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Eugene will study park land swap -The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA Page 2 of 2 <br /> Councilor Jennifer Solomon lauded the idea as "very creative, <br /> thoughtful and reasonable," and most other councilors agreed <br /> it should be pursued. <br /> But councilors Betty Taylor and Bonny Bettman opposed the <br /> idea, maintaining that it would jeopardize the area's stock of <br /> farmland, increase the city's infrastructure burden and result in <br /> a bonanza for the McDougals. <br /> "This is a very sweet deal, I think, for somebody," Bettman <br /> said. "And I don't think it's the taxpayers." <br /> Councilor David Kelly suggested that the parks staff should <br /> "walk forward and examine this swap," but shouldn't rule out <br /> the option of using condemnation to force the McDougals to <br /> sell the park property for fair market value. <br /> A $25 million parks and open space bond measure adopted by <br /> Eugene voters in 1998 includes money for development of a <br /> regional park in Santa Clara - which has been designated as a <br /> high-priority project since at least 1989. <br /> An initial analysis of the McDougals' proposal by the parks staff <br /> suggest that it would save the city $2.6 million to $2.9 million <br /> in park acquisition costs, and would generate a similar amount <br /> in profit and tax savings for the brothers. <br /> 46, To proceed with the deal, the McDougals will need to seek an <br /> amendment to the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area <br /> General Plan, which would then require approval by the city, <br /> Lane County and the state Department of Land Conservation <br /> and Development. <br /> a <br /> 111 <br /> http://www.registerguard.com/cgi-bin/printStory.py?name=d3.cr.scpark.i 125&date=20031125 12/1/03 <br />