Residents of Laughlin Road contacted Lane County staff with concerns about their ability to evacuate in the event of a wildfire. In response, Lane County hosted two public meetings to gauge public interest in graveling the rest of the public right of way between Laughlin Road and Sarvis Berry Lane. This will create two exit points for residents in case of emergency.
On November 29, the proposal to construct a gravel wildfire evacuation route was taken to the Board of County Commissioners for discussion and decision. After hearing a presentation from Lane County staff and from Chief Borland of Lane Fire Authority, the Board of County Commissioners voted to approve use of County Road Funds to construct a wildfire evacuation route between Laughlin Road and Sarvis Berry Lane.
The proposal for the wildfire evacuation route includes: putting gates at both ends of the new connection that would be locked except during fire season; graveling the undeveloped right-of-way; and establishing the route as part of the County Road System after construction, ensuring County maintenance responsibility.
The first implementation action is a wetland delineation which is an approximate five-month process subject to concurrence by the Division of State Lands (DSL). Assuming there is no impact or required mitigation, construction will be targeted for completion by June 2023. If there are wetland mitigation requirements, the construction timeline will be impacted.
You may view a recording of the session here (the relevant agenda item begins at minute 7:05).