Buzz Oates Nicolaus Rd Property - Trail Alignment Easement and Funding

The Lincoln City Council conducted a public hearing on May 24th regarding Buzz Oates Enterprises application for further parcel development along Nicolaus Rd, near Teal Hollow Drive. Council members approved the application with a "Condition # 30" which creates an easement allowing the City to construct a Markham Ravine trail alignment alongside the Oates property. Please refer to the City Staff Memorandum Report, linked below, for specific details of this condition language and justification.

During the public hearing Council members received testimony from City staff, representatives from Buzz Oates Enterprises, Foothill Associates, Restoration Resources and the Markham Ravine Neighborhood Committee. Each provided commentary related to the parcel map request by Buzz Oates to divide 11.7 acres of land alongside Nicolaus Rd into four parcels. Two of the parcels are zoned commercial and two are zoned as open space.

Buzz Oates has already built a structure on this property site, on what will become Parcel A after the subdivision. This building will soon house a Gold's Gym, among other tenants. Oates has stated that Parcel B will be sold to commercial developers who will construct another building housing commercial tenants. Specific Parcel B building plans will be subject to City reviews and approval. Both Parcel A and Parcel B are adjacent to the Markham Ravine.

A major focus of the testimony during the public hearing centered on the request by City staff that the Council members add a Condition # 30 to the Oates' application which states that the applicant shall dedicate a pedestrian / bikeway easement near the top of the bank of the Markham Ravine along the north side of proposed Parcel B and existing Parcel A. The pedestrian / bikeway easement and trail shall continue along both parecels to a point of connection on Teal Hollow Drive.

This section of the trail may be constructed within the Markham Ravine open space itself, with approval from regulatory agencies, or within a pedestrian / bikeway easement located at the parking lot. The easement shall be placed in a location acceptable to the Public Works Director and recorded on the final parcel map.

Buzz Oates objected to this trail development condition, in part because of concerns that the slope of the adjacent open space is too steep for trail development, and concerns that trail construction efforts will disrupt tenant business activities and parking availability. The MRNC testimony included commentary on the current activities of Foothill Associates and Restoration Resources, including environmental impact studies, to assess and determine just how a trail alignment can be effectively established within the Markham Ravine alongside this parcel. The final alignment of the trail at this point will be decided as part of their current Markham Ravine Corridor Enhancement Project feasibility study efforts.

The parcel map condition #30, accepted by the City Council, does not dictate the exact location of the trail. But, it does allow for a trail easement and commits Buzz Oates to be responsible for some of the trail construction costs when final location has been determined. If it is determined during the Foothill Associates studies and subsequent environmental regulatory process that a trail at this location is not feasible then the City can always abandon the easement condition. HOWEVER, if such an easement had not been approved by the City Council, and the trail alignment plans are subsequently approved as environmentally feasible, the City would not have been able to proceed with trail development at this location without going through a very difficult "eminent domain" legal battle.

Based upon some already completed Foothill Associates' studies and assessments, this area of the proposed Markham Ravine trail system is critical for trail connectivity and continuity throughout the ravine. This specific location also offers some of the most beautiful vistas within all of the Markham Ravine.

The MRNC believes that the enhancement of Markham Ravine can only enhance the Buzz Oates property investment by providing a beautiful vista to all tenants within the two new parcel buildings. We are inviting, and hoping, that Mr. Oates will work with Foothill Associates, City staff and the MRNC in establishing the most appropriate trail alignment and configuration at this location.

The MRNC thanks all of those who attended the City Council public hearing on May 24th. The enhancement of Markham Ravine will become a reality. It may take time, but it will happen.

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