HomeMy WebLinkAboutComments ENG 6/12/2007
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Submittal to the Record
City of Springfield
Street Vacation Request
Case No. LRP 2007-00019
Testimony in opposition
June 12, 2007
Submitted by: Scott E. Olson, P.E.
1127 B Street
Springfield Oregon
I have been Involved With the planning and development of the urban form for more than 30 years. I
feel privileged to live and work Within SIX blocks of Springfield's City Hall I am attracted here in part
by the potential we have to make Spnngfield even better than it already is The fact that our street
grid IS stili largely Intact IS essential to my feelings about this area and its future
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We are consldenng development of a Justice Center In a highly sensitive location at the Interface
between our pnzed hlstoncal neighborhood, the town's commercial center and the Wilfamette River.
We can not create new historical town centers. The ones we have are special places and deserve
careful conSideration of any plans t6 Significantly change their character The street gnd and open
public ways are the underlYIng fabnc from which we create the sense of place and Vitality we seek.
AchieVing the kind of place we deSire requires that we carefully consider both what actiVities we place
there and how those activities are located and Interrelated With each other. Success demands both
the right mix of functions and the right facilities In fact It IS our inSistence upon developIng a
compatible mix of actIVIties and their Interrelationships that must gUide the deCISion making process.
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We must not compromise the larger area for the functionality of any Single element. If a
function can not be made to fit Within the larger context of the area, then It belongs In a
different place Our land use planning process requires that we work our way down
from macro broad state WIde goals, down to comprehenSive plan poliCies, to development codes,
refinement plans, and finally srte specific developments. ThIS is the context in
which we must proceed with all new development proposals. I believe thiS IS particularly
true when we are working on the development of a public faCIlity
It seems to me that the Justice Center planning has somehow become reversed and IS asking us how
6J .. we need to modify our planning framework to accommodate the project instead of how can the project
I be developed to fit the area's plans
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'\\ ;, . I am disappointed that th~ city has steadfastly refu~ed to consider any altematives during the project ~
\V/~, development process which considered tradeoffs In the functional and space program with the
" _ associated site constraints Placement of a lower cost ancillary building Within a street nght of way IS
an example. I do not see how this project can be made feasible at the selected site unless the
elements that have been lumped Into the bUilding program can be open to discussion and
r~SlderatlOn.
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Planner: AL
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When consldenng the siting of a justice center In downtown Springfield we should ask two questions,
1) How does Including this actiVity contnbute to the desired vItality of the area? And 2) How does the
facility contnbute to our overall sense of place? If thiS project requires a three block area Without
intervening streets then we are looking in the wrong place I am totally convinced that we are far better
off dOing nothing In thiS situation then we are to proceed with the wrong project.
If the functional demands of a justice center can not fit harmonio"usly within the requirements for a
healthy town center and preserve the Integrity of our public ways and spaces, then it Simply needs to
be located elsewhere If concessions need to be made they should to be In the functional
requirements of the new faCility, not the function of the neighborhood and greater community.
PhiS area IS evolVing and the nght things will happen if we are patient and responsive when
opportUnity presents ItS self We may have an opportunity before us now We must not be short sited
and sacnfice the Integrity of the greater community to accommodate the InfleXible reqUirements of City
\1 staff The public has very narrowly supported the proJect in both bond and jail operations elections.
~ The projects approval can hardly be conSidered a mandate to Ignore our land use policy and gIve the
police anything they ask for including a collector street so they can park next to the door and store paper
~cords and stolen bicycles In what IS now the City street.
I along With many others worry that our local efforts to solve what has become a crisis In the Lane
County cnminal justice system may be confounding the problems and aggravating a more holistiC
regional solution. I wonder how many others of the 53% of voters that supported the bond measure
were unaware as I was that the new jail would not do anything With the felony offenders accounting for
85% of Spnngfield's 2004 charges. The felony cnmlnals will continue through the Lane County
revolVing door while Spnngfield locks up the misdemeanor offenders How many of my neighbors
understood that the closed 3m floor 'of the Lane County Jail IS empty and available for 100 additional jail
beds if we can only find a way to staff it.
I believe it IS past time for the city to provide its police and court with decent faCIlities. I also believe
that those activIties could contnbute to the Vitality of the downtown If sited With senSitiVity to the
requirements of the larger community and neighborhood.
