Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

C. WORK SESSION: West Broadway Project City Manager pro tem Jones called the council’s attention to the motion postponed from the November 27, 2007, meeting. I move to direct the City Manager/Agency Director to bring back to the council/Urban Renewal Agency (URA) for consideration at the December 10, 2007, work session a proposal(s) that is consistent with provisions of Option 2 offered by staff/Eugene Redevelopment Advisory Committee (ERAC) at the April 25, 2007, council work session as follows; Option 2 engaged Beam to pro- ceed with “renovation of the Centre Court building and the Washburn building and a yet-to-be- defined level of new construction on on the adjacent vacant land.” (The adjacent vacant land be- ing the Aster Pit.) And, includes that the council/URA “would also continue to move forward with th the TK Partners project as previously selected on the 10 and Charnelton request for proposals process.” (Consisting of 106 “homes” on the Sears Pit site.) This motion assumes a proposal(s) coming back to the council will define the use and intensity for the Aster Pit development; and maintain Beam and Kemper as separate entities. Mayor Piercy called the meeting of the URA to order. Ms. Bettman asked why a meeting of the URA was needed given that the work session was not about a URA financing issue. City Attorney Glenn Klein said that the URA held the options on the property, requiring the council to act as the agency at some point. Responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Denny Braud of the Planning and Development Department, clarified that the model included in the packet was not the only financial structure, just a model to demonstrate how the moneys could be used to impact the Beam project. Mr. Zelenka asked who determined how the Community Development Block Grant money was spent. City Attorney Klein said when the council decided what it wanted to do, staff would return with the actions necessary for either the URA or the council to take. Ms. Bettman offered the following modification to the motion on the table: Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to modify the motion on the table to direct the City Manager to pursue a development agreement for the Beam development project as selected in the West Broadway Request for Qualifications to renovate the Centre Court Building and the Washburn Building and with a defined development proposal for the adja- cent Aster Pit. The City will proceed with acquisition or assignment of the options on all three of the aforementioned properties and within the financial constraints of the current $33 million urban renewal district spending limit. Also, return with a draft development agreement, including the City’s financial participation, acquisition, and/or transfer of prop- erty, mix of uses, density, design, and timeline for projects no later than February 11, 2008, and also proceed with acquisition of the Diamond property and return to the council with th draft Request for Proposal options for the 10 and Charnelton site also within the existing financial constraints of the urban renewal district spending limit. Ms. Solomon noted that Beam had sent a letter to the City received earlier that day that indicated a need for more than 90 days’ time. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 10, 2007 Page 8 Work Session