Are we to River City yet?
Downtown resident Sherrill Necessary testifies to Eugene City Council in support of the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan and land use components.
On June 17, the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan and its land use applications were the topic of a final public hearing at Eugene City Council. After a brief introduction by Mayor Piercy, 20 citizens spoke in support of the project, which lays out a framework for the green, mixed-use redevelopment of EWEB's 27-acre riverfront yard.
Eugene's return to the river has been a long time coming. Rowell Brokaw Architects was awarded the master plan in January 2009 and, over the year that followed, the master plan earned broad public support and an 8-0 recommendation from the project's appointed Community Advisory Team. Shortly thereafter, EWEB's elected Board of Directors unanimously approved the plan. Then, in spring 2013, Eugene Planning Commission unanimously approved of the vision and the land-use applications developed to support its implementation.
We hope Eugene City Council will be the next and final decision-making body to unanimously approve this plan. We know we aren't the only ones looking forward to the transformation of a paved, vacant utility yard into a thriving Downtown Riverfront.