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River Road residents urge Lane County to absorb misclassified local access roads into county system
Summary
Multiple River Road and Santa Clara residents told commissioners that paved streets inside the Eugene urban growth boundary are misclassified as Local Access Roads (LARs), leaving homeowners responsible for maintenance; commissioners agreed to pursue options including a future presentation and potential code changes.
Several River Road and Santa Clara residents told the Lane County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 28 that numerous paved residential streets inside the Eugene urban growth boundary have been classified as Local Access Roads (LARs), meaning homeowners are legally responsible for maintenance and repairs.
Residents described decades of surprise and financial strain when they learned their streets were not in the county road maintenance program. Laura Hsu, who said her neighborhood includes more than 500 homes, said many residents “have no idea they live on LARs,” and urged the board to “pass an ordinance admitting all residential LARs within the urban growth boundary into the county road system.” Deborah Higbee and Polly Hableston gave similar accounts of streets widened and used during neighborhood projects without county maintenance commitments.
Speakers said asking each block to form homeowner associations (HOAs) or raise thousands of dollars to repair paved streets is impractical, especially for residents on fixed incomes. Deborah Higbee said residents “have been paying transportation taxes faithfully” and described families putting gravel in potholes themselves because they could not afford paving costs.
Commissioners said the issue recurs and warrants further work. Commissioner Buck described prior evaluations of LAR policy and said her personal preference is to discontinue the LAR designation going forward, but noted upgrading roads to county standards is costly and raises housing costs. Commissioner Farr said he and Commissioner Senega planned to discuss LARs and explore county responses for roads inside the urban transition area. Commissioner Senega (vice chair) said staff in the roads department and county staff are also concerned and that Lane County staff member Becky Taylor reported “6 miles of LARs inside the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary” as a possible starting point.
The board directed staff to schedule a commissioner business item and work session to present options and potential code changes, beginning with LARs inside the Eugene urban growth boundary. Commissioners noted easement and civil‑law complexities — some LARs lack county easements — and that resolving those issues can take considerable time.
No immediate ordinance was adopted. Commissioners said they would return with staff analysis and options, and potential timeline for admitting eligible LARs into the county road portfolio without guaranteeing immediate maintenance funding.
