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William Ivanoff , 1810 Harris Street, #336, averred that those in and around the downtown subsidized edge development by having less money for maintenance for their neighborhood streets because it went to maintain streets they were not intended to use. He thought this should stop. He also felt that downtown area residents had “all kinds of cars” driving at high speeds in front of older homes. He felt that people in the outlying areas had moved there for the peace and quiet without realizing that they contributed to the noise in the downtown area they tried to escape. He wanted the downtown area to be designed for the people who lived in the pre-world war Eugene and not for suburban drivers. Zachary Vishanoff , Ward 3, Patterson Street, provided a handout for the councilors. He hoped the media would begin to understand that the proposed basketball arena was “ground zero in a culture war.” He declared it was an “economic development conspiracy.” He accused Councilor Zelenka of demonstrating a lack of leadership. He disputed the assertion that the neighborhood supported the arena. He underscored his opposition to the University’s proposed arena project. He wanted City planners to explain to the neighbor- hood where people could appeal an alley vacation and where people could contract their own transportation study. He thought all of this should be done on videotape. Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, understood that Joe Green had offered to sell his property for 10 percent below the value listed in the appraisal. She assumed the cost was somewhere between $4 million and $6 million. She agreed that this was a lot of money and that “some would say it was too much money.” She felt it was important to remember all of the personal time and money and all of the public dollars that had gone into the Amazon parcels through several planned unit development (PUD) proposals over the last decade. She averred this made it a unique situation. She believed the purchase of the Green property need not preclude the purchase of other parcels. She thought some grant moneys could be pursued and the committee to work on negotiations could work on these. She said if the council chose to accept Green’s offer she would work to find funding and to determine a win-win scenario. She stated that Santa Clara needed a park but the Green/Beverly properties needed to be protected. Kathleen Leonard , 5020 Nectar Way, Ward 2, stated that the people who were working to preserve the properties at the Amazon Creek headwaters did not want to take the opportunities from people in other areas of the City for parks. She wanted the City to be clear that all the neighbors needed was seed money so that they could approach the Forest Legacy Plan or the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) and others for grant opportunities. She reiterated that the neighbors would not stop fighting until they saw the properties would be preserved. Mark Turner , 4875 Garnet Street, Ward 2, said his home bordered the Green property. He was grateful for the consideration of the issues. He was troubled by the current situation and wanted to stress that they were not “NIMBYs” (Not In My Back Yard). He averred that the property had never been good property to develop as it was steep and wet. He declared that the magnitude of cuts and fills that would be needed to stabilize the property for the intensity of the development was impractical. He thought the system was skewed to encourage development. He recalled the City’s unwillingness to purchase the property when it would have cost $600,000 and now less than four years later a new appraisal had indicated the property was now worth millions of dollars. He asked how he, as an affected citizen, was to accept this. He asserted that when it was in the interest of development to appraise the property low, it was low, and when it was in the interest of development to appraise it high, it was high. He questioned why the appraisal had not been made public. He urged the council to preserve the properties for the City’s environmental health and for the enjoyment of future generations. He asked the council to get a different appraisal if the appraisal had indeed been $4 to $6 million. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 14, 2008 Page 3 Regular Meeting