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July 22, 1994 <br /> AMAZON PARK DEVELOPMENT PLANNING <br /> CRITERIA AND CONSIDERATIONS <br /> BEHIND THE <br /> PLANNING DECISIONS <br /> The act of planning for how Amazon Park will be developed was <br /> essentially an exercise of balancing competing needs for park <br /> space within the community. The adopted planning documents that <br /> govern in this situation (Oregon Statewide Planning Goals, the <br /> Lane County Metropolitan General Plan [Metro Plan], and the <br /> Eugene Parks and Recreation Plan) all contain goals and policies <br /> that are often, to some extent, in conflict with each other. <br /> Briefly, all plans speak to the need to preserve and enhance the <br /> community's natural resources, and all plans speak to the need to <br /> provide a variety of recreational opportunities in ways that make <br /> them accessible to the population. The oral and written input <br /> received in the Amazon Park planning process affirmed that those <br /> conflicting goals and objectives exist in the community. <br /> Fortunately, there is a natural way these interests sort <br /> themselves out: Areas of high natural resource value tend to <br /> have not been disturbed at this point because they have been the <br /> most costly to access and develop. The areas of low natural <br /> resource value include those areas that have been disturbed by <br /> past use of the land or grading in conjunction with various <br /> projects and park improvements. <br /> The proposed plan generally focuses new development in the <br /> disturbed areas, proposes managing other areas for their natural <br /> resource value, and suggests opportunities for recreating <br /> wetlands in areas that were filled years ago. Not all <br /> recreational amenities that were suggested by the public are <br /> being included, and not all suggestions for expanding natural <br /> resource values are included. <br /> What follows are a series of "findings" that are pertinent to <br /> Amazon Park. Following that are a series of discussions about <br /> each planning decision, and how the findings have affected some <br /> of the planning decisions. <br /> FINDINGS <br /> History: Citizens of Eugene, raising money through the Century <br /> Fund, acquired Amazon Park in 1946. Early planners had visions <br /> for developing the entire park with greater recreational <br /> offerings than are planned today. Before Amazon Creek was <br /> engineered for flood control purposes in the late '50's, there <br /> was frequent flooding. Some rural development along the west <br /> side of Hilyard Street had existed during pre -park days, <br /> primarily involving livestock grazing. <br /> 1 <br />