system would be improved. Second, it would require that the <br /> cul -de -sac be paved so that passers -by (police in particular) could view into the park from a <br /> position east of what would be your new east property line. <br /> With those issues out of the way, staff could feel comfortable from a professional park planning <br /> position in accommodating a new east property line starting south from the cul -de -sac which <br /> would taper southwesterly back to the original alignment (after it clears a garage addition) so that <br /> a new obscure corner is avoided. Staff view the greater park width as less important, the closer <br /> one gets to the cul -de -sac, since the current proposal for a land exchange with Greer Gardens also <br /> has the park width narrowing as it approaches the cul -de -sac. Any future activities designed into <br /> the park would occur away from the cul -de -sac corner of the park. <br /> While your purchase offer is attractive, $6,000 is not enough to embark on path and trail <br />