Community Planning Workshop Works with Landowners

to Develop Eugene Water & Electric Board Program

by Steve Rafuse

Walking away from the public hearing, things were not looking good for the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB).  In October of 2010 more than 450 members of the public showed up to a Lane County public hearing to oppose a new Drinking Water Overlay ordinance.  The ordinance was to strengthen the existing riparian and floodplain set backs and limit development within 200 feet of waterways.  The public was clearly not onboard and the process was shut down.

Fast forward to 2013. In the two and half years since the public hearing, EWEB has shifted focus from regulation to an incentive based (Voluntary Incentive Program) system that rewards good land stewardship and development practices in critical riparian areas.

Important to the success of EWEB’s new program would be community input and feedback.  This past week, Community Planning Workshop (CPW) facilitated the first in a series of meetings with a landowner advisory committee.  Faced with some lingering skepticism – the CPW team rose to the challenge. Scarlett Philibosian facilitated the meeting with expert precision, keeping the committee on task and on time.  Presentations by Erik Forsell and Andrew Louw provided important background information and engaged the committee.  And Jay Breslow lead an engagement exercise that built community lightened the mood of the committee.

Moving forward the team has set the stage for a highly engaged and energized committee.  In the coming months, the team will continue to work with the advisory committee to collect input and feedback that will help inform the development of the Voluntary Incentive Program.

More about the Community Planning Workshop(CPW)