ENHS Nature Trails Nov 98 Article 2

Natural History and You - The President's Forum
by Nathan Tublitz

The grass is greener on the other side of the tracks, but not for long (unless we fight).

Twelve years ago the University of Oregon administration decided to embark on a bold initiative to build new ties between academia and industry. These ties would be forged, the University claimed, by developing a tract of land near main campus to attract new, non-polluting industries which would benefit from close relationships with University scientists. This development would not only bring new, high-paying jobs to the area but would also be a self-supporting commercial enterprise showcasing the best of industrial-academic cooperation. With the acumen of marketing experts, the University personnel involved in the creation of this venture named it the Riverfront Research Park (RRP), a wonderfully ingenious moniker since at the time of its conception it did not front the river, was not involved in research, and was certainly not going to be perceived as a park. The site chosen for the RRP was a 67 acre, mostly undeveloped area north of Franklin Boulevard and south of the Willamette River. In collaboration with the City of Eugene, the University had the entire area designated as an "Urban Renewal Zone" despite its decidedly non-urban appearance. This designation enabled the site to receive state lottery funds to underwrite much of the infrastructure construction and other development costs.

Ignoring the advice of University researchers who stated that there was no scientific rationale for the RRP and against the expressed will of most Eugenians who feared the urbanization of this lovely open area, the Riverfront Research Park came into existence in 1988. To date, two buildings between the railroad tracks and the millrace have been built. Despite the original goals of attracting new business to the area, the RRP have only managed to entice two local companies, Percom (the producer of scanners that read bar codes) and Dynamix (the computer gaming company), into relocating to the RRP from other Eugene sites. Because the University has not found sufficient tenants for the existing buildings, it moved several administrative units and other facilities into the RRP buildings to increase occupancy rates. So, despite great efforts and costs, the RRP at present has not met any of its original goals - it has not attracted new business to the community, is not enhancing ties between science faculty and industry, and is not close to being run in the black.

If you or I ran a commercial enterprise like this, our financial backers would be breathing fire down our necks, demanding a full and complete explanation for this financially-untenable situation. They would certainly be unwilling to support further expansion. But the University is apparently immune to fiscal failure. Not only do they want to continue the park, they want to expand it into the area north of the railroad tracks that is part of our Willamette Greenway.

With such plans University officials are set to destroy one of the area's natural jewels.

In the face of both community and faculty criticism, last spring University President Dave Frohnmayer commissioned a University committee to decide the future of the RRP. Despite clear evidence of financial insolvency, widespread community opposition, and a notable lack of support by University scientists, the committee recently issued a final report condoning RRP expansion north of the railroad tracks. In particular, it supports full scale development of the area northeast of the University Physical Plant (the Poleyard sector) and recommends that development of the area around Autzen footbridge be delayed only until another review is undertaken in 5 years. The report also recommends that all buildings have river setbacks of 100 feet rather than the 25 foot setbacks stated in the original RRP master plan, a small consolation. Committee members tell me that these recommendations were the result of tough discussions between pro-RRP and anti-RRP factions and that they represent a reasonable "compromise".

Reasonable? How can the siting of multiple (up to 10!) multi-story buildings within 100 feet of the Willamette River -- an outcome which will irreversibly destroy both the view and the intrinsic nature of the south bank from Autzen Footbridge to the Ferry Street bridge -- be considered a compromise? Yet, that is the current situation and it is likely that President Frohnmayer, despite his considerable wisdom and political acumen, will follow the recommendations in the Committee's report. Unless....

Unless there is a highly vocal, very public hue and cry from both within and outside the University. Such a response will be very difficult to ignore, even by a University President set on following an expansionist policy in the RRP. It is likely that President Frohnmayer will publicly respond to the Committee's report sometime early in the new year, maybe as soon as January, thus time is not on our side.

So, if you are concerned about this unfortunate scenario, do something and do it now. Write Pres. Frohnmayer a personal letter (Pres. D. Frohnmayer, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403). Send a copy to the Register-Guard and the Weekly. Call your friends and have them do the same. Don't delay. After all, a research park can be built anywhere, but once a river front is destroyed, it is gone forever.

Nathan Tublitz

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