Thank you for your question! Through our final round of engagement, we heard from multiple people about their interest in a fenced dog park in River Road-Santa Clara. As a result, staff recommended adding an action to the draft River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan in support of this identified need. Luckily, this aligns with the Eugene Parks and Recreation System Master Plan (Project RS16, Appendix A - pg. 25). The location of the future dog park has not yet been identified, but has been noted by the Parks and Recreation Division as an important priority for the neighborhoods.

Thank you for contacting us about the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan. The Eugene urban growth boundary (UGB) identifies the land that is likely to be needed by Eugene’s growing population over a specific period of time (our current UGB is expected to accommodate Eugene’s land need through 2032). The UGB includes all land inside Eugene’s city limits and some additional land that is likely to annex to the City over time. At this time, there has been no discussion of requiring properties to annex if they are in/brought into the UGB.

It has been City policy that Eugene tries to provide for annexation only on a voluntary basis, when initiated by the property owner. This typically occurs when a property owner proposes to develop a property (with new residential or commercial buildings) that is within the UGB but not within city limits.  Annexations must be approved by City Council and the property must be contiguous to the city limits or across the street from city limits. These conditions were not required pre-2008, which resulted in the checkerboard pattern of City and County properties seen throughout the neighborhoods today.

To learn more about the annexation process, see the Frequently Asked Questions document.

Thank you for contacting us about the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan. Currently, County residents living in unincorporated areas are able get a card to Eugene public libraries but must pay a fee. As of July 2021, the fee is $11/month per household. City residents and non-residents pay approximately the same amount, one through taxes and the other through the non-resident fee. Both City and County residents can attend events and classes at the Eugene public libraries, regardless of whether they hold a library card.

Additionally, all students enrolled in Eugene School District 4J and Bethel School District can get a free library card, whether you live inside or outside of City limits. For more information, visit the City of Eugene Library website. The Eugene Public Library also has the Imagination Library available to all young children in Lane County (ages 0-4). Children can receive a new book each month for free (a library card is not needed). For more information, visit the Imagination Library of Eugene website.

Both City and County residents are also welcome to check out books at the River Road-Santa Clara Volunteer Library.

The closest Eugene library for many River Road and Santa Clara residents is the Bethel Branch Library and residents have expressed a strong desire to have library and cultural services expanded in the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods. This community vision is captured in one of the Neighborhood Plan policies.

In order for full public library services to be extended to everyone in the county, the Lane County Board of Commissioners would need to take action as elected officials. The local organization addressing this situation is the Lane Library League.

Hopefully this information is helpful to you and your family!

Thank you for contacting us about the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan. Throughout the outreach process, we have heard concerns from the community about congestion on River Road. One of the Plan’s policies directly speaks to traffic management, “Policy 5.4 Traffic Management: Implement transportation system infrastructure improvements to support the traffic flow and enhance safety objectives.” While the hope is to support innovative, active transportation options like walking, bicycling, and transit and lessen the need for single-occupancy motor vehicle trips, that will happen over time.  

Last week, the Eugene City Council and Lane Transit District’s Board approved MovingAhead plans, which include providing EmX on River Road. The next steps in that process involve refining designs for the project (which will include more community engagement), seeking funding, and completing environmental review processes. MovingAhead staff has done extensive traffic modeling along the River Road corridor and are confident that River Road can maintain traffic operations consistent with City guidelines if BAT lanes (business access & transit lanes) are implemented (read more in the Alternatives Analysis Report).  

To submit comments and voice your concerns and questions about the impacts of EmX to congestion along River Road visit: http://www.movingahead.org/contact/. To stay involved and up-to-date on next steps in the MovingAhead process, visit the ‘Get Involved’ page to view upcoming events and sign up for the mailing list:  http://www.movingahead.org/get-involved/.