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neighborhood. He related that the owner of Lane Forest Products would be willing to stop using mulch- <br />blowing trucks if his competition did not use them either and Eugene had more mulch-blowing trucks per <br />capita than any other city in the world. He said that peace and quiet were being sacrificed for convenience <br />and thanked the council for agreeing to Councilor Betty Taylor’s request for a work session. <br /> <br />Hugh Pritchard <br />, 2671 Emerald, Eugene, encouraged the council to initiate a code amendment for the <br />Downtown Zoning District. He said the current code had a number of unintended consequences that were <br />an impediment to downtown development. He said new buildings in the core area were required to meet a <br />floor-to-area ratio (FAR) of 2.0, commonly believed to mean a two-story building; when the language <br />actually stated a building should be not less than two square feet of floor area to one square foot of the <br />development site. He pointed out a number of existing downtown buildings that could not be built under <br />the current code. He said a similar situation existed on south Willamette Street with an FAR requirement <br />of 1.0; few existing buildings could meet that requirement. He said the issue had not arisen because no new <br />building permit for those areas had been applied for and the code was untested. He said the intent was to <br />densify consistent with the council’s goals, which he supported, but the reality was that new buildings <br />could not be built with the current FAR requirements. <br /> <br />Charles Biggs, <br />540 Antelope Way, Eugene, spoke to multi-unit property tax exemptions (MUPTE) and the <br />approval process. He said he had experienced difficulties attempting to review the files, including lack of <br />information and timeliness of receipt of that information. He questioned why public comments were not <br />included in an agenda packet and cautioned the council to make sure that all attachments were included. <br /> <br />Kevin Matthews, <br />PO Box 1588, Eugene, president of Friends of Eugene, expressed dismay at the <br />evolution of the City Hall master planning process. He referred to the council’s recent decision not to <br />renovate the existing building and noted the consulting contract for the planning process was over $1 <br />million. He pointed out that hundreds of citizens participated and felt the City Hall process was turning <br />into the same thing as Whole Foods because there had been no comprehensive public presentation about <br />renovating the current City Hall and professionals in the community had not been afforded the opportunity <br />to examine the basis for estimated project costs compiled by the consultant. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called for council comments. <br /> <br />Councilor Papé thanked Mr. Rea for taking the time to convey the appreciation of residents along Clinton <br />Drive. <br /> <br />Councilor Taylor thanked everyone who spoke. She noted that a work session on the noise ordinance was <br />scheduled for August 16, 2006, and hoped staff would provide information about controlling mulch- <br />blowing trucks and other technology. <br /> <br />Councilor Kelly also thanked Mr. Rea and the Clinton Drive residents. He said the council had discussed <br />at its work session ways to address the backlog of pavement preservation projects. He agreed with Mr. <br />Hale’s remarks that increasing the gas tax was preferable to a transportation system maintenance fee. He <br />had not heard any serious suggestion to exercise eminent domain in the Fairmount neighborhood. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 24, 2006 Page 2 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />