Bethel site eyed for fairgrounds.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

The city of Eugene and Lane County are pursuing the purchase of 200 acres in west Eugene that could spark relocation of the county fairgrounds and provide the city with more than 100 acres of park land, officials said Thursday.

The deal on the Golden Gardens land north of Barger Drive could help the county replace its aging fairgrounds facility in central Eugene. City officials, meanwhile, would own the land needed to improve safety to ponds where two boys drowned in 2005.

The deal is "substantial," said Commissioner Bill Dwyer, who said he's been trying to find a new home for the fairgrounds for eight months.

"We've got cooperative partners and cooperative land owners," Dwyer said. "We're going to work with the city, and we're going to do our due diligence."

In the deal, Eugene would buy about 220 acres from Charles Van Duyn and Ray Babb, then sell - at the same cost per acre - about 100 acres to the county, Dwyer said.

The county would have two years to consider the purchase without competition, Dwyer said. If the county declines to buy the property, the city could sell it at a higher price per acre than it paid, he said.

The county would fund the purchase and development of the new fairgrounds at least in part with the sale of the existing 55-acre fairgrounds at 13th Avenue and Jefferson Street, Dwyer said.

Rezoning that site to maximize its sale value would require close cooperation with the city and neighbors, he added.

The county will consider the deal Wednesday, and the city probably will review it soon after, said Johnny Medlin, director of the city's parks program.

Medlin would not disclose the amount of the offer, citing the ongoing negotiations.

While the county is strapped for cash, Eugene can buy the land thanks to voter approval last year of a parks and open space bond that includes $2 million to acquire more of the Golden Gardens area and improve safety there, Medlin said.

The city could use the land for a ball field complex with bike paths that connect to the existing path along Belt Line Road, Medlin said.

But the first priority, he said, would be safety: With the purchase, the city would own the land necessary to improve the ponds where at least four boys have drowned since 1994.

Van Duyn, who owns about 140 acres with partners, said Thursday that he would prefer that the city and the county work together on a deal that will improve the safety of the ponds and provide a home for the fairgrounds.

"If the fairgrounds were to be relocated there, with the joint effort of the (city) parks and all this, it could be just a magnificent site that would be very user-friendly," he said.

Van Duyn and Babb also have filed a Measure 37 claim on the land with Lane County, seeking compensation or relief from development rules that have hurt the land's value.

If the claim is approved, the land could have increased development value, but Van Duyn said the claim is a "last resort" only if the deal with the city and the county falls through. Van Duyn said he and Babb also want commercial zoning for a small part of the land.

The city made an offer to buy 100 acres in early spring, but the owners said their preference was that the city buy the entire 220-acre site.

Lane County officials also were negotiating for the land, and in April they discussed with the city a possible fairgrounds site and a joint project, city officials said.

County officials say the current fairgrounds are hemmed in by the houses that have sprung up around them over the past 100 years, forcing restrictions on traditional fairgrounds attractions such as concerts and large-animal activities. But county officials have been unable to agree on whether to relocate the fairgrounds or rebuild on the existing site.

With the county's interest and the property owners' reluctance to sell part of the land, the city expanded its purchase offer in May to include the entire parcel, and is awaiting a response, the city said.

Van Duyn said he and Babb probably will wait to see what kind of agreement the two governments reach for acquiring the site before responding to the city's latest offer.