CC Minutes - 11/23/09 Public Forum

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon November 23, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Alan Zelenka: Her Honor Mayor Ditty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving. 1. PUBLIC FORUM, Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Pauline Hutson, 1 025 Taylor Street, noted that she was also speaking on behalf of Josef Siekiel- Zdzienicki and the Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit (3RT). She supported the suggested EmX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route that would go along the 6'h/7 1h Avenue/7 Place corridor. She believed it would cost the least amount in easement costs and would facilitate the future development of a spur to Highway 99 or to the River Road area. She thought a spur along Highway 99 North could also gQ out to the airport, where there was no bus service. She believed a non - dedicated lane would be less disruptive to residences due to less construction. She thought some signal intersections could have bus stops. She related that the 3RT survey of residential addresses in the 6th /7th Avenue environs, indicated that there were 197 residential units on 6th and 7th Avenues from Olive Street to Garfield Street, 274 residential units on cross streets within one block of 5 th and 7 th Avenues, and 200 motel units. She opined that the goal of the Lane Transit District (LTD) to promote economic development along the BRT routes and the City's Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) ordinance coincided. She related that a 2003 survey conducted by the Whiteaker Community Council had found that the neighborhood had a high rate of transportation - disadvantaged persons residing there. She noted that this was a federal transportation term defined to mean people who were either low - income, disabled, senior citizens, mass transit dependent, and/or too young to drive. She felt the BRT system would benefit them the most. Riley West, 434 Brookside Drive, owned a store on West 11 Avenue called Riley's Furniture. He had lived in Eugene for 32 years. He was against development of an EmX route on west 11 th Avenue. He said the 6"'17 Avenue ali made sense to him. He felt that it could easily go out to Seneca Street, or out to the River Road area or the Highway 99 North area from Chambers Street. He related that when he picked up people at the airport he took them on a scenic route and avoided Highway 99 because it was unsightly and he did not want it to be their first impression of Eugene. He thought development of the EmX route would beautify the highway. In closing, he commended the councilors for their hard work. Bob Rees, P.O. Box 1196, Tillamook, thanked the council for listening to public comments. He explained that he was a licensed charter boat operator and fishing guide on the north Oregon coast. He was also co- author of two of the four sites on the Oregon coast that had moved forward for consideration as marine reserves. He noted that the process had been long and arduous. He found it refreshing that the inland communities took an interest in the ocean conservation issues. He averred that the ocean resources belonged to all Oregonians. He said as a professional fisherman who spent approximately 150 days on the water annually, conservation played a large role in his long -term business plan. He stated that an established network of marine reserves would allow them to understand the impacts humans had on marine ecosystems and how to protect the economic, social, and ecological MIIVCJTES Eugene City Council November 23, 2009 Page 1 Regular Meeting