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                                    WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE FOR THE                   

LANE COUNTY, OREGON       

PARKS & OPEN SPACE MASTER PLAN UPDATE

The Lane County Parks and Open Space Master Plan is being updated for the first time since 1980 .  The purpose of this site is to let you know how to participate and to keep you informed.

Click here  for an overview of the project .

This web site will be updated as new information is available. 

Last Update: August 10, 2007

Several draft chapters of the Parks and Open Space Master Plan are now available. Please click here to review them.

Public Involvement Plan              Project Time Line     Where We Are in the Process

All documents currently available from this site may be viewed from the following links:  

Lane County Owned, Leased, and Maintained Parks List

Draft Maps & Inventory Spreadsheets

Draft Chapters and Appendices 

Positive Youth Development Meeting Pictures! 

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN (PIP)

The Public Involvement Plan was approved in November, 2004, by the Lane County Parks Advisory Committee (PAC) and the Lane County Planning Commission (PC).  Click here to see the PIP.

ESTIMATED PROJECT TIME LINE

There was considerable public participation at meetings held during initial, pre-draft public meetings and survey outreach. This will greatly enhance the quality of the updated Lane County Parks & Open Space Master Plan. THANK YOU!

Chapters now available for review are here.  Following is the anticipated time line from beginning to end of the project. Click here to go to where we are now in the process.

Fall '04
Lane County Parks Division held a staff Visioning Retreat in October 2004, to evaluate long range needs, issues, and goals for the County Parks system. As the personnel directly responsible for the County Parks system, Parks staff are an invaluable source of information that is critical in developing the Master Plan update. Results of that meeting will be a part of the public record.

Winter '04 -'05
Outreach to Focus Groups
Initial contact with key interests, or focus groups, occurred over four months, from January through April, 2005. Parks Division Manager Todd Winter attended most of the 18 meetings. Organizations and individuals we met with included watershed councils, youth groups, federal, state, and city agency representatives and committees, nonprofit groups, and private sand & gravel producers who operate near park lands.

Outreach also included postcards, letters, and electronic mailings to approximately 1500 park users who reserved picnic areas, campgrounds, moorages, or participated in Park events; Lane County incorporated city councilors, city agency staff, chambers of commerce, service clubs, park hosts, concessionaries, caretakers, recreational businesses, and nonprofit organizations with an interest in land use, recreation, natural resources, and government.

We received hundreds of comments from meeting participants, and in completed questionnaires, surveys, and other written comments.  These comments will be invaluable in writing the first draft of the Master Plan. Everyone who requested to be notified, and everyone who submitted comments and included their address will receive direct notice when the first draft is available for review.

Winter '05-Summer '07 -
Produce First Parks and Open Space Master Plan Draft

This is where we are in the process right now.  

Several draft chapters have been completed and are ready for your review . . .

Cick here  to see chapters and appendices draft so far.

A Master Plan Technical Advisory Committee, and the County Parks Advisory Committee are being consulted in developing the first draft. Notice of release of the first draft will be mailed to people who request to be on the mailing list and who submit written comments.  The draft will be available on the Internet and in hard copy form.  Individual copies will be made available to purchase at cost. If you wish to be on the mailing list to receive the notice, contact information is at the end of this web page. All public comments received at meetings and in writing will be published, summarized, addressed in writing, and included in the public record.

Next Steps . . .  

Fall  '07
Written comments on the 1st draft taken and considered
After the first draft update is published, additional comments will be taken for approximately 3 weeks up to a date specified in a notice mailed to the mailing list and published on this web site. Comments received up to that date will be considered in making additional changes to the document.  All comments will be published, summarized and addressed in writing.

Once all public comments on the first draft are reviewed and addressed in writing, official public hearings will take place.            

Winter '07-08 
Begin Adoption Process
The Parks Master Plan update is an amendment, or change, to the County Comprehensive Plan.  To make the change official, a public hearing process is required.  The process is outlined both in Lane Code Chapter 12 and Chapter 16.400. Lane Code can be viewed by going to the main County web site, www.lanecounty.org .  The link to "Lane Code" is on the left side of the web page.

A hearing packet is prepared for appointed and elected officials. In addition to the draft Parks and Open Space Master Plan document, the hearing packet will include a record of all written public comments and how they were handled.  All written public comments received before the packet is prepared will be included and addressed in the packet. The packet will be available on the Internet and in hard copy form (at cost), or for viewing at a number of locations. 

Parks Advisory Committee and Lane County Planning Commission
The County Parks Advisory Committee (PAC) and Planning Commission (PC) will hold a joint work session, and then a public hearing, to accept testimony about the draft Master Plan.  After closing their hearing, both the PAC and PC will hold follow-up work sessions (discussions), and consider the draft Master Plan, along with all public comments in the record up to the close of their hearing. These work sessions are open to the public. The PAC and PC will each make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners as to whether to adopt the Master Plan as proposed by staff, or make changes, based upon the record, (including public comments) and their own discussions. The record from the PAC and PC process is then forwarded to the Board of Commissioners.

Board of County Commissioners (BCC)
In order for the new Master Plan to take effect, the BCC must adopt it by ordinance. The required process to adopt an ordinance is in the Charter for LaneCounty , Chapter III, Section 18. The Home Charter may be viewed from the main county web site. Find the link for Lane Code on the left side of the web site, www.lanecounty.org . The Home Rule Charter is the first chapter in Lane Code. The BCC will be briefed on the draft plan, process, and record including the results of the PAC and LCPC public hearing and work sessions. Copies of the project record and all written comments will be available to the BCC and to the public. Staff will also summarize all comments in a spreadsheet and state in writing how the comments were handled in development of the draft plan.  Any changes that were made to the draft based upon recommendations from the PAC and LCPC will be highlighted in a memo.

In order to adopt the new Master Plan, the BCC must hold its own public hearing. After closing the public hearing and the public record, the BCC will decide whether to adopt the new Master Plan.  The BCC can make changes to the Plan or adopt it as written.  After any changes are made, the BCC will take action to adopt it.  The new Plan will replace the existing 1980 Plan and will become a part of the Lane County Comprehensive Plan.

Finally, the new Master Plan is forwarded to the state Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). The DLCD will provide notice to the public that the plan was adopted by the County.  As long as the state "acknowledges" the Plan, it remains an official part of the County Comprehensive Plan.

NOTICE OF HEARINGS
Notice of all hearings will be placed on this web site, and in the Legal Notices section of the Eugene Register-Guard and Springfield News.  A press release will also be issued.


TO GET ON THE MAILING LIST
Submit your email address (preferred) to the contact information below. OR --
Send your mailing address to the contact information below. (MUST BE COMPLETE AND LEGIBLE)
Also, contact information on completed survey forms, questionnaires, and other written comments will be automatically added to the mailing list to receive notice that the 1st Draft is ready for public review and comment, and notice of public hearings.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Email: celia.barry@co.lane.or.us  Or,
Write: Celia Barry, Lane Co. Public Works, 3040 N. Delta Hwy, Eugene, OR 97408

QUESTIONS?

Calll (541)682-6935 or send a note to the email address above.

Thank you for your interest.

Last updated August 10, 2007