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i <br /> July 22, 1994 <br /> AMAZON PARK DEVELOPMENT PLANNING <br /> i <br /> ' CRITERIA AND CONSIDERATIONS <br /> BEHIND THE <br /> PLANNING DECISIONS <br /> i <br /> <br /> ,!The act o planning for how Amazon Park will be developed was <br /> essential y an exercise of balancing competing needs for park <br /> space wit in the community. The adopted planning documents that <br /> govern in this situation (Oregon Statewide Planning Goals, the <br /> Lane Coun y Metropolitan General Plan [Metro Plan], and the <br /> Eugene Pa ks and Recreation Plan) all contain goals and policies <br /> that are ften, to some extent, in conflict with each other. <br /> Briefly, 11 plans speak to the need to preserve and enhance the <br /> community's natural resources, and all plans speak to the need to <br /> <br /> ' provide a variety of recreational opportunities in ways that make <br /> them acce sible to the population. The oral and written input <br /> received 'n the Amazon Park planning process affirmed that those <br /> conflicti g goals end objectives exist in the community. <br /> Fortunate y, there is a natural way these interests sort <br /> themselve out: Areas of high natural resource value tend to <br /> have not een disturbed at this point because they have been the <br /> most cost y to access and develop. The areas of low natural <br /> resource alue include those areas that have been disturbed by <br /> past use f the land or grading in conjunction with various <br /> projects nd park improvements. <br /> The propo ed plan generally focuses new development in the <br /> disturbed areas, proposes managing other areas for their natural <br /> resource alue, and suggests opportunities for recreating <br /> wetlands 'n areas that were filled years ago. Not all <br /> recreatio al amenities that were suggested by the public are <br /> being inc uded, and not all suggestions for expanding natural <br /> resource alues are included. <br /> What foll ws are a series of "findings" that are pertinent to <br /> <br /> ~I Amazon Pa k. Following that are a series of discussions about <br /> each plan ing decision, and how the findings have affected some <br /> <br /> j of the pl nning decisions, <br /> FINDINGS <br /> History: Citizens of Eugene, raising money through the Century <br /> Fund, ac fired Amazon Park in 1946. Early planners had visions <br /> far devel ping the entire park with greater recreational <br /> offerings than are planned today. Before Amazon Creek was <br /> engineere for flogd control purposes in the late 'S0's, there <br /> <br /> ' was frequ nt flooding. Some rural development along the west <br /> ,side of H'lyard Street had existed during pre-park days, <br /> !,,primarily involving livestock grazing. <br /> <br /> ~ <br /> j 1 <br /> it <br /> <br />