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everyone should drive to downtown. She averred that this ran counter to the purported goal in the plan, on page 52, that the City would promote and support alternative modes of transport. She proposed that the City balance its non-sustainable actions, such as building parking structures, with sustainable measures such as covered bicycle parking, downtown parks, reduced fees for carpool parking, and awareness campaigns. Julie Rogers , 381 Huntington Avenue, felt that Eugene would lose at least as many jobs as it gained should Whole Foods Grocery open an outlet here, as smaller stores would lose business. She asked what was sustainable about bringing to town a “corporate mega-store” that could diminish the success of numerous smaller stores that had already invested heavily in the community. She felt the money should be spent on the development of an indoor/outdoor market for the Farmers Market. th David Woods , 953 West 8 Avenue, did not believe enough time had been allowed to discuss this item. He said it seemed the council was on a fast track and people did not have enough time to say what they needed to say about the issue. He felt he was hearing from “people talking from their wallets and people talking from their hearts” at the hearing. He did not wish to displace the existing natural foods industry with the Whole Foods Grocery. He asked the council to “really think about it.” Sam Hediger , 3440 McKenna Drive, #9, said everyone wanted to rebuild downtown Eugene and to have it be successful. He offered an alternative proposal which sought to subsidize the increase of public sustainable transit. He averred that doing so would “achieve the benefits of a smooth flow of traffic” and this would increase the livability of the new commercial and residential districts. He wished to create a “laboratory for small business” and/or a permanent structure for the Farmers Market by renovating existing businesses using green technologies. He thought such an endeavor could be managed by a citizen board that included representatives from the business colleges and the City Manager among others. th Paul Nicholson , 1855 East 28 Avenue, asked that the council extend this discussion to the next meeting, given that some people had been unable to stay to give their testimony because of the time. He did not take issue with the idea of Whole Foods Grocery coming to Eugene, but he felt the City was giving a subsidy to the developer. He called this a “planning process out of control.” He noted that one of the reasons given for the parking garage was to be prepared for future development as yet unidentified. He said the City would be subsidizing “we don’t know what.” It was not clear to him that a public benefit would be achieved by the proposal. He opined that he did not trust staff because the City had spent almost $100 million on the downtown and staff was responsible for the result. Planet Glassberg , PO Box 11011, opposed using public money for a parking garage. She thought the money should stay in the community and should not be used to subsidize a corporation. She called it “crucial” to continue to support local businesses and farmers in order to build a resilient local economy to conserve cultural and biological diversity in the community. She suggested that the downtown could be revitalized and would flourish for local businesses, parks, and open space. Chuck Hunt , 130 Hansen Lane, asked the council and staff to think creatively of alternatives to the proposal. He stated that he was beginning his 10th year as a vendor at the Farmers Market and suggested that the council consider what it already had. He said the Farmers Market took in $1.5 to $2 million in gross annual sales. He asserted that this revenue remained in the community. He related that the market was struggling with space issues and had problems with weather. He thought the market would love to have a covered area for a year-round farmers’ market-type venue. He asked that the council look to the Farmers Market if it was looking for partnerships. MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 22 City Council Meeting