Tree sitters are locking down in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown. Neighbors are taking action to protect 3.5 acres of the Willamette Greenway and potential affordable housing site slated to be destroyed by out-of-state developers Evergreen Housing Development Group (EHDG).
For the past 2 years community members have organized to stop sale of the of this public space. The sale was finalized by Homes for Good Housing Agency Executive Director Jacob Fox in February.
We see the fencing of the land and the destruction of the Greenway and this potential affordable housing site as an immediate threat to our neighborhood and our public health. We call for Seattle-based Evergreen Housing Development Group to re-sell the controversial site back to the community.
The widely supported campaign includes the following demands:
• We demand that Evergreen Housing Development Group re-sell the proposed Lombard Site for the original purchase price of $850,000.00.
• We demand that a portion of this land be protected as open-space and these trees be preserved for future generations.
• We demand a portion of this land be used to provide context sensitive affordable housing for the most vulnerable people in our community.
• We demand that any and all development of future affordable housing use ONLY local labor.
We hold this as a more just vision for the open-space and fot\r our community. We are calling on our leadership; the City of Eugene and Lane County to stand with us in making history.
We believe that we can shift the current circumstance from a short-sited for-profit deal benefiting (only few) to a more equitable WIN-WIN-WIN for the community, Eugene/Lane County and Evergreen Housing Development Group. We can come together to better serve the greater good of this community and provide a long-term legacy that we can all be proud of.
