CC Minutes - 08/09/06 Workshop - Laserfiche WebLink

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? Relevance of consolidation of police patrol function with the City Hall complex to the question of site size Mayor Piercy said the question of whether locating the City Hall complex in an area the City had been considering for private development and how that might influence surrounding development should be a part of the discussion. Mr. Kelly said he was somewhat concerned about the addition of examples to the list of site criteria and found them confusing. He preferred that the examples were not included in public workshop materials. Regarding easy access to transportation corridors for public safety vehicles as a criterion to be considered, he pointed out that typically patrol cars were only exiting the building at shift change and he was not certain that access should be a strong consideration. Ms. Taylor said she felt strongly that the criterion related to displacing prime private development opportunities should be eliminated. She said her preference was to retain the current City Hall, but if a new th complex was developed, she felt the former Sears building site at 10 Avenue and Charnelton Street was ideal because of its proximity to public transportation and accessibility of public services. She did not think train noise was a factor, nor was proximity to arts and cultural activities. She did like the idea of having the Library nearby. She said police patrol was a different function and should be located in a police station, not in City Hall, and that proximity to the County was important because people often needed to be redirected from City Hall to County services and it was convenient for the public if the buildings were close. In response to a question from Ms. Teninty, Ms. Taylor said she did not want to even consider impact on prime development opportunities. In response to questions from Mr. Papé regarding sustainability and building in a flood plain, Consultant Galen Ohmart illustrated the effect of sunrise and sunset in different seasons on the ability to control direct sunlight and increase occupant comfort while reducing the HVAC cooling load. He said that building orientation also affected energy conservation and use of wind for cross ventilation and cooling. Mr. Macy added that building in a flood plain was a poor practice, requiring consideration of the upstream impact of water displaced in a flood event and mitigation. Mr. Cohen pointed out that inclusion of the police function would present further complications. Mr. Papé said he would not eliminate the EWEB site and he had no concern with railroad noise. Ms. Solomon said she felt strongly that the Downtown Plan should be followed; it represented a significant investment by citizens and the City and presented a vision for the downtown. She said selection of a site for a new City Hall complex should remain faithful to that vision, particularly a civic street with civic-oriented activities along it. She urged that the Downtown Plan be supported by the decision-making process. Mr. Pryor said that he approached the issue as a 50- to 100-year decision and criteria should be considered from both long-term and short-term perspectives. He said some features of downtown, such as the street grid, river and Park Blocks would likely be there in 50 years, but other features like the train, commercial activities and buildings could be in a drastically modified form. He urged the council to consider what would be a suitable site for City Hall in 50 years. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Pryor regarding the long-term implications of a decision. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 5 Work Shop