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"..- I 755 e - , Council Chambers I , \ Eugene, Oregon December 27, 1971 Adjourned meeting of the Common Council of the city of Eugene Oregon was called to order by His Honor Ma)'ior Lester E. Anderson, at 7:30 p.m. on December 27, 1971 in the Council Chamber, with the following Councilmen present: Messrs. Teague and Mohr; Gribskov, Williams and Hershner; Mrs. Campbell. Mrs. Beal and Mr. McDonald were absent. " I. Public Hearings " I- A. Street Lighting, Mall Loop Streets (COnmllttee minutes of December 22, 1971) - Two studies were made of lighting for streets surrounding the Mall area downtown. The project, which was originally scheduled for completion two years ago, involves widening Charnel ton, Oak, 8th Avenue and a portion of lath. The Renewal Agency has made a recommendi:l,td.lon regarding I' the level of li ghting and appearance of the li ght. Their recommendation was for high-level lighting. e Al Williams, Traffic Engineer, outlined drawings and explained the various levels and intensities of lights, and the advantages of each. He explained the differences in cost of lighting, and reasons the staff favored higher intensity lighting. He said many merchants and their employes had expressed dissatisfaction with the level of present lighting and expressed fears for safety" in certain areas. Councilwoman Beal felt there were conflicting problems - that of need for more light and I concern for aesthetics. :: Councilman Mohr asked if the issue was traffic or safety, and what specific complaints had been lodged. Dave HutJ.:b. of the Renewal Agency said merchants and their employes who have to walk out of the mall leaving- work feel unsafe, and some incidents have occurred. The i ~ Agency had tried itself to provide better lighting in alleys and parking lots. Mrs. Beal asked if anyone had looked at these plans aesthetically. In answer to Mrs. Beal's question, Mr. Hunt said the Mall Arts COnmllttee had not been consulted, and had not expressed interest in anything except bettering the art of the city. Mrs. Beal felt there should be citizen input dealing with urban aesthetics and moved that Council discuss whether or not this should go before the Mall Arts Comndttee or whether a new cOnmllttee should be created that would deal with such matters as urban aes theti cs . Mayor Anderson commented that the question was whether or not the Council felt increased lighting was necessary for security. After this was resolved, the aesthetics eould be ,I considered. Mr. John Reynolds, architect and Associate Professor of Architecture, commented on the suggested lighting, and suggested that if security was the problem, more police should be assigned to the downtown area, rather than putting money into 60' high poles. He I showed slides illustrating various lighting arrangements in segments of the city and their illuminating effect. There was Council discussion whether adequate lighting could be achieved with shorter poles and whether there was not a sof~er illumination available. Fuller Moor~ architect, agreed with Mr. Reynold's comments, and said he had found the high level lighting on 14th Avenue very objectionable. e Wendy Ray, Radio CommentatQ~, suggested that the demand for electrical power and the expected shortage of electricity should be considered. Mrs. Beal felt it had been well demonstrated that intensity of light presented an aesthetic problem, and that problems other than that of security should be considered. Councilman Williams asked if it was possible to develop a third alternative using lower level light with a warmer quality. City Manager remarked regarding security, that there is without question a correlatIon between lighting and security, and that the city administration feels high level lighting is needed from a security standpoint in the entire downtown area. Regarding aesthetics, the Renewal Agency had relied on the expertise of its landscape architects who were respon- sible for development of aesthetics in the Mall. Their recommendation is for the high level lighting. I Mrs. Beal felt a conmllttee might work with staff and come up with a recommendation which would satisfy public interest and take technical advice from staff. She moved that the Mayor appoint a cOnmllttee of the Council to work wi th groups that have expressed interest in this project and with the staff. Motion died for lack of a second. Mr. Williams moved seconded by Mr. Mohr to ask staff to apprise Council of any other e alternatives, if they exist, and some idea of what the cost would be of doing it another ~ 12/27/71 - 1