If the Justice Center is to be built in the downtown area, we need to find a way to have It fit in and to
contribute to the greater function of the area while respecting the hlstoncal framework of its public
ways If that can not be achieved, then we must locate a site better SUited to the security and space
requirements which were Imposed upon all of the altemabves considered In the project development
process.
The city Inappropriately presumed In the development of the preliminary planning and cost
estimating that the street right of ways were available for incorporating Into the new Justice
Center FaCIlity. The fact that the pOSSibility of street closures was mentioned In the ballot
measure does not have any meaning In the context of the land use approval for this project, or
exempt the city from adhenng to their own land use policies and code reqUirements. The
police chief has testified that plan to bUild across B Street was based upon the lower cost to
bUild Into the street.
(Twelve years ago the city Improved B Street at a cost of $875,000. The improvements to the ~
! collector street were paid for with federal funds. If B :eet IS severed from the arterial at J
, B Street Vacation, Testimony Opposing 2
/ Scott E Olson, P E
Date Received:~~diJ7
Planner: AL
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Pioneer Parkway, Immediately adjacent to the proposed street closure, B Street will no longer
function as a collector. As a local street, the improvements would not have been eligible for
the federal Investment In the street Improvements. The value of B Street both In terms of
Improvements and function has not been considered in city decISions to pursue the street
closure. The value of the Investment the public made In Improving B Street In 2007
construction costs IS over $1.2 million. It has been suggested that the city could be obligated
to repay the federal government If the street IS Indeed closed.
The city contracted for a traffic study of the impacts of the proposed closure of B Street The
study IS appropriately focused on the capacity of the adjacent streets to absorb the diverted
traffic. Street capacity has never been the Issue related to the closure of B Street. A local
street and a collector can and often do look the same Two travel lanes With parking on both
sides of the street. The ability of A and or C Streets to handle the increased traffiC should
never have been questioned. The issue IS about the function of the streets, and maintaining'
the effectiveness of the collector and arterial street system which has been deSigned to
accommodate through travel as opposed to access to abutting property as local streets do
Further, the street grid IS almost entirely intact In thiS area of Springfield. No other
neighborhood has developed the degree of street connectivity as eXists In this histOrical core
of the Springfield community. The traditional street system has become increasingly valued
by urban planners as we struggle With how to reduce our Impacts on greenhouse gas
emiSSions and global warming Closure of B Street In a Nodal Development Overlay Zone
which emphaSizes pedestrian and bicycle mobility IS clearly moving In the wrong direction and
IS InconSistent With all of the adopted land use policy In the CIty of Springfield.
~ The city approved a zone change from Mixed Use Commercial/Nodal Development to Public I:
l Land and Open Space/Nodal Development because a Justice Center IS not listed In the t
1 MUC/NDO District. None of the staff reports reviewing the projects history have mentioned 1.
. the fac"t that severa,' .months prior to making the zone, change application the city added ~~
I Justice Centers as an allowed use in the PLO/NDO zone. The project was not an allowed use Iii'
.~ at the site at the time the city asked voters to fund the project. . r
f(D~'eU"- ..~ 'The city has falled~~' ap~r~~rlateIY proVide fO;;UbIiC ~nvolveme~ In a me~ingful way "\D
",\jthroughout the planning process A Citizen adVISOry committee, (CAC) was formed "to proVide
r ~ ).ASinput throughout the deSign process In regard to outward deSign of the faCility and ItS JI
\'pOV" J. . relationship to downtown Springfield" I volunteered for the CAC and dUring my interview for II
A I~/J'J .~the pOSition I Informed the city counCil of my opinion w. Ith respect to the street closure and
LA +e; F if J ~cated a deSire to wo~k on appr~iate altern~s __ _ __
~ City staff and their consultant developed a Functional and Space Program prior to formation of
't...() . . the CAC. The draft document was presented to the CAC However the committee was told it
I) I r- was for their information only and they would have no Input on the contents of the space
, /, f1 Ci;f/ program The Functional and Space Program was adopted by the city council Without public
V~v hearing or any changes to the consultant's recommendations. The public was not proVided
any opportunity to partiCipate in what was being included in the project.
Later in the process every alternative conSidered Incorporated all of the elements of the space
program. Ultimately all of the alternatives exceeded the project available funds but the
closure of B Street was the lowest cost alternative conSidered. That alternative was
supported by a majority of the CAC and ultimately adopted by the city councIl.
