Planners set conditions for University of Oregon arena

Greg Bolt

Oct. 1, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Eugene planners are recommending that a hearings officer approve the University of Oregon's plans for a $227 million basketball arena by granting the conditional use permit needed to start construction.

The planners' report, issued a week ahead of an Oct. 7 public hearing, sets out 18 conditions the city feels the UO must address to win approval. They range from technical code compliance issues to setting up a special event parking district to help keep arena patrons from clogging neighborhood streets.

The 40-page report covers a long list of planning issues and is a key step in the university's efforts to finally win approval of the new basketball pavilion, which will replace aging McArthur Court as the home of the Duck men's and women's basketball teams. The UO hopes to open the 12,500-seat arena by fall 2010.

A hearings official will review the staff report and take public testimony on the proposal before issuing a final decision, which must come within 15 days after the deadline for submitting comments. That decision can be appealed to the Eugene Planning Commission.

UO general counsel Melinda Grier said university officials didn't have time to completely review the report, which was released just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. But she said an initial review didn't immediately turn up any problems.

"I think we felt comfortable," she said. "I think it reflects a lot of hard work by the university and the neighbors. I don't think anybody saw anything there that they said they couldn't do."

Although the staff recommendation marks a significant step forward for the UO and its controversial arena, it is a big advance for residents of the nearby Fairmount neighborhood compared to earlier arena plans. It was an appeal by the neighborhood association that forced the UO to seek a conditional use permit, which in turn pushed the university to agree to big changes in how it will address parking and other issues. A Fairmount neighborhood leader could not be reached for comment.

A central feature of the new arena plan is a special event parking district that would block arena patrons from parking their cars on neighborhood streets by imposing a two-hour limit seven days a week.

Parking fines would double during arena events.

But the plan allows the UO to sell special permits allowing up to 500 cars to park in the neighborhood. Revenue from the permits would go back to the city to pay for enforcement in the special parking district.

The neighborhood group also won an agreement not to use two properties the university recently acquired near the arena for parking and to build an underground parking garage as part of the project. The 375-car garage plus surface parking on the arena site will provide about 500 spaces.

Other spaces will be provided in existing lots on the UO campus and the Riverfront Research Park plus a few privately owned lots.

The city's recommendation also includes other transportation measures designed to protect the Fairmount neighborhood from arena crowds. Those include traffic management plans to direct cars during events as well as street improvements aimed at slowing cars and improving pedestrian safety.

Included in the traffic plan is an extension of a left-turn lane in the center of eastbound Franklin Boulevard at Agate Street, to handle the additional cars that will be parking in the Riverfront Research Park.

But that move requires the removal of at least one and possibly two historic street trees in the center median.

It was thought that cutting down the trees would trigger a special citywide vote under an ordinance enacted to protect street trees. But the city's analysis says a vote is only required for street widenings and not for intersection improvements, allowing the trees to be cut without a vote.

The UO still will have to obtain the necessary city permits to remove the trees as well as a number of other, nonhistoric trees around the arena site. Many new trees will be planted.

Other conditions recommended by the city would require the UO to show that all of the parking spots it has identified for arena use actually are available.

One issue that still separates the neighbors and university is whether to put a cap on the number of events that can be held at the arena each year. The neighbors want a cap to ensure that the arena isn't used more often than the university has projected, but the university objects to a numerical limit.

Neighbors believe the UO should be required to take additional steps to protect the neighborhood if it wants to hold an unlimited number of large events. But because the arena needs to be self-sustaining, the university opposes a limit but says it is committed to meeting the goal of minimizing harm to the neighborhood.

An attorney for the family-owned Hiron's Drug Store, with a branch across Villard Street from the arena, submitted a letter saying that while the family supports the arena it believes the UO has failed to address traffic problems it will create for the business.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0061-28513379