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and noted that Springfield was appealing the decision to the Court of Appeals, who could reverse the ruling before it became an issue for Eugene. Mr. Pap6 asked about the status of the Certificate of Need. City Manager Taylor said the City was working with the State to clarify those rules. No decision had yet been made at the State level. Mayor Torrey indicated that the Cottage Grove hospital had been grandfathered and had no impact on McKenzie- Willamette/Triad. City Manager Taylor said that staff did not know what will be required for McKenzie- Willamette/Triad to locate in Eugene. Mr. Pap6 said that he had also heard anecdotal information that doctors favored the 2nd and Chambers site. He asked if the City had defined the minimum number of acres needed. City Manager Taylor indicated that the hospital wanted 25 to 35 acres. The fairgrounds were too large, too expensive, its acquisition would be too time-consuming, and access was an issue. He said that staff had been unable to find a site in the preferred area to match the criteria established by McKenzie-Willamette/Triad. Mr. Pap6 asked if the acreage could be reduced in size by structured parking, for example. Mr. Coyle said that the issue for the hospital was that the cost of multi-story parking was higher than the underlying cost of the real estate. He said that the hospital had been flexible and he thought it would consider such approaches. He suggested, however, that it was critical that the hospital have room to expand on the site it selected. Mr. Pap6 suggested a hospital overlay zone could be established. City Manager Taylor responded that could occur only in the preferred area, based on the council direction in place. Ms. Bettman agreed with Mr. Pap6. She maintained that the medical community had said it would love the 2nd and Chambers site. She said that the message she received on the tour with Triad representatives was that the City needed to offer the hospital a proposal and the hospital would consider it. In the absence of that proposal, from the beginning the hospital had favored the Delta site for reasons she did not understand. She suggested that the City needed a ';Plan B" for 2nd and Chambers site to counter McKenzie-Willamette/Triad's ;;Plan A." She said the City should be in direct contact with the directors at McKenzie-Willamette/Triad. Ms. Nathanson said that many had discussed the accommodation of other accessory uses, and there seemed to be considerable potential for that in the 2nd and Chambers area. She asked if Mr. Coyle thought there was enough opportunity in the area for that to happen. Mr. Coyle said with redevelopment, the answer was yes. There were some vacant pieces of property in the area, but challenges as well. The area in question was predominantly industrial and it was close to the railroad. While the City could suggest to the hospital the circulation issues were addressed, that was not yet supported by a traffic impact analysis, which would be required of the development. He recalled little discussion of the industrial zones as they related to the hospital when the council made zone changes needed to accommodate the hospital. He said the redevelopment opportunity presented by a hospital would be significant. The City would be asking a quasi-residential medical use to be a pioneer in a major redevelopment project in an industrial area. Ms. Nathanson was enthusiastic about the 2nd and Chambers site but thought the council needed to keep in mind the need to site other medical uses nearby, which would consume considerable industrial land that was proximate to other industrial activities. When she considered the fairgrounds, she thought of the loss of the community, convention, and meeting facilities, some of which might be replaced and some of which might stay. She had hoped to have more discussion of that with the Lane Board of County Commissioners and the Lane County Fair Board. It was not mysterious to her why a hospital would be looking at the Delta site because of the proximity of clinics and doctors who could partner with the hospital. She encouraged the staff to continue discussions with the hospital. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 26, 2004 Page 6 Work Session