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In the southeast hills of Eugene
lies a 39.9-acre forest bounded by Dillard Road to the east, Nectar
Way to the west and city parkland (part of the Ridgeline Trail
system) to the south. This forest contains Amazon Creek headwaters,
wetlands, creeks, upland wildlife habitat and significant acreage
for several plants that are federally listed species of concern
and endangered at the state level.
Eugene's Parks and Open Spaces Department had told residents
that they were in the process of acquiring this land to add to
the Ridgeline Park network. When the parcel was sold last year
to Joe Green, a Portland developer with plans to build a 77- to
115-home subdivision, a neighborhood committee formed to save
these native woods from being destroyed. This group now stands
at over 100 households and has joined forces with the Southeast
Neighborhood Association. Determined to conserve this treasure
for all of Eugene, they have been raising funds to pay for environmental
studies and an attorney.
City officials maintain that in the spring of 2004 they had
reached a verbal agreement to buy the 39.9 acres, then owned by
DDA Oregonia, for $300,000. Before the deal was formalized, DDA
Oregonia sold the parcel to Green for $325,000. After the sale,
Parks still wanted to buy the property and Green indicated that
he would sell it to the city for $600,000. The city had $300,000
to spend on the land and went to the state Parks Department to
apply for a matching grant. The state granted the money. As there
was a long line of applicants, the state clearly recognized the
importance of preserving this irreplaceable habitat. The glitch
was that the city was required to get an appraisal that supported
the purchase price in order to use the state funds. The appraisal
came in at $430,000. The city then offered Green $430,000 and
an open book to all their surveys and engineering reports. He
turned down the offer and began his own surveying.
However, Munir Katul, the local manager of DDA Oregonia, has
a different story. According to Katul, the city told him they
would like to purchase an 8 to 12 acre easement around the stream
that runs down the property diagonally. He was informed by a consulting
engineer that such an easement would make it very difficult for
any developer to purchase the property and he tried to convince
the city to purchase all 39.9 acres. The city refused and in December
2003 Katul asked the city to make an offer, no matter how low.
The response was a final nonnegotiable offer of $300,000. Meanwhile,
the realtor for the property had taken earnest money from Green
who had made a bid for $325,000. Because of the earnest money
and the higher bid, Green got the property.
As the city had made it clear to Katul that $300,000 was their
final price and they would never budge from it, he was shocked
when he learned that shortly after the sale the city was able
to obtain extra funds and would try to purchase the property from
Green for $600,000.
Moreover, the city never indicated to him any interest in
purchasing this property. He was the one hounding them to make
an offer and following up on it. At no time did they offer
to negotiate a gradual purchase contract or offer to investigate
options to purchase. At all times they expressed a lack
of interest in purchasing this property. When he confronted them
with these facts last summer they claimed that they thought
their offer was too low and their chances of purchase were
slim. It seems the city dropped the ball when they had a chance
to purchase this land at a reasonable price from a willing seller.
Green is no longer willing to sell unless someone comes up with
$1,000,000 and he is very near completion of wetland determination
and natural features assessment.
Those of us who care deeply about keeping this forest intact
for its own sake, for all of Eugene and for future generations
must now attend to politics. Green has every intention of having
his proposal submitted by spring of 2005, before the scheduled
finalization of the city's Goal 5 inventory in July. Goal 5 is
a state planning guideline that requires Oregon cities to conserve
open space and protect natural resources by taking regular inventory
of their lands and working to protect the most en environmentally
valuable. City staff members started the most recent inventory
process for Goal 5 last year, but they grossly overlooked the
plot on Nectar Way, listing only one creek as upland wildlife
habitat. According to a study conducted by a biologist hired by
the neighborhood committee, there are at least 3 acres of wetlands
and many seasonal creeks feeding the wetlands. City staff also
chose not to include this land in the recent Parks, Recreation
and Open Space draft plan recently presented to the city council.
At this point, one of the city's options is to condemn the property
and have the courts set a fair price. With condemnation, the developer
must sell the land to the city for preservation. The city manager
says there has never before been condemnation for this purpose
but perhaps it is time for the city to set a precedent and condemn
this property not only for the good of the people but for the
preservation of the watershed and the protection of wildlife.
The willingness of local neighbors to give their time and money
toward preservation of this property indicates that there are
many who believe that the beauty of this precious ecosystem is
a great deal more valuable than another housing development which
may make a Portland developer and his family business a little
bit richer. While the neighborhood recognizes that this is private
land, it is also important wildlife habitat, a key component of
the Upper Amazon Creek watershed, and contiguous with the Ridgeline
Trail system. Protecting the property will provide long-term benefits
to the city and its residents and will help keep Eugene a special
and desirable place to live.
There are several things you can do if you would like to support
the city in purchasing and protecting this land. To stay updated,
get on the e-mail list devoted to this project. Also, the neighborhood
committee needs donations to pay for legal fees, environmental
studies, printing, etc. Another way to help is to send a personal
e-mail to the City of Eugene mayor, city manager and city council
members telling them why it is important to you to preserve this
land.
Lisa Warnes is acting as the official spokesperson for the effort
to preserve the Nectar Way forest. She can be reached by e-mail
at
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