Blue River Community Plan – Fear of Change

April 26, 2024

Blue River is Dead, Long Live Blue River!

“The king is dead, long live the king!” is a traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch in various countries.

We knew the old Blue River, we loved parts of it, we may have not liked other parts of it. But we knew it.

Now that the Blue River we knew is gone, the huge fear is, “As Blue River rebuilds, will we like what she becomes?“

Fear of Change

We all feel frustrated and powerless over how long things take, how complicated the process is and how much it costs.

Change is scary. We generally fear change over what we might lose. This fear is usually stronger than the hope of what could come. Fear can breed negativity.

Perhaps you loved Blue River just as it was before the fire and wish it could be like that again – and hate that it won’t be.

There are lots of reasons to be negative about things. Negativity won’t help us move to a better place.

Tips – How to Cope with Fear of Change

We need to discuss our hopes and fears for Blue River together as a community, find as much common ground as we can. While doing this, avoiding the trap of negativity will be hard, but very important.

When we slip into negativity, we push people away and the negativity diminishes our voice – keeping our concerns from being adequately heard and considered. It also stifles creative discussion and problem solving.

Things to Consider as we Move Forward

Blue River will Never Be the Same

This is a hard truth. Depending on your perspective and how much you liked Blue River before the fire, it brings hope to some and immense sadness to others.

As a community we need to move forward.

As victims, we will continue to mourn for what was lost.
As survivors, we will work to come back better than before.

Blue River Serves the Entire Upper McKenzie River

In the past, Blue River was the primary economic hub for the upper McKenzie. It’s not just about Blue River boundary.

The changes we all advocate for include us locally first, yet also consider our larger surrounding community.

Changes to Blue River are for the Next Generation

Change is Slow – It will take many years before the town is transformed by these changes. The proposed changes allow for Blue River to recover. The actual changes that happen come down to what Blue River property owners want to build. This plan gives people options where previously they had few to non that were viable.

Making Space for Our Kids and Grandchildren – Jobs, housing, shopping and services are key components to a sustainable community. We need all these things. This plan provides opportunity for more entry and middle income housing. It provides more opportunities for shops and restaurants.

Thoughtful Planning with a lot of Community Input and Engagement

I think its really important to highlight that a lot of community outreach and involvement has been included in the draft Blue River Community Plan process.

The team that Lane County put together to work on this included a lot of people – including many local residents. In addition, they held multiple community meetings to gather feedback from the community.

The engagement is important – the team has worked really hard to reach out and listen to us as a community.

The proposed draft Blue River Community Plan‘s flexibility was created based on all the feedback received and created to find solutions that would also fit within Oregon State land use laws.

Here are some of the key people working on the plan:

Project Advisory Committee (PAC)

Matt McRae, LC Emergency Management
Jared Weybright, McKenzie Watershed Council
Becky Taylor, LC Transportation Planning
Melanie Stanley, Blue River business owner and resident
Judy Casad, Windermere Realty and McKenzie Chamber of Commerce
Jeffrey Kincaid, LC Emergency Management
Robert Woodard, LC Public Works
Lane Tompkins, McKenzie School District
Cliff Richardson, Locals Helping Locals
Brandi Ferguson, McKenzie Community Land Trust
Mary Camarata, OR Department of Environmental Quality
Bill Johnston, OR Department of Transportation
Jeramy Card, Lane Transit District

Lane County Planning Commission

Jeffrey Choate, Chair
Stephen Snider, Vice Chair
Michelle Hankes
Stephen Dignam
Christian Wihtol
Bruce Hadley
Eliza Kashinksy
Jonnie Peacock

If you have questions or comments please reach out to me. We at MCP have been working closely with all these groups and serving on a number of recovery committees. While MCP is not directly on this committee, we are an important voice in the process and we can help share your thoughts and concerns as part of this process.

Chris LaVoie

Executive Director

541-204-1001 Office