Item B - Sustainability - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Economic Development There are many activities which could fall under the general category of sustainable economic development. A few of these include the land use planning related to nodal development and the Downtown Plan, the targeted use of the Business Development Fund, city purchasing of goods and services from local vendors, and operation of regional transportation services such as the Eugene airport and the downtown Amtrak station. In January 2003, the council received recommendations on how to best leverage limited one-time economic resources to achieve tangible results for enhancing the community's economic sustainability. City management discussions focused on ways to link sustainability actions to other major work program items to enhance the "sustainability outcomes" of broader policy initiatives. With this view, the City has concentrated its work to date in two primary areas: green building education and information and completion of a downtown housing market analysis. Green building initiatives, which are addressed later in this memo, were supported in part with sustainable economic development funding. A downtown housing market analysis was completed by EcoNorthwest and presented to the Planning Commission during the commission's deliberations on the downtown plan update. This study contributed to the commission's policy recommendations as well as the City's efforts to support residential infill, nodal development and growth management. City staff also works with local groups to support and promote green building education and practices in the community. In spring 2003, the Planning and Development Department sponsored public presentations on green building technologies and code issues by David Eisenberg, director of the Development Center for Appropriate Technology (DCAT), Tucson, Arizona; sustainable development basics by Dennis Wilde, senior project manager with Gerding/Edlen Development, Portland; and green building product information for suppliers and builders. Co-sponsors for these sessions included the Lane County Home Builders Association, University of Oregon Program in Watershed and Community Health, City of Springfield, Northwest EcoBuilding Guild and Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. In spring 2004, the City of Eugene sponsored public presentations on sustainable community development with architects Eric Ridenour and Ronald Kellett. Ridenour is an architect, urban designer and LEED-accredited professional at Fletcher Farr Ayotte in Portland, and chairs the Portland Branch of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council. Ronald Kellett, formerly of Eugene, was an architecture professor at the University of Oregon and is a registered architect in British Columbia. In his book, "Patterns of Open Space, Patterns of Growth: Negotiating Environment in Urban Development," Kellett scans concepts and current practices related to "greening" the patterns of urban development, illustrated with examples from recent and emerging models in the United States and Canada. Planning and Development staff is preparing a request-for-proposals (RFP) for designers, builders and developers to partner with the City in a development project demonstrating aspects of environmentally sensitive site design and green building technologies. The City's money match will include dollars remaining from a City Council allocation for sustainable economic development. If the project goes forward, the City would provide no-cost technical and process consulting, as well as expedited permitting. Staff also is forming an informal advisory group of community members to help guide green building initiatives. Wetlands Mitigation Bank - The West Eugene Wetlands Mitigation Bank provides a significant benefit for businesses and other development projects by assisting with the regulatory requirement to