CC MInutes - 07/16/07 Public Hearing

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with the developers to a younger woman being dazzled by an older man with money. He asked the council to have the courage to stick to its convictions and to remember the past. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing and called for questions and comments from the council. Councilor Taylor suggested that while the existence of the holes was being prolonged, the community should consider placing community gardens in them. She asserted that the opportunity for housing had been lost for the Charnelton Street site. Councilor Taylor commented that when the City first discussed options to buy the properties she had toured them. She felt there was a lot of life in those buildings. She agreed with Ms. Byxbe’s recommendation not to build an “instant downtown.” She thought it should be incremental and “organic.” She also thought the initiative to require expenditure of more than $2 million in public money to go before a vote of the people was a good idea. She concurred with Mr. Nicholson, adding that some of the best projects were not subsidized and were outside the urban renewal districts. She also agreed with Mr. Wostmann’s suggestion that the project be paid for with a GO bond. Councilor Bettman expressed appreciation for everyone who testified. She wanted the public to understand that although she opposed the amendments to the plan, it did not mean that she did not support downtown redevelopment of both of the “holes” and the Centre Court and Washburn buildings. She stressed that these projects could be done without amending the plan. She noted that Thomas Kemper had spoken before the City Club and suggested that copies of the recording be provided to her colleagues. She asserted that he could not answer specific questions about the project. She reiterated her feeling that people would not be able to testify about a spending limit increase without knowing the details of the project. She noted that Mr. Kemper indicated that collaborating with Beam Development would decrease the housing units projected to be built by almost half. She asserted that Eugene may end up with as many housing units or “only slightly more” than it would have had if it went with the “original Sears pit site.” Councilor Zelenka agreed that the processes were arcane and difficult to follow. He said in retrospect the processes were not designed well. He hoped that staff would work with people to directly contact them in order to provide the information needed, given the short timeline. He wished to clarify that the housing project across from the library was being rolled into the larger project. He noted that Mr. Kemper was planning on 80 to 100 affordable housing units and that while KWG Development Partners would drop some housing units, Beam Development indicated it would add some. Councilor Clark thanked staff for all of the hard work that went into the project. He also thanked all the people who spoke at the public hearing. He thanked Mr. Nicholson for his former service to the City, Mr. Handy for investing his time in the WBAC, and Mr. Monk for the work he did trying to make the City better. Councilor Clark said he heard from several people that without a plan the City had the “cart before the horse.” He understood that this was an opportunity for the City to have a process whereby it could have a meaningful discussion about aspects of it in order to create a plan that had more broad support. He felt there were a lot of good public processes. He quipped that Eugene had “elevated public process to a full- contact spectator sport.” He enjoyed that the citizens of Eugene had this level of civic passion. Councilor Clark observed that it seemed some were speaking of the money as though it were money that the City could or would spend in another fashion on a higher priority. He commented that if urban renewal MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 16, 2007 Page 10 Work Session