UO plan reshapes east campus area.

Byline: GREG BOLT The Register-Guard

As many as 70 older homes in the east campus area eventually could be replaced by apartment buildings and offices under a proposed development plan being unveiled by the University of Oregon this week.

Under the draft plan, several blocks currently designated for medium- and low-density uses would be set aside for high-density uses. Traditional dormitories are unlikely in the high-density areas but apartment-style buildings similar to a nearby complex for graduate students are envisioned, planners say.

Most of the university property, generally between East 15th and East 19th avenues and Agate and Villard streets, is occupied by about 100 older homes that are rented to students with families. Under the revised plan, fewer than 30 homes would remain once the area is fully developed.

A half-block fringe of low-density older homes would remain in an "L" shape along the west side of Villard Street and north of East 19th Avenue. Some of the homes eventually could be converted to office-type uses but would remain residential in appearance.

The university will hold two open houses and a workshop on the proposed revisions this week to give the public a chance to review and comment on the plan. Open houses will be held Wednesday and Thursday, with a workshop after Thursday's open house.

The draft plan represents only the university's internal development policy for the property. To carry out any new projects under the plan, the UO would need to ask for zone changes in areas where higher-density development would take place.

Chris Ramey, the UO's architect and planning director, said a final draft of the development policy will be submitted for university review and approval after the community has had a chance to weigh in. The university expects to begin the zone change process in February.

That's not likely to be a smooth trip. A group of neighborhood residents has been fighting the university's plan to build a child care center in the east campus area, and the plan for even higher density construction is almost certain to arouse concern among those residents and others in the adjoining Fairmount neighborhood.

Members of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association already have passed a resolution opposing any changes to the university's development plans for the neighborhood. They charge that the UO is violating a 1982 agreement with the association that sets out future uses of the east campus property.

Jeff Osanka, an association board member and spokesman, said neighborhood residents he has spoken with oppose the new plan. They fear that the high-density development will cause nearby residents to sell their houses or turn them into rentals, creating a neighborhood similar to the west university area, where riots and rowdy conduct have become serious problems.

"We were afraid they had just this sort of thing in mind," Osanka said. "I don't think I've yet met anyone in the neighborhood who likes the idea of that area changing to high-density residential. Everybody I've shown the map to has been surprised and displeased, and some of them are hopping mad."

The plan revisions were developed with involvement by some Fairmount area residents acting as individuals, but the neighborhood association is boycotting the process. The association believes that the 1982 plan requires the university to negotiate changes with the group as an equal partner, which means giving the association the power to veto any changes it finds unacceptable.

The university disputes that interpretation and has proceeded with plans for the child care center. The Eugene city attorney, a hearings officer and the Eugene Planning Commission have upheld the UO's interpretation of the neighborhood agreement, known as the Fairmount/UO Special Area Study.

Ramey said development has been in the cards ever since the university began acquiring the property in the 1960s. It originally was intended for new dormitories, but the university's needs have changed since then and apartment-style housing and offices are now seen as the most immediate need.

He said the high-density designation doesn't mean the area will be a solid block of high-rises. The same density standards that apply at the campus core would apply in east campus, which means that only about one-third of the ground space could be covered by buildings.

Any developments would include open spaces and walkways that would encourage foot traffic onto campus from Villard Street, he said.

"Our goal is to create the same nice, open areas as the rest of campus," Ramey said. "We want an organization of open spaces that is pedestrian friendly."

He said the university will continue its commitment to limiting traffic and parking problems in the surrounding neighborhood and creating a gradual and attractive transition from campus to the residential area. The university needs the east campus property for expansion, but there's enough room to do that without hurting the neighborhood, he said.

"We think it's a targeted kind of growth," he said.

Not all neighbors are fighting the university plan. Don Dumond, a retired UO professor who has owned a home in the neighborhood since the 1960s, said he's not overjoyed at the idea of future development but said residents should have realized it was going to happen eventually.

"I think the fact that something like this is happening is inevitable," he said. "I think it's a reasonably slower step than saying they're going to make it all institutional."

EAST CAMPUS MEETINGS

Community members and neighborhood residents will have a chance to review and comment on proposed changes to the UO's east campus development plan at three sessions this week.

Open house - Wednesday, Dec. 4, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Erb Memorial Union concourse.

Open house - Thursday, Dec. 5, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Agate Hall auditorium.

Workshop - Thursday, Dec. 5, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Agate Hall auditorium.

- University of Oregon