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Mr. Clark noted that the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce gave annual Emerald Awards in recognition <br />of businesses that were operating in a sustainable fashion. He thought there might be an opportunity for <br />some interaction with the City in this. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka acknowledged the work that staff had done thus far to promote sustainability. He hoped that <br />the new City Council offices would be targeted for energy efficiency measures so that they could be a model <br />of sustainability. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Ms. Fahy stated that the deadline for applications for the <br />Sustainability Commission was September 7. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor expressed appreciation for the work done so far. He agreed that incentives were a great way to <br />promote sustainability. He wanted to keep in mind the “micro things” that could be done while thinking <br />about the “macro things” that the City wanted to do. He stressed that often the little things made a large <br />impact. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy said the chamber would be focusing on sustainable economic development goals at an <br />upcoming meeting. She noted that the she had been giving out “Bold Steps” awards to businesses that had <br />sustainable business practices. She also reminded everyone of the Mayor’s Climate Challenge, accessible <br />from the City’s Web site. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked if a motion to approve the draft would mean that the council was approving all of it. <br />Ms. Muir affirmed that such a motion would approve the draft in its entirety as recommended. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman averred that sustainability meant having clean adequate water, clean air, adequate farm land to <br />provide food, and a secure economic base. She felt the first final outcome measure did not provide enough <br />detail; it did not say whether the number of sustainable businesses would increase or decrease and what it <br />took to be a sustainable business. She pointed out that the other two final outcome measures were related to <br />community surveys. She opined that sometimes the City was “so busy celebrating small accomplishments <br />that [it] forgot to look at the larger destructive practices” in which it engages. Ms. Bettman asserted that <br />farm and forest land was being paved over and this was not being addressed; people were not investing <br />enough in alternative modes of transportation. She said without this, the City would not “get to sustainabil- <br />ity.” She indicated she would vote against the plan because, unless the larger issues were addressed, “we <br />are just kidding ourselves.” She hoped the Sustainability Commission would come back with “some realistic <br />outcomes.” <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor thought Ms. Bettman made a good point. She suggested that the council may want to take more <br />time to think about what was really wanted. She opined that one good example of sustainability was to <br />“save some of the land at the Amazon Headwaters.” She declared that if the City did not protect its water <br />source, it was not being sustainable. She did not have a lot of faith in community surveys. She wanted to <br />make a difference in what the future would be. She recalled that a planning commissioner had opined that <br />sustainable growth was an oxymoron. She said they had taken the “growth out of the sustainable part” and <br />talked about sustainability alone. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka pointed out that the draft contained the “first blush” for outcomes and that the Sustainability <br />Commission would flesh the outcomes out. He believed that having staff draft the outcomes would be <br />tantamount to placing “the cart before the horse.” City Manager Taylor concurred, adding that the work <br />would come back before the council in the form of a commission action plan. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />