On Monday, WE CAN sent a letter to the Eugene City Council, Mayor, and City Manager, supporting a facilitated, trust-building next step in the South Willamette Special Area Zone process as recommended by Oregon Consensus in their assessment report.
The outcome of the South Willamette process has a broad impact—the South Willamette Special Area Zone was initially a pilot, and it is important that we find a constructive outcome, as it will impact not just the residents of that specific area, but anyone who has an interest in the future of both that neighborhood and all of Eugene.
Mayor Piercy should launch, and City Council should support, a facilitated process to build trust, improve communication, and develop better mutual understanding as the next step in the South Willamette process.
In particular:
1. This process should be designed and facilitated by a neutral third party
2. The process should be inclusive, and open to the wide variety of stakeholders who are impacted by the outcome of the South Willamette Special Area Zone.
3. The process should be seen as a first step to building better trust and relationships between the various stakeholders in the process, and reducing the adversarial conflict that have developed.
We wish to support and participate in constructive conversations that respect and balance all the differing needs and opinions as Eugene wrestles with the difficult questions of how to shape our future as a community. WE CAN commits to support such a constructive process, and invite others groups to as well.
Read the letter here:
If you support the kind of inclusive community building WE CAN suggests, make your voice heard. Please send a short message indicating your support to: "Eugene Mayor, City Council, and City Manager" <mayorcouncilandcitymanager@ci.eugene.or.us>.