SPRINGFIELD, Ore., May 30, 2001 (The Register-Guard - Knight Ridder/TribuneBusiness News via COMTEX) -- The state agency that oversees land use planning doesn't want Springfield to give Home Depot a green light for its proposed store. But it remains to be seen whether the objection holds any weight in a crucial City Council vote on Monday.
The Department of Land Conservation and Development says the Home Depot proposed for 28th Street and Marcola Road should not be allowed because the area may be designated for nodal development in the yet-to-be adopted Eugene-Springfield Transportation System Plan, or TransPlan. The idea behind nodal development is to cut down on traffic congestion by encouraging neighborhoods of shopping,offices and other businesses within walking, biking or bus-riding distance for residents.
"A 136,000-square foot Home Depot is typical of auto-oriented, big box retail development that is appropriate outside of nodes," said DLCD planner Larry Ksionzyk in a letter to Springfield officials. "It is principally auto-oriented and it has relatively low employment density."
City Council President Lyle Hatfield on Wednesday said the objection probably won't carry much weight with the six councilors who will decide Monday evening whether to allow the Home Depot.
More than half of Home Depot's 11-acre proposed site is designated in the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan for industrial use. So, before it begins building, the Atlanta-based retailer needs the City Council to approve a change to retail use.
Hatfield said it would be unfair to Home Depot or anyone else seeking a zone change if officials based their decision on standards -- in this case, the node proposals in TransPlan -- that have not yet been adopted.
"You're not supposed to change the position of the goal posts halfway through the game," Hatfield said.
Frank Parisi, a Portland attorney for Home Depot, said DLCD's advice cannot be taken seriously because state law requires officials to use standards that are in place at the time a land use request is made.
Rather than wanting to "seriously hassle" Home Depot, Parisi said, state planners may be using the issue to encourage Springfield to proceed with nodal development in long-term planning.
TransPlan, which must be approved by the Eugene and Springfield City Councils,the Lane County Board of Commissioners and the Lane Transit Board, sets policy and price tags for road improvements, bike paths, bus service and nodal development in an effort to reduce traffic jams.
TransPlan is currently in draft form. The draft proposes 14 areas in Springfieldfor nodal development. However, Hatfield said he believes that there are just six node sites that may be developed in the next decade, and they don't include the 50 acres that encompass the proposed Home Depot site.
The area is near industrial firms, including the Kingsford charcoal briquet plant, Hatfield said. Instead of a mix of homes and businesses, he said, the area may evolve in a similar fashion to Springfield's International Way, which has attracted industries, including the Sony compact disc plant.
In a letter to DLCD, Springfield planning official Mel Oberst argued that the zone change for Home Depot would reduce traffic in the metro area because Springfield residents currently have to drive to Home Depot and Jerry's Home Improvement stores in Eugene.
In a reply letter, however, DLCD's Ksionzyk noted that other tracts inSpringfield are already zoned for retail development and that Jerry's already is planning a store on retail-zoned land in Springfield outside a proposed nodal development spot.
"The issue is not whether there should be a Home Depot or some other larger home improvement store in Springfield, but whether or not it should be located in an area proposed for nodal development," Ksionzyk wrote.
If the city approves the zone change, the state can appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals.
By Ed Russo
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(c) 2001, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.