University Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday urging University President Richard Lariviere to comply with a series of binding conditions set forth in the Riverfront Research Park development plan.
Senate members, joined by a spattering of ASUO members, alleged that the University failed to satisfy accountability stipulations contained in the original Intergovernmental Agreement for the Riverfront Research Park, a 1986 document that spelled out the conditions under which the research park along the Willamette River can be developed. The document, ratified more than 20 years ago by the City of Eugene and the State Board of Higher Education in conjunction with the University, stipulated that construction in new “sectors of development” must be reviewed by the Riverfront Research Park Commission, which has not met in over a decade.
Without the commission’s analysis, the University Senate resolution stated that the University’s plans to develop 4.2 acres in the Gateway Sector north of the railroad tracks is in direct violation of local laws and contractual obligations set forth in the 1986 agreement. Per Eugene city code, the commission must fulfill a mandate to “hold hearings, study, investigate, analyze and make expert evaluations of proposals concerning development for the Riverfront Research Park …”
The newly-adopted resolution mirrors a similar piece of legislation passed by the ASUO Senate on Oct. 13, expressing students’ unified request that the University engage in public dialogue prior to further ground-breaking.
ASUO Executive Environmental Advocate Nathan Howard sat through the meeting, eager to represent students’ concerns that further negligence on the part of University administration is in direct violation of its contractual obligations.
“The administration is not complying with law regarding a contract that (it) helped form and agreed to,” Howard said. “The students are being completely shut out.”
Howard added that students, faculty and staff view a University-wide conversation regarding the new round of impending construction as a necessary part of the campus political mechanism.
“People see this as very imminent,” he said. “(This conversation) sets a precedent for how communication engagement and democratic processes are supposed to work.”
Mathematics professor Marie Vitulli expressed concern that additional riverfront development poses a grave threat to open space for the University and the City of Eugene in general.
“I think we shouldn’t squander the land that should be a resource for the whole Eugene community,” Vitulli said. “I hope that people can make a stand to delay it a little bit.”
University Senate President Nathan Tublitz said the resolution’s adoption is a testament to the Senate’s shared sentiment that further communication with administrators is necessary before construction plans can materialize.
“The Senate’s opinion is unequivocal,” Tublitz said. “It indicates that there is a strong sentiment across campus, and in this case, it is asking the president to comply.”
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