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

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City Manager Taylor asked the council to direct any concerns and questions not yet articulated to staff as soon as possible because of the application deadline. In response to a question from Mr. Pap6, Mr. Braud said the Oregon Economic Community Development Director had ultimate approval authority for the zone. He noted he had participated in the past on a panel of communities that reviewed such applications and made recommendations for approval to the director. B. WORK SESSION: Sustainability Practices at the City of Eugene Mayor Piercy said the City had much to recognize and applaud regarding its sustainability efforts. She hoped the City Council would listen and give direction to the City staff to continue its work and to set sustainability goals for each department and across departments. City Manager Taylor called sustainability an area that the City could build on what was already in place. He said since the late 1990s sustainability had been a goal of the City and though much had been accom- plished, it still had a long way to go. Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson conveyed his regret that Mr. Kelly was ill, given Mr. Kelly's interest in the subject matter. He stated that Public Works Department (PWD) Director Kurt Corey and PDD Director Tom Coyle sat on the environmental policy team that oversaw the City's activities on sustainability issues. Mr. Carlson reminded everyone that sustainability had three elements: environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic vitality. He thought, overall, that the City made the greatest effort around environ- mental stewardship issues. He encouraged the council to think about the economic vitality and social equity portions of sustainability. Mr. Carlson reviewed Resolution No 4618 in the Agenda Item Summary. He felt much of what the City worked on in its planning centered on sustainability. He provided an overview of the information included in the memorandum entitled Update on Sustainability Activities. Mr. Carlson highlighted the City's Wetland Mitigation Bank, which enabled developers of properties to easily mitigate impacted wetlands and did it in a way that was better, as it resulted in a connected system of wetlands rather than protected, isolated half-acre plots. He stated that this was a key reason that the Public Works Department had been given the Julian Award for sustainability. Mr. Carlson spoke about the Business Development Fund loan program, which targeted money to small businesses working in the area of sustainability. He listed some of the recipients, such as the Plaza Latina Market, Holy Cow Vegetarian Foods, Green Gear Cycling, Co-Motion Cycles, New Day Bakery and World Caf& Continuing, Mr. Carlson highlighted the efforts to educate the local community through a brochure entitled The City of Eugene and Sustainability and other pamphlets, as well as the work done with volunteers throughout the City organization in programs such as the Neighborwoods Program and the parks volunteers. He noted that, in the effort to think globally and act locally, the City was working with Bob Doppelt and one MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 16, 2005 Page 5 Work Session