Council to weigh changes to code for development.

Byline: CITY BEAT / SPRINGFIELD by Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

THE WRINKLES HAVE reportedly been ironed out of new development codes, and the city will know for sure on Monday.

Planners will present the amendments, and a public hearing will be held, Planning Supervisor Mel Oberst said. If nobody complains, the City Council could vote on them in the first of two readings.

The amendments took a beating in April when developers and land owners characterized the water-protection measures as unnecessary and unfair.

That's changed, Oberst said - "almost 99 percent of the issues have gone away."

Property owner Marshall Dannen said he dropped his threat of a lawsuit because changes in the amendments no longer prohibit him from using land valued at more than $120,000 along Irving Slough.

Likewise, Roxie Cuellar, director of government affairs for the Home Builders Association of Lane County, said she was happy to see the city strike amendments that would have forced developers to retain all trees at least 5 inches in diameter while limiting the land on which they could build.

Toward meeting federal water-quality standards, the amendments will force developers to plan for stormwater runoff, flows and volumes, and add water-treatment measures such as grading and paving, Oberst said.

The city will also require a 75-foot setback along the McKenzie, up from 25 feet.

But Oberst predicted that the changes won't affect the biggest development proposal facing the city - the PeaceHealth hospital project near the McKenzie in the Gateway area - because hospital officials plan a setback of 100 to 150 feet.

Award ceremony set

Edwin and Charmaine Coleman of Eugene have been named the 2002 Race Unity Award winners by the Race Unity Celebration, an annual Springfield event.

The award goes to people committed to bringing diverse cultures together. It will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday at Island Park during the sixth annual celebration.

Edwin Coleman helped create the ethnic studies program at the University of Oregon and served as its director for eight years.

Charmaine Coleman taught second grade at Magnet Arts Elementary School in Eugene for 20 years, helping the district develop programs for multiracial children adapting to their educational environment.

The celebration runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Island Park, west of A Street downtown.

Demolition pending

Demolition should start in about a month or so at the old McKenzie Theater downtown.

That's the word from Tom Draggoo, president of the Springfield Renaissance Devel- opment Corp., which is turning the theater into a performing arts center.

Downtown has stagnated for more than a quarter-century, but the corporation hopes the reborn theater will spark redevelopment.

The Portland-based Meyer Memorial Trust recently awarded the group $200,000, one of the largest gifts to date.

The group is about $840,000 away from the $2.1 million necessary to transform the old theater, which has been renamed "the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater."

Skate park delayed

November - that's the latest prediction for the construction of a skate park at Willamalane Park, 1276 G St.

The park was originally planned to be open last year, but excavation is now slated for August, with the park taking shape in the fall.

Supporters still need to raise $50,000 to make it happen. "We are counting on the community to step up ... to see this dream come true," said Christine Lundberg, a City Councilor and chairwoman of the skate park task force.

Springfield reporter Matt Cooper can be reached at 338-2317 or by e-mail at [e-mail]