B Street Vacation, Testimony Opposing
Scott EDison, P E
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Date; Received:
Planner: AL
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No attempt was ever made to develop an alternative that was within the available funds and
respected the land use requirement for new development In this zone including the closure of
streets. City staff has orchestrated a planning process from the very beginnings of thiS project
in which no meaningful conSideration has been given to alternatives to closing B Street ThiS
effort has resulted In a failure to comply With Goal 1 requirements for the entire Justice Center
Planning process.
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Staff has consistently refused to even discuss alternatives to closing B Street and steadfastly
argues, often In absurd ways why the street should be closed. In last weeks hearing the
police chief stated more than once that if officers responding to an emergency must cross the
street to reach their vehicles, ultimately one IS gOing to be so distracted With responding that
they will run In front of a car and be hit. One must question the wisdom of such statements
when we are trusting that same IndiVidual to get In a police cruiser and drive 50 miles per hour
down my reSidential street and appropriately handle deadly weapons Such arguments
demonstrate the desperation With which supporting arguments for the street closure have
been constructed
Other absurd arguments have been constructed throughout the planning process On at least
two separate occasions suggestions to construct a pedestrian over-crossing of B Street have
been rebuffed by police statements that such a faCIlity would be vulnerable to driving under It
with a bomb' We also need secure parking for the police to prevent keYing of their personal
vehicles or slashing tires which hardly seem to justify saCrificing the functionality of a million
dollar. collector street. Arguments about police response times seem equally absurd from my
perspective.
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Statements about the need to evacuate Inmates to the secure parking area In B Street are
Inconsistent With what the CAC was told about jail evacuations. The secure parking area is
adjacent to the Police Courts bUilding not the jail on the opposite Side of the block from B
Street The need for this function In B Street IS not part of the Functional and Space Program
and IS not the primary evacuation plan.
r;-he city has modified the code criteria for a street vacation in an attempt to aVOid the
,I inconsistency With this project and the adopted land use policy. The criteria tailored
specifically to get this project around the land use policy impediments to deSired street closure
are not grounded in any adopted land use policy and are vague and misleading In the Intent.
EnSUring that the vacated property will remain In public ownership inappropriately assumes
that the public Interest IS better served by maximizing public property ownership of opposed to
L protecting the publics legitimate Interests the function of the nght of way. Technically the
public does not own the right of way, but has an interest In the use for street purposes The
city can not ensure continues public ownership because it does not own the property until It IS
vacated. Once vacated there IS no way of preventing future city counCils from selling the
property to a pnvate party.
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Substituting pedestrian and bicycle connection criteria from the states OAR, the minimum
reqUired anywhere in the entire state for the specifics of the local Comprehensive Plan,
Transportation Sysfem Plan, Refinement Plans, Zoning Requirements and other local code
requirements IS an obVIOUS attempt to aVOid compiling With the local adopted policy and code
requirements. Additionally staffs findings that adding 46% to the length of the deSirable X
mile pedestrian trip length is not consistent With accepted pedestrian planning principles.
B Street Vacation, Testimony Opposing
Scott E Olson, P E
Date Received: t/l2-hcIJ74
Planner: Al I /
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Further "Whether a greater public benefit would be obtained trom the vacation than from
retaining the right-at-way In Its present status" lacks any criteria or measures grounded In any
adopted public policy and are purposefully vague and amorphous. It IS clearly a relatively
crude attempt to aVOid complying with the land use policies of the city.
The street vacation can not meet any of the three criteria previously established in the code
The city's process has attempted to skirt or bypass addressing the street closure
inconsistency with the Comprehensive Plan, the Transportation System Plan, the ZOning
DiStriCt, the Nodal Development Overlay, and the Code Criteria The criteria related to the
street closure have not been addressed during the zone change, the discretionary use
approval, the site review, and now the street vacation. Somewhere In the approval process
the city must confront these Issues. There IS no variance that makes these policies go away
The city staff has the hierarchy of the project planning criteria reversed The community has
planned for the development desired In the downtown area. Those plans are embodied In the
adopted public policy documents The approach to thiS project has been how we can change
the code to accommodate everything the police are asking for Instead of how we can build
consistent With our community plan and VISion
We can have both a jail and a livable community ThiS project must conform to block and
connectivity standards Particularly since this IS a Nodal Development Overlay zone which
relies on enhanced connectivity and pedestrian and bicycle mobility.
B Street Vacation, Testimony Opposing
Scott E Olson, P E
DateJ Received:, t.)~1J7 5
Planner: AL I / . , ------