Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Ms. Bettman remarked that the process was creating the illusion that pitfalls of the West Broadway project <br />would be alleviated. She was concerned that the City was using resources to advocate for a ballot measure <br />and pointed out that the City Manager had postponed discussion of the transportation funding issue. <br /> <br />The motion failed, 2:6; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in favor. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor expressed appreciation for Mr. Zelenka's clarification of the recommendations. He emphasized <br />that the preferred mix of uses would maintain flexibility in the negotiations. He stressed the importance of <br />recognizing that the City's relationship with the developers was a partnership and not an employer/employee <br />arrangement; both sides would be making a significant investment in the project. He would support the <br />amended motion. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked if any of the recommendations ruled out the possibility that the development would have <br />a 50,000 square foot grocery store, a $16 million parking structure or displace local businesses or ensure <br />relocation of those businesses. Mr. Klein replied that that proposals must be as consistent as possible with <br />the recommendations and if a proposal did not comply with a recommendation, the agency director must <br />provide an explanation and the council had the authority to reject the proposal. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon asked how Mr. Zelenka had determined the need for at least 300 residential and hotel units. <br />Mr. Zelenka said that clarified the need for a significant number of residential and hotel units in downtown <br />by establishing a threshold. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon asked if Mr. Zelenka would consider establishing the LEED bronze criteria as the minimum <br />for buildings instead of the silver criteria. Mr. Zelenka replied that was a WBAC recommendation and <br />consistent with City standards. <br /> <br />Mr. Solomon asked for staff comments on the revised recommendations. Mr. Braud replied that it was <br />unlikely a developer would be able to meet all 23 recommendations but every effort would be made to meet <br />as many as possible. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling thanked Mr. Zelenka for his revisions. He said the recommendations were another building <br />block in the revitalization of downtown and West Broadway. He said a great deal of work had gone into <br />establishing a process that assured the public's wishes for downtown development were reflected and the <br />final decision would rest with the council. He felt it would be ludicrous for the council to turn its back on <br />what the people had requested. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark agreed that the amendments gave the developer further clarity on community expectations of the <br />partnership. He was pleased with the amount of community consensus and thoughtful consideration that the <br />process brought to the City's partnership with developers. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka reiterated that his intent was to clarify and strengthen the recommendations. He recognized that <br />the WBAC was respectful of the council's authority and did not attempt to tell the council what to do. He <br />noted that the initial investment of funds was $25 million; the $40 million was available over the next 20 <br />years of urban renewal; the investment of $25 million would leverage up to $200 million on private <br />investment. He said it was unfortunate that the election would occur before there were concrete proposals to <br />discuss. He said the recommendations would be used as a matrix to evaluate proposals for downtown <br />development criteria. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br />