After years of planning and multiple setbacks, the University is as close as it has ever been to beginning construction on its proposed $200 million basketball arena.
Possible future outcomes
| Decision is appealed City reviews appeal: The hearings official’s decision to approve the University’s conditional use permit application could be successfully appealed on or before Nov. 20, which would delay the University’s construction timetable by more than 120 days. Beginning construction: The University could still apply for a building permit to begin construction in spring 2009, and would most likely miss its intended fall 2010 opening date. Decision not appealed Performance agreement: The University can submit a performance agreement on or after Nov. 20 addressing the conditions outlined in the hearings official’s approval. Building permit: After the performance agreement is submitted, the University can apply for a building permit to begin construction, a process that can take up to three weeks. Beginning construction: The University can begin construction immediately after it is granted a building permit. Issues the University needs to address: Outdoor lighting, landscaping, pedestrian staging |
Eugene Hearings Official Anne Corcoran Briggs approved the University’s conditional use permit application for the new arena with conditions late Friday night.
The project’s construction was delayed by more than a month when the Fairmount Neighborhood Association urged Briggs to require the University to obtain a conditional use permit before applying for a building permit for the arena.
The conditional use permit’s application process allowed the community to have a greater say in the arena construction because it included several public hearings where community members testified on issues including traffic mitigation and parking.
“We’re very anxious to get going (with construction),” University President Dave Frohnmayer said. “This is a very high priority project for the University and the community. Delay costs money.”
He said the University is still on schedule to open the arena by its fall 2010 deadline, and the delay has not cost the University any money yet.
Briggs’ 42-page approval report outlining the University’s application and land-use provisions concludes with a list of 16 conditions that the University must meet before it can apply for a building permit and finally begin construction.
Conditions include further addressing bicycle parking, improving outdoor lighting surrounding the arena and making physical improvements to nearby streets.
City Planning Director Lisa Gardner said the University’s next step will likely be to submit a performance agreement addressing the 16 conditions outlined in Briggs’ report.
Timeline
| Fall 2005: | The University begins plans to build a new basketball arena at a newly acquired site on the corner of Franklin Boulevard and 13th Avenue. |
| March 2008: | City planning director rules that the University does not legally need to obtain a conditional use permit before beginning construction because the arena is a major part of University operations. |
| June 2008: | The Fairmount Neighborhood Association appeals the decision to the city hearings official, who rules that the University must obtain a conditional use permit. |
| June 30, 2008: | The University submits its conditional use permit application to the City of Eugene. |
| Oct. 17, 2008: | The Fairmount Neighborhood Association, the City of Eugene and the University sign an Arena Impact Mitigation Agreement that addresses the neighbors’ main concerns with traffic, parking and litter problems the new arena could bring. |
| Nov. 6, 2008: | The University’s conditional use permit application is approved with conditions by the Eugene hearings official. |
Following the performance agreement, the University will apply for a building permit, which can take up to three weeks to process, Gardner said.
“This is the last land-use hurdle for them,” Gardner said.
The approval will not be final until Nov. 20, assuming no one in the community appeals Briggs’ decision. Gardner said community members who oppose the decision have until Nov. 20 to submit an appeal, which would delay the project by another 120 days.
“(The University is) aware that there are two possible dates that (the CUP) could become effective,” Gardner said.
The additional delay of an appeal would push back the University’s construction timetable, which was originally supposed to begin in late September, even further. The construction timeline has been adjusted to begin in “late fall or early winter,” Frohnmayer said.
“We hope to begin later this month,” he continued. “Some excavation can and should begin while the weather is still dependable. I’d favor beginning tomorrow, but we need a building permit first.”
Frohnmayer said he is confident that Briggs’ decision will not be appealed.
“It’s hard to envision a successful appeal,” he said. “The hearings officer really dealt with any (possible objections).”
Gardner agreed that the decision will be difficult to appeal. A community member who wishes to appeal must object to a specific issue in the approval report without introducing evidence that was not previously submitted to Briggs. That means potential appellants can only object to provisions in the approval based on information submitted to Briggs to aid her decision before the record was closed Oct. 17.
In addition, an appeal from a community member would cost the individual 50 percent of the original application fee, which was more than $6,000. An appeal from a neighborhood association would cost only 25 percent of the original fee.
Gardner said what is unique about this decision is the three main parties involved in the arena’s construction – the University, the Fairmount Neighborhood Association and the city of Eugene – worked together to create the Arena Impact Mitigation Agreement separate from the conditional use permit to address the neighbors’ main concerns.
She added that the work done by the three parties in developing the agreement drastically reduces the chance that someone will appeal the approval, especially because it was submitted to Briggs as evidence before the record closed.
“Based on what I know, in terms of the (mitigation) agreement, I would guess that the chances that the association will appeal (the decision) are very slim,” said Jeff Nelson, chairman of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association arena committee. He added that the association is still reviewing Briggs’ decision.
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