Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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into the redeveloped parts of the project. She did not think it was a good idea to let an out of town developer build an “instant downtown.” Greg Bryant , 2173 Alder Street, explained that he ran a non-profit dance center downtown, the Tango Center, at 194 West Broadway. He said they had worked hard to develop the Tango Center and had invested a lot of money. He averred that the Tango Center managed to create “an exciting place after 8 p.m.” He invited people to come down and check it out. He felt that putting more money into an urban renewal district was not a good idea. He asserted that “the more power [one has] the more destruction [one is] capable of.” He alleged that people who were a threat to people “with lots of money and plans and fantasies” without a broad interface with the people they would affect typically disagreed with their own empowerment. He believed this was why “colonialization was such a popular mechanism.” He felt any study of urban renewal literature would primarily be a “study of human rights violations.” He believed that urban renewal had been a “major tool” for such violations over the past 50 years. He urged the council to be careful when expanding and funding the urban renewal district. Carolyn Kranzler , 2660 Cresta De Ruta, supported the increase in the maximum indebtedness and the extension of the termination date. She averred that the City had a tool and it should take “good advantage of it.” She noted that she had been involved with the DIVA since its inception. She said it would be displaced with the development but she was not afraid; she believed it would do better in a new place. She did not think the buildings being considered for the project were worth saving. Lloyd Holtcamp , 24325 Vaughn Road, Veneta, stated that he owned property at 2171 Madison Street. He noted he was responding to the card he had received at the property. He believed that the amount of money the amendment to the plan would allow to be spent on urban renewal was large enough that it should be placed before the voters. He related that an urban renewal project in Lake Oswego had resulted in an initiative petition to have anything over $2 million go before the voters. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, commended Councilor Bettman. He believed that she was adept at recognizing a “sham process.” He opined that Eugene had a “sham process culture.” He said engaging the public could be exciting and would lead to the creation of more popular spaces, such as parks in the downtown area. Mr. Vishanoff related that the Arena Transportation Issues Committee, a subcommittee of the Fairmount Area Neighbors, was meeting but it was not advertising the meetings. He took issue with that. He thought the subcommittee needed to be forthright about its meetings so that the public did not have to go through a lot of trouble to find out about “meetings in dark rooms.” He averred that urban renewal had many fronts in Eugene. He wanted a plan that really included the citizens. th Paul Nicholson , 1855 East 28 Avenue, recalled the cities in which he once lived and urban renewal projects that had occurred there. He felt urban renewal had been devastating to all of the cities. He believed it was a deficient process. He averred that people deserved to have a proposal and to engage public input before it was a “done deal.” He asserted that he had correctly projected the low number of jobs that the Riverfront Renewal District had generated. He also predicted the Broadway Place development would not produce the benefits that were hoped. He stressed that 40 percent of the cost of the project had come from public funds. He opined that it was difficult to see concomitant public benefit. Jan Wostmann , 2645 Riverview Street, urged the council to not extend the life of the urban renewal district and also not to increase the maximum indebtedness. He believed it was difficult for the public to become involved with this level of financing when there was no project on the table. He likened this to placing the “cart before the horse.” He felt this type of tax increment financing complicates the citizens’ determination MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 16, 2007 Page 8 Work Session