EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- On Monday night, Eugene City Councilors took the first step of many, giving Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) the go-ahead for some big changes to its riverfront property. EWEB approved its master plan for the site back in 2010. Now it’s ready to start the legal process of moving forward.
Its site on East Fourth Avenue has some extra space, so now the utility’s trying to figure out what to do with it. There's talk city hall might want to move in or maybe they'll add apartments or restaurants. Right now, the land is zoned for commercial use. Monday’s approval from councilors is just a formality to let them begin the process of changing to mixed use.
Glenn Klein, Eugene City Attorney, says, “What this does, it starts the process. It creates the formal record for the process. So now as you go forward with conversations, those conversations are part of the formal record. You should not express absolutes 'I'm not voting for this under any circumstances', you don't have all the public input."
There will be a public hearing with the Planning Commission and City Councilors before they vote on EWEB’s master plan. That entire process will likely take several months.
