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public, the better off all would be. He said terminology understood only by professionals and activists <br />turned people off. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey believed that eventually, the two local hospitals would relocate between communities, <br />compelling clinics to also relocate. Constituents had expressed to him a concern that clinics were not an <br />allowed use on light industrially zoned land and fear that the council would not amend the code to allow <br />clinics on such zoning. He asked if the council wanted doctors to move to Springfield, farther away from <br />Eugene citizens, or if it wanted to find a way to accommodate that need mid-point between hospital <br />locations. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey agreed with those who maintained the issue was how to make the code workable. He did not <br />think the committee was recommending the code be discarded, but rather that it be made more adaptable to <br />the community's needs. He did not think the new mayor and council would allow Eugene to be poorly <br />planned. He supported the staff-proposed motion but did not object to amendments clarifying its intent. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey solicited a second round of council comments. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly believed the proposed principles had a relationship to the alternate path. He was worried the <br />council was contemplating broad changes to the prescriptive code before there was a chance to see an <br />alternate path proposal. He attributed the amount of discussion to confusion among councilors as to the <br />intent of the motion. He did not think the council had time to resolve the issue without division. Mr. Kelly <br />questioned why a motion was needed given that the council had adopted a Planning Division work program <br />identifying the minor plan amendments as a high priority work task and the fact the council had regularly <br />taken action on minor amendments in the past to address minor mistakes. He suggested staff take the <br />~gestalt" of the discussion and move forward without formal action from the council. <br /> <br />In response to Mr. Kelly, City Manager Taylor said motion provided an expectation that the City would do <br />just what Mr. Kelly was suggesting and reflected the committee's recommendation. Mr. Kelly reiterated <br />that the motion was not needed. He believed staff could go forward and do what the principles stated <br />without further dividing the council. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman agreed with Mr. Kelly that councilors interpreted the motion differently, and she believed the <br />proposal needed to be returned to staff for more specificity before the council considered it again. She <br />interpreted the motion as bypassing the council and placing decision-making power with the staff in regard <br />to revising Chapter 9. She also wanted to see estimates about the cost of the approach, as she believed the <br />flexibility and discretion being discussed would cost a lot. <br /> <br />Regarding the mayor's issue about clinics and light-industrial land, Ms. Bettman pointed out that was a <br />zoning issue rather than a code issue, and if it was a problem, staff should return to the council with <br />recommendations about needed zone changes soon. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman observed that the council heard constituent complaints about unpredictability and lack of <br />consistency in code application, and she questioned how giving staff so much discretion would result in more <br />consistency and predictability. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman agreed with Mr. Kelly's remarks about the alternate path. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 27, 2004 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />