CC Minutes - 01/22/01 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Jeff Wilson, 1090 Satre Street, spoke in favor of the adoption of the proposed charter for the Downtown Neighbor's Association that was an item in that evening's Consent Calendar. Speaking as the chair of the Neighborhood Leaders Council (NLC), he urged the adoption of the charter. He noted that the downtown area was home to over 1,000 households who could not currently participate in the neighborhood association program. He went on to say that the NLC believed that every citizen should have the opportunity for information and input into community building. Tracy Olsen, 795 Willamette Street, spoke as the chair of the proposed Downtown Neighbors Association. He said that downtown residents were looking forward to having a voice in how downtown was shaped and expressed his pleasure in being their liaison to the NLC. Mr. ©lsen expressed concern that the needs of downtown were not really understood by the council and commented that, while change was scary, empty storefronts downtown were even scarier. Nick Bratton, 2865 Oak Street, called for BMX bikes to be allowed in skateboard parks or to have a BMX-only park be built. Jeremy Copperman, 190 Sunshine Acres Drive, said that every time he road his bike in Eugene he became an outlaw. He commented that he had been chased away by security guards and police and stressed the need for a facility that would allow BMX bike riding in the City of Eugene. David Sonnichsen, 2435 Skyline Boulevard, spoke on behalf of the East Alton Baker Park Citizen Planning Committee. He thanked City staff for their hard work on the Autzen parking lot expansion proposal. He said the committee felt that the University must make a continuing monetary commitment to the park for restoration efforts to reclaim lots 8 and 9. He asked the council to amend the draft intergovernmental agreement by requiring such a commitment. William Ivanoff, 1209 Garfield Street, applauded Councilor Bettman's idea of putting a tax on parking lots outside of town. He said that downtown would be on a more "level playing field" with the rest of the Eugene if everyone had to pay to park. He suggested that businesses be given tax breaks if they built multi use buildings in the downtown area to allow more residents to move in. Riley Peetz, 2666 High Street, called for a BMX facility in the City of Eugene. He noted that there were several skateboard parks in the City where BMX bikes were not allowed. Chris Otto, 1588 West 25th Avenue, called for the passage of the Autzen Stadium parking plan that would eliminate the call for a parking structure. Speaking as a fan, he said that the last thing he wanted to see was the University of Oregon spending money on a parking structure that they could be spending on bringing more programs to the stadium. Tim Owen, 27007 Siuslaw River Road, said that he had to take his son to Salem so he could ride his BMX bike at a facility legally. He noted that there were merchants selling bike parts in town and raised concern that the City considered it criminal to use the parts purchased at local merchant's shops. He called for a facility dedicated to BMX bikes in Eugene. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 22, 2001 Page 2 Regular Meeting