River Road - Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan

River Road - Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan Overview

Project Background

The River Road and Santa Clara Community Organizations, City and County staff, consultants and neighborhood volunteers have been working together since the spring of 2017 to create a neighborhood plan for the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods. The River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan will focus on five Topic Areas—Land Use, Economic Development, Transportation, Parks and Natural Resources, and Community.

Adopted in 1987, the River Road-Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan has governed land use and development in the River Road and Santa Clara communities for over 30 years and needs to be updated. The River Road - Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan will articulate the neighborhood vision in a goal and policy document.

The River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan includes six phases - Reaching Out, Neighborhood Visioning, Neighborhood Priorities, Policy Development, Action Planning, and Adoption.

Reaching Out, Visioning, Neighborhood Priorities, and Policy Development

The earlier phases of the neighborhood planning process focused on outreach and engagement, asking community members what they value in their neighborhoods now and about their hopes and visions for the future. See the Neighborhood Priority Report for the results of the various forms of outreach done.  The community input was used by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and Topic Area Working Groups to draft goals and policies that reflect the neighborhood priorities. In 2019, Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners approved the draft goals and policies as a platform for moving into the Action Planning Phase.

Action Planning

The CAC and staff have been preparing an Action Plan to support implementation of the Neighborhood Plan. The Action Plan will consist of community identified actions that are possible strategies to implement the policies of the Neighborhood Plan. The Action Plan will also include general budget, timeframe, and feasibility estimates and strategies for ongoing implementation. One implementation tool is an annual coordination and information sharing meeting between River Road and Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan representatives, and City and County staff to share work completed, new community priorities, and plan for upcoming efforts.  

The Action Plan will help focus the community work towards the vision for how the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods will look, feel and function over the next 20 years and beyond. Overall themes include equity and inclusion, connectivity, healthy people and climate, safety, prosperity, and neighborhood identity.

Next Steps: Preparing the Neighborhood Plan Adoption Package and Community Vetting

Following the Action Planning Phase will be the Adoption Phase - the final adoption of the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan.

The next steps in the neighborhood planning process including circling back to outreach and engagement again! Once we’ve finished final edits on the draft goals, policies, and actions – we’ll need community feedback! Review the most recent draft policies and actions for each of the goals at the Topic Area pages.

Adoption Phase Timeline 

River Road Corridor Study

Concurrently, a grant from the Federal Transit Administration has allowed us to conduct an in-depth analysis of the River Road corridor, from NW Expressway to Hunsaker Lane. The River Road Corridor Study includes stakeholder interviews, public workshops, economic and demographic research, and conceptual design work. The results of the study will include proposed land use code amendments along the corridor as well as other recommendations to support implementation of the neighborhood vision along River Road. See the Draft Preferred Zoning Concept Map here. 

Visit the Get Involved page and our Engage Eugene project page to learn about opportunities to get involved!