CC Minutes - 01/26/11 Work Session

Home Browse Search

MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon January 26, 2011 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka, Pat Farr. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the January 26, 2011, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Envision Eugene Update – Environmental Stewardship City Manager Jon Ruiz introduced Rusty Rexius, Larry Banks, and Kate Perle of the Community Resource Group (CRG), who were attending the presentation to offer the council their perspective on the topic. Planning Director Lisa Gardner, Metro Community Manager Carolyn Weiss, Associate Planner Heather O'Donnell, Senior Planner Rob Hostick, and Climate and Energy Analyst Matt McRae were also present for the item. City Manager Ruiz led the council through the first part of a PowerPoint presentation on the Environmental Stewardship element of the Envision Eugene process, and Mr. Hostick and Mr. McRae continued the presentation by framing the environmental stewardship concept in more detail. Councilors asked questions to clarify the specifics of the information presented. Mayor Piercy solicited comments from the CRG members present. Mr. Banks said that architects such as he had "drank the Koolaid." They believed in the information that had been outlined in the presentation and were striving to convince people it made sense to address the issues involved. He said it was important to watch the community's investments in its transportation system, and to use the system to facilitate greater density within the current urban growth boundary and close to the core. He anticipated that transit corridors would create synergy for the investments made. Mr. Banks suggested that fixed -route transit was an incentive for private development. He acknowledged there were questions about some of the data supporting the process and that the process might not be perfect, but he believed that overall the process had been very good. Ms. Perle said the Envision Eugene process had been an educational opportunity as well as an exercise in coalition building. She then went on to speak of her interest in preserving agricultural land for local food production and suggested that the community needed to go beyond the State requirements for 20 -year land supplies to ensure a livable, thriving community in the future and make the best use of the land inside the UGB. She believed that would result in more gain for the community and create a synergy that led to a viable, livable, workable, compact community. Ms. Perle acknowledged she had been skeptical at the outset of the process but over time had been convinced of its utility and believed it could lead to a workable future. MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 26, 2011 Page 1 Work Session