City poised to employ power of eminent domain on two sites.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

For years, Deborah Noble, Lisa Warnes and other south Eugene residents have fought two proposed developments near the Amazon headwaters.

Their efforts may soon pay off.

The council tonight is set to decide whether the city should use the power of eminent domain to buy two parcels totaling 65 acres from local developers Martin and Leslie Beverly and Joe Green of Aurora.

The properties are thick with towering Douglas firs, ancient maples and old oaks that provide habitat for wildlife, including deer and two sensitive species - the pileated woodpecker and the red-legged frog. The Beverlys' property contains two creeks that carry water from the upper Amazon headwaters on the slopes of Spencer Butte down to Amazon Creek, at Martin Street, near the end of East and West Amazon drives.

"You can get off the bus and walk a few feet into this gorgeous Oregon rainforest," said Noble, who for eight years has opposed the Beverlys' plans to build on 26 acres.

Green's hilly 39 acres include a small creek and a wetlands that also feeds Amazon Creek.

Noble and environmentally minded residents have waged a long battle against the Beverly and Green developments, spending time, energy and undisclosed amounts of personal money in the efforts.

While they have urged the city to buy the properties for years without success, they now, for a couple of different reasons, appear to have their best shot at achieving their goal.

Green and the Beverlys have been unable to win city planning permission to build on their forested tracts.

Within the past three months, the planning commission narrowly rejected Green's plan, and city planners gave the third Beverly proposal an unfavorable recommendation. That led the Beverlys to withdraw their plan.

And a shift of the political balance on the council is one reason the eminent domain idea is gaining traction. Many residents opposed to the developments are politically aligned with the liberal half of the City Council and Mayor Kitty Piercy. The mayor and liberal councilors Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Andrea Ortiz and Alan Zelenka voted in April to set the eminent domain wheels in motion.

Piercy broke the 4-4 council tie vote on the condemnation proposal to begin exploring the possibility of eminent domain. That set up tonight's crucial vote.

The generally more conservative wing of the council - Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Chris Pryor and Mike Clark - voted against the idea.

No one knows how much the properties would cost the city, but even the residents backing eminent domain as an acquisition strategy admit that it could be millions of dollars.

That unknown makes other residents worry that much of last year's successful parks and open space bond measure - approved by voters citywide - will be used to pay for the south hills properties, limiting the city's ability to buy open space elsewhere.

Some residents don't like the idea of the city using the heavy hand of eminent domain to acquire land from Green and the Beverlys, who are following city rules to try to develop their properties.

South Eugene Councilor Betty Taylor in April introduced the eminent domain request on behalf of the Southeast Neighbors and other groups wanting to preserve the parcels as parkland.

Under eminent domain, the city can try to buy the properties. However, if negotiations fail, the city can condemn the properties and force sales through the courts.

Most of the people pushing for acquisition live in south Eugene and include environmentalists, university professors, entrepreneurs and retirees.

"It makes sense to protect this place," said downtown resident Benton Elliott, a retired financial manager who walks his dog, Dagen Whippet, on a city trail that bisects the Beverly property. "This land is home to many rare and uncommon species of wildlife. And there are thousands of people who come up here every weekend."

Noble and her husband, Peter - owners of West Wind Forest Products in Eugene - live just a few blocks from the Beverly property. Deborah Noble is known for being a generous benefactor to environmental causes and liberal candidates.

In 2001, for example, she contributed $34,000 to the political campaign against the West Eugene Parkway, the proposed 5.8-mile highway in west Eugene. Piercy in 2004 ran for mayor on a platform that included opposing the parkway. Last year, after Piercy and the liberal half of the council withdrew city support for the roadway, the Oregon Department of Transportation killed the long-debated project.

In 2004, Noble donated $3,000 to Piercy's mayoral campaign and was one of Piercy's many volunteers.

"What we are talking about is my passion - the natural world," Noble said. "And drawing awareness to the fragility of the natural world."

Piercy was asked if her position on the land acquisition has been influenced by Noble and her other supporters who are making the request.

The mayor acknowledged that she would "naturally listen" to them, but said "I have been very focused on listening to everyone and making independent decisions based on the information at hand."

Piercy said she can be independent and take positions that disappoint her backers. She listed as examples her support of tax breaks for Hynix, the former Whole Foods proposal, and the major redevelopment of West Broadway.

"I always do what I believe is in the best interests of the community," she said. "Any decision I make will have those who like it and those who do not."

Warnes said development opponents have raised a combined $100,000, much of which went to hire lawyers, geologists and other experts to help them argue their cases. Among other things, opponents contend the properties are unsuitable for development because they are prone to landslides.

Noble acknowledged that the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Plan, the area's official, government-approved growth guide, designates the Green and Beverly properties as being for housing. But, she said, the land is so pristine and environmentally sensitive that city officials should make an exception to the plan and preserve the open space.

"It's part of the larger ecosystem that is well-worth preserving for future generations," Noble said.

Warnes is a remodeling contractor who three years ago rallied her Nectar Way neighbors against Green's plans. Nectar Way is right next to the Green property. She rejects the contention that she's the epitome of the NIMBY (not in my backyard) principle.

Her home, built on a hillside, has cracks in the foundation caused by the gradually moving earth, plus water seepage from an underground stream, Warnes said. Homes should not be built on the hilly, unstable slopes, she said. "If I could go back in time to when my house was built in 1965, I would have been fighting it," Warnes said.

But other Eugene residents are skeptical about the city using eminent domain to acquire more open space in south Eugene, which already has more parkland than other parts of the city.

Former Mayor Jeff Miller said the city still has not delivered on its promise from the 1998 parks bond measure for a large community park in the Santa Clara area of north Eugene.

He wondered if acquiring the Green and Beverly properties could eat up most, if not all, the $18.25 million set aside in last year's successful parks and open space bond measure that was intended to buy park land throughout the city.

If Piercy ends up breaking another 4-4 tie to proceed with the south Eugene eminent domain, Miller said she wouldn't be fulfilling her campaign slogan to be "mayor for all Eugene."

Buying the south hills properties "may benefit the adjoining homeowners" who oppose the developments, "but not the entire community," he said.

"Does the mayor for all Eugene mean the mayor of south Eugene?" Miller asked. "Does it mean the mayor of liberals? No. The mayor of all Eugene means that you listen to all parts of the council and the community before making a decision."

Piercy said she wouldn't mind if the council delayed voting on Monday in order to make sure councilors had any questions answered before proceeding. But Piercy said she wasn't sure if any councilors, including those who previously voted for eminent domain, would need a delay.

If she is forced to cast another tie-breaking vote, Piercy said she would vote in favor of eminent domain, as she did in April. "I favor protecting the headwaters for future generations and will do what I can in this regard," she said.