CC Minutes - 09/25/06 Work Session

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did not know how that could be measured on a cost/benefit basis. Mr. Rexius said that subsidized transit would certainly be a great way to reduce carbon emissions; however, another way to reduce carbon emissions was by establishing carbon neutrality as goal. He said that business people would regard that as an opportunity to look at ways to reduce carbon emissions in their own businesses and many of those initiatives could result in more jobs. Ms. Bettman remarked that as a jurisdiction the City might not be able to do it all because of the resources required. She questioned whether the City should finance an initiative that was business-based to encourage certain incremental changes or invest in something that might have more realistic results immediately. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to extend the discussion by four minutes. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Kelly appreciated the explicit acknowledgment on page 9 of the report that the SBI did not address the local land use planning system, industrial land planning system, transportation systems, or affordable housing systems, which were all a part of sustainability. He did not think it was necessary at the beginning to choose between strategies or approaches because while the long-term cost of some of the recommenda- tions might be substantial, the initial investment was fairly small, such as establishing an office of sustainability and a board. He noted that while the strategies would cost money, the cost of doing nothing was greater. He also appreciated the mention of peak oil in the report but wished the discussion had gone further. Mr. Papé agreed with the concerns expressed about cost and encouraged involving the Budget Committee in identifying funding strategies. He urged that future discussions include the need for a mix of affordable housing in the community. He favored the idea of using incentives rather than regulations to encourage businesses to adopt sustainability practices. C. WORK SESSION: Transportation Priorities for North and West Eugene City Manager Taylor introduced City Engineer Mark Schoening to discuss transportation priorities for north and west Eugene. He said that transportation was a critical component of sustainability and staff was charged with developing recommended next steps for transportation priorities in north and west Eugene. Mr. Schoening reviewed the process for developing transportation priorities for north and west Eugene and recommendations for advancing those priorities. He said the regional and local transportation plans were reviewed and discussions were held with regional partners on the Transportation Planning Committee and the University of Oregon School of Architecture. He said the Public Works work program, which included transportation planning and traffic operations, was also reviewed. He said staff identified and were proposing the following capital improvements, transportation planning studies and regulatory actions to address north and west Eugene transportation priorities: ? Beltline corridor from River Road to Coburg Road – a priority because of the level of congestion and safety issues on the corridor, the project was included in the adopted FY06-09 State Transpor- tation Improvement Program (STIP) for $1 million and in the draft FY08-11 STIP for another $1.5 million to complete the environmental documentation and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) was initiating transportation systems planning on that corridor MINUTES—City Council September 25, 2006 Page 6 Work Session