Community and Regional Planning
LCOG’s Community and Regional Planning Program includes work in the areas of regional, natural resources, and general planning.
Regional Planning
 Willamette Valley Livability Forum website |
- Continue its discussion of transportation, workforce, telecommunications, and higher education issues, and
- Launch an extensive discussion of how it might reformulate itself to provide better and more wide-ranging services to the region.
LCOG completed its work with the Willamette Valley Livability Forum, helping the state and other participants from the Willamette Valley region explore ways to shape the growth of the Willamette Valley in coming decades. Following completion of this project, LCOG remained involved in ongoing discussion with Willamette Valley regional leaders about what next steps might help the region’s citizens understand the challenges facing it in the new century.
Metro Planning
Metro Planning during fiscal year 2001-02 involved LCOG’s support of Eugene/Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) efforts. Staff provided expertise to the Metropolitan Policy Committee and the Joint Planning Commission Committee, and coordinated periodic review, a state-mandated update of the Metro Plan. Work included the:
- Metro Natural Resources Study,
- Final adoption of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area Public Facilities and Services Plan,
- Updating the Metro Plan diagram to remove urban reserves,
- Preparing a tax lot-specific Plan Diagram,
- Updating the Metro Plan text, and
- Coordinating jurisdiction-specific periodic review work tasks.
In addition, LCOG successfully obtained grant funding to supplement local contributions to these studies.
Other staff efforts addressed the:
- Provision of technical assistance to the general public and local government staff on metro planning-related questions, as well as technical support to the planning directors on land use legislation and administrative rule changes;
- Coordination of the Metro Plan Periodic Review work program and funding; and
- Management of long-range metro planning projects.
Region 2050
The
past year saw the commencement of Region 2050’s Phase 2. Region
2050, a long-range planning process to sustain livability in the Southern
Willamette Valley, was initiated by Lane County and the region’s
ten cities in March 2000. Its purpose is to actively engage elected officials,
staff, and community members in a dialogue about the region’s future.
The anticipated outcome is regional agreement about growth and regional
goals, objectives, and actions for land use and development, economy,
housing, transportation, natural resources, and community facilities and
services, including education. The project received start-up funding from
the state and is now funded by local utilities, special districts, the
transit district, local governments, and the private sector.
This year, work included:
- Obtaining Policy Board consensus on Preliminary Goals and Objectives in the six categories;
- Creating two growth scenarios—Yesterday and Today—to illustrate possible growth patterns based on different development assumptions;
- Facilitating public outreach;
- Distributing a booklet, Help Shape the Future of the Southern Willamette Valley, and a survey; and
- Facilitating a Regional Livability Conference.
Economic Development
During the past year, LCOG’s economic development program provided a wide variety of economic-related services to many of the communities in Lane County.
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Staff assisted the Lane Economic Committee (LEC) in the preparation of a list of recommended items to be considered for funding under the State’s Needs and Issues Inventory. After ranking 62 projects that totaled more than $38 million, the LEC submitted the Inventory to the LCOG Board for endorsement. The Inventory, which is comprised of infrastructure, community readiness, and community facilities projects, was then submitted to the State; an additional 93 unranked project proposals were also reviewed and submitted to the State.
Port of Siuslaw benefitted from funding under the Needs and Issues Inventory. - Staff continued
the provision of administrative and technical consulting services
to the Benton-Lane-Lincoln-Linn (BL3) Regional Investment Board (RIB).
In the first part of the 2001-03 biennium, the BL3 RIB had $2.9 million
in State lottery funds to distribute to communities and organizations
that address priority community and economic development needs. Subsequent
special legislative sessions reduced the amount of lottery funds; however,
the BL3 RIB was able to adjust its awards to continue to support the
same number of projects.
In all, 23 projects were approved for Rural Investment Fund support; four of these were in Lane County or had an impact on Lane County. Of the 17 projects approved for Regional Investment Fund support, six were in Lane County. LCOG staff provided project development and grant writing assistance to the various communities and organizations in Lane County that applied for funding from the RIB. - LCOG staff participated in economic development roundtable discussions sponsored by the Lane County Economic Development Standing Committee. Out of these discussions came an effort that culminated in a series of applications for funding by Lane County Video Lottery funds for development of a comprehensive economic development assessment and plan for Lane County. The awarding of funds to LCOG, the Eugene-Springfield Metro Partnership, and other cooperating entities moves the County forward in the development and implementation of a plan for economic development.
- Staff assisted in the revision of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the four-county Cascades West Economic Development District. This document, which identifies strategic priorities for economic and community development in the four-county area, was adopted by the Cascades West Economic Development District Board and submitted to the federal Economic Development Administration.
The Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission
LCOG staff continues to support the Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission. Two new commissioners, Eleanor Mulder from Eugene and Ernie Olson from south Lane County, were appointed this year. Boundary Commission actions included:
- Approval of 45 boundary changes, including one major boundary change;
- Approval of annexations
to cities:
- 1 to Cottage Grove,
- 1 to Junction City,
- 4 to Creswell,
- 10 to Eugene, and
- 11 to Springfield.
- Approval of annexations
to fire districts:
- 1 to Junction City RFPD (the annexation area was the City of Junction City),
- 1 to Lane County Fire District #1,
- 1 to Lowell RFPD,
- 1 to Southern Lane County RFPD,
- 1 to Mohawk Valley RFD, and
- 7 to McKenzie Fire & Rescue.
- Approval of the formation of the Hazeldell Rural Fire District, located around Oakridge and Westfir.
Oregon Planning Institute
 Author William Fulton was the keynote speaker at this year’s Oregon Planning Institute. |
Both Paul Curcio, the new Director of the Department of Land Conservation and Development who gave the opening presentation at OPI, and Keynote Speaker William Fulton, a noted author on urban sprawl, stressed the need to develop a system that does not rely solely on regulations to achieve desired planning outcomes.
See also Natural Resources Planning and General Planning.