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<br />Ms. Bettman asked what the issues were regarding the certificate of need for the sites. Ms. Muir said she <br />would get a written response from the hospital for the council. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman opined that incentives were only appropriate in the riverfront site. She believed the provision of <br />health care was an appropriate use of Urban Renewal funds. She noted that there was already some <br />opposition to siting the hospital north of the river from area neighborhoods. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka was generally supportive of the proposed motion. He felt it would be good to have a hospital in <br />Eugene, especially if it would locate south of the river. He pointed out that the PeaceHealth campus site was <br />reducing its level of service. He stated that the Riverfront Research Park faced big issues, which included the <br />moving of University buildings, controversial building north of the railroad tracks, use of urban renewal funds, <br />and parking - among others. He had asked the Fairmount Neighborhood Association Board to take up the <br />issue at its board meeting. He handed out copies of their unanimously approved statement of support. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling acknowledged the incentive zone south of the river, noting that he did not recall anyone saying there <br />would be incentives for development of a hospital north of the river. He had not heard anything from staff to <br />indicate that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital had asked for incentives at the other site. He also had not heard <br />anyone living in north Eugene opposed to siting a hospital there. <br /> <br />Ms. Muir noted that in addition to financial incentives for the one site the truncated timeline for land use <br />changes was a potential incentive for all three sites. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy asked if the school district had indicated that its property would be set aside for a new school. <br />Ms. Jones replied that recent conversations with school district administration indicated that they were still <br />exploring options for that site. She said the school district was open to building a school in other areas as long <br />as it was in north Eugene. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling understood that School District 4J did not need the full acreage of that property. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman advised the councilors and staff to keep in mind that the timeline for land use changes could be <br />prolonged by community objections. She felt there were other pieces of property in the Riverfront Research <br />Park area, such as the properties around the courthouse that the City owned and properties owned by the <br />Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), which could be used for medical office buildings and other medical <br />uses. She preferred to have a hospital south of the tracks and supported providing incentives for it. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz stated that there would be a hospital in downtown Eugene as the PeaceHealth campus site planned <br />to retain a level 3 trauma center. She wanted to support whatever McKenzie-Willamette Hospital identified as <br />nd <br />their preferred property. She added that there was a lot of property in the Chambers Street/2 Avenue area <br />and the west side of the City that the City would do its best to have “shovel ready” for the hospital. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka observed that one issue the riverfront property faced was where to locate the University of <br />Oregon buildings that were there. He remarked that the campus was already very full. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said she was not willing to support provision of an accelerated timeline for land use actions for <br />sites other than the Riverfront Research Park site. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2008 Page 3 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />