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students, who spent “over 10,000 hours thinking about how to make downtown Eugene a more livable, more vibrant, and more diverse place.” He reiterated that the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) unanimously opposed the parking garage. He said the essence of the DNA’s position was that they wished to look at alternatives to the proposal. He noted that the Fairmount Neighborhood Association (FNA) also voted unanimously to consider alternatives as well. He felt they recognized that in order to be the city of the arts and outdoors, parks were needed at the perimeter as well as at the heart of the City. He suggested that the City consider utilizing the $8 million to acquire most of the land for parks or to increase the parks bond from $20 million to $28 million. He thought the Park Blocks could be extended from the existing location all the way to the river. He said allowing the current developer to build parking above grade would block this access to the river forever. He maintained that park blocks to the river would do more in the long run to create a safe and livable downtown. Molly Dobbs , 1125 Jackson Street, a member of the Urban Design Studio class, offered some ideas for alternatives to a parking structure. She stated that the class developed designs for the downtown area that sought to feed into the Downtown Plan. She outlined the benefits that the open spaces were predicted to provide, not only to the City but to the developers and Whole Foods Grocery. She postulated that open spaces in downtown urban areas spurred development. She cited an example from downtown Chicago which increased land values in the areas surrounding the parks development. She cited another example from Vancouver, Washington. She invited everyone present to come to a review of the work of the Urban Design Studio scheduled for March 14 at 278 Lawrence Hall. nd Eben Fodor , 394 East 32 Avenue, thanked everyone for the “outstanding citizen participation.” He said he had never seen the Council Chamber so full of people. He called the hearing the “Texas Chain Store Massacre.” He asserted that the planned parking garage was 53 percent more expensive than the City’s own estimates for a garage. He calculated it would cost $29,000 per parking space. He thought it would be a $2.6 million subsidy. He opposed the no-bid contracting process. He alleged that the City had no plans for a parking garage on this site prior to the submittal of the proposal from the developer. He submitted his testimony in writing. Krishna Singh Khalsa , 4521 Wagner Street, thanked the smaller store owners for sharing the impact they felt a large store would have on their respective businesses. He said he was a member of the newly formed Lane Food Policy Council. He called food security an important issue to every citizen. He commented that the average food item traveled 1,500 miles from the farm to the plate. He thought the local food supply needed to be vastly expanded in order to provide true food security to the community. He asked that public funds not be used to “damage the very goal we’re working to establish.” th Dustann Jones , 650 West 12 Avenue, #108, a member of the Urban Design Studio, opined that mixed-use was how the site should be developed. He brought a drawing of his project, which included the 52,000 square foot Whole Foods Grocery, two floors of parking above, and 52 units of walk-up housing. He thought along with the density, a mixed-use area could provide semi-private green spaces. He called it enhanced architecture. He reported that he had run a pro forma on his proposed alternative project and it had come back with a seven-percent return. He noted that the residential units at the Broadway Place apartments subsidized the commercial space. Otto Poticha , 1820 Kona Street, spoke in support of the Whole Foods project but he did not support the parking structure at the “entrance to downtown.” He felt the site would be better used for a new City Hall. He commented that he waited 30 years for someone to build the four floors of parking on the County’s public service building parking lot. He stated that he designed that building and it had been set for four MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 16 City Council Meeting