CC Minutes - 02/16/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

brownfield and redevelopment, to the expansion of small local businesses only, or to an unlimited geographic area. She was concerned with the mention of marketing to solicit people to come to the city of Eugene. She quoted Betty Niven who said, ;;If anyone is smart enough to find Eugene, I wouldn't lock them out but I wouldn't go looking for them and beg them to come." She felt most citizens did not want growth for the sake of growth. She recommended everyone read Better Not Bigger by Eben Fodor, which presented research on what happened in a community when a large, new employer was brought to the area. She said if the City was soliciting businesses that did not pay a living wage it was only adding to the social problems of the community. She felt the City was already experiencing problems with inadequate policing and school crowding because of growth. She preferred supporting a way to help local businesses grow in a gradual way. She commented that, like HMT, a company could come into Eugene with a tax break and leave before it was required to pay any taxes, although she acknowledged that HMT was being required to meet its tax liability. Ms. Bettman remarked that much had changed since 1986. She thought the City was utilizing the %ame old tool" in a changed environment. She supported a ;;very surgically targeted" enterprise zone. She only wanted to attract jobs that provided living wages and benefits. She quoted Ron Davis who said ;;Tax incentives pale when compared to the education and skill level of the work force." She wanted the City to seek a work force with a high level of technical acumen and skill. She noted that Bruce Blonnigan had called an enterprise zone a ;;race to the bottom." She reiterated that the City should focus its efforts on firms with high taxable values that would attract the best workforce. Ms. Ortiz said her biggest concern was that the proposed enterprise zone was in the middle of her ward. She was for supporting local businesses with family wage jobs, but did not think it prudent to allow another huge heavy industrial business in the Trainsong Neighborhood. She commented that a lot of pollution there had yet to be addressed. She added that no one really knew at this point what the railroad was going to do with its property. Regarding greenfield development, Ms. Ortiz asked if the environmental impact to the land and what the current uses of it were had been researched. Additionally, she was puzzled that crime statistics were included in the AlS. Mr. Pryor said the quality of life in Eugene was directly linked to the economic engine that made it work. He averred that businesses needed to be located in the city with mechanisms that were reasonable and he did not perceive the enterprise zone to be an unreasonable tool. He was concerned that Eugene would not be able to find an equilibrium at which it could support itself. He thought enterprise zones were a good idea. He noted that Hynix Corporation paid a good wage and now employed 1,000 people. Ms. Solomon commented that the enterprise zone was not the only tool to work with but it was one tool that had been successful in the past. She pointed out that more small businesses than large ones had utilized the enterprise zone incentives and were continuing to grow as a result of the investments that the enterprise zone had allowed them to make. She called the enterprise zone a very powerful way to foster small businesses. Mr. Poling also underscored the help that small businesses had received from the enterprise zone. Regarding the map on Attachment B that eliminated the greenfield areas, he averred they were areas that were already included in previous enterprise zones. He felt that to keep the area attractive and competitive, those areas should be kept in the enterprise zone. He noted that Hynix Corporation and Lanz Cabinets would be MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 16, 2005 Page 2 Work Session