City approves plan for southwest hills homes.

Byline: DEVELOPMENT REPORT By Joe Harwood The Register-Guard

A city hearings official late last month approved - without significant changes - plans for a 255-lot housing development on 100 acres in Eugene's southwest hills.

The Timberline Hills planned unit development, south of West 18th Avenue and west of Hawkins Lane, will mark the last phase of a project the local Breeden family started 30 years ago.

The forested tract, owned by the Breedens since 1962, originally was part of the Somerset Hills housing development. The multiphase Somerset Hills, consisting of more than 1,000 homes built thus far with about four dozen left to build, took so long to complete that the owners and the city agreed to let plans for the final phase lapse.

Project manager Pat Kilby said the plan for the final phase went stale, so the owners thought it best to start over again. Many ordinances, from city street standards to federal water quality laws, have changed since the city first approved Somerset Hills.

It is rare for such a large-scale development to win approval on its first run through the land use process. Given the complexity and the natural resource and political concerns involved with hillside development in Eugene, such proposals tend to get bogged down by opponents in the appeals process. In some cases, the city approves plans, but only after setting many conditions that the builder often appeals.

In her decision, Hearing Official Anne Corcoran Briggs found the proposal met city development standards in nearly every aspect. The plan also met the tenets of the South Hills Study, a growth management document adopted 31 years ago to guide development along the prominent south hills.

The study seeks to preserve areas near the top of the hills that are most visible to the city below, to limit intensive development, and protect natural areas for wildlife.

The conservation group Friends of Eugene argued that the Timberline Hills development failed to adequately protect existing stands of Douglas fir, wildlife or native plants. The group also argued the South Hills Study prohibited residential development at elevations above 901 feet.

Kilby said the Breeden family planted many of the fir trees the opponents referred to, and subsequently logged some of those trees for timber.

Briggs disagreed with opponents, writing that Friends of Eugene misconstrued the land use policies in the South Hills Study and Eugene land use code.

"Fairly read, the policy recognizes the scenic and natural values of the south hills, but also recognizes the rights of private property owners to develop those properties consistent with city development requirements," Briggs wrote in her decision.

She noted that in their plans, the developers had set aside 7.5 acres of wetlands to protect wildlife and vegetation.

The project also protects large swaths of native oak savannah and other trees and vegetation.

Plans for Timberline show a series of large conservation areas and corridors surrounding clusters of homes. Most lots will range from 8,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet. Timberline also will have about 60 cottage lots of about 4,200 square feet each, and 30 parcels averaging about 5,500 square feet bordering the wetland area.

Kilby said roughly one-third of the site will be in natural resource buffer areas that never will be developed. He said the Timberline homeowner's association and the city will keep control over those permanent conservation spaces.

Kilby said he did not know when the first phase of the project would begin. Rob and Jim Breeden were out of the office Monday and could not be reached for comment. The plan for Timberline estimates full build-out won't occur until 2019.

Development Report runs Tuesdays. To suggest items, contact Joe Harwood at 338-2364 or [e-mail].