CC Minutes - 02/28/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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CAFHN was a grassroots group of approximately 35 people that included owner-occupants, renters, landlords, and investors. She underscored that the destructive impact of infill on the west side neighborhood was an important issue for the group. She related that since the initial CNR meeting in the fall, CAFHN had been collaborating to help identify infill impacts and to get effective standards written and adopted. She shared that the group grappled with some of the same issues the council did, such as how to grow wisely and how to grow in a way that preserves the health and residential nature of the City's traditional core neighborhoods. She did not think the City could afford to ignore those questions. She conveyed the group's support for smart growth, adding that truly smart development did not squander the established neighborhoods that provide examples of successful, pedestrian-friendly, transportation-efficient lifestyles. She said the group's commitment had caused members to spend hundreds of hours on research and discussions and the result of this work, the Chambers Node Revisited Interim Neighbors report, was in the council packets for this meeting. She encouraged the council to read the report and visit the referenced Web site. Matt Purvis, 1391 West Broadway Street, said he had attended most of the CNR meetings and was involved in the previous Chambers area project a few years earlier. He explained that he had moved to that neighborhood because he valued the livability of the area and the easy access to downtown. He related that during the last few years he had witnessed a myriad of infill projects that severely compromised the quality of nearby existing homes. He noted that the coming weekend he would be helping another family move out of this neighborhood due to the diminishing of neighborhood quality. He opined that the qualities of the west side neighborhood were worth preserving. David Sonnichsen, 2435 Skyline Boulevard, stated that six years earlier he had been appointed to the East Alton Baker Citizens Planning Committee and he had found it difficult to find a context for the work the committee was intended to accomplish. He said much progress had been made since then and now each councilor had a copy of the most recent report from the group, now named the Whilamut Natural Area Citizens Planning Committee. He related that he had asked committee members to craft a statement communicating the one thing they wanted others to know about the park and to mention some of the most recent accomplishments of that group. He provided copies of those statements to the councilors for reference purposes as they made new appointments to the group. Deborah Jeffries, 3790 North Delta Highway, clarified that her statement was not about whether the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) should be sold, but about the process. She clarified that she was not present for the recent EWEB hearing on the issue, but had extrapolated her information from the media. She called Councilor Bettman's remarks "bureaucratic bullying." She had not read nor was she aware of any council authorization for Councilor Bettman to state to the EWEB board the intent of future council action and whether it would support its use or financial contribution a particular buyer of that property. She believed a clarifying statement should be forthcoming if the council had made that decision in an executive session or another session. She likened the comments to "signing a blank check of support" prior to determining the real economic costs. Rob Handy, 455-½ River Road, discussed concerns about the future of the Union Pacific Railroad yards, including how pollution would be mitigated and how to proceed with planning for development in the event the railroad company did sell the property. He asserted that the City supported a comprehensive public planning process for the railyards, including a focus on tax exemptions for development of brownfield sites. He also acknowledged that tax abatement was harmful to schools. But he recognized the clear, demonstrable benefit of tax exemptions in the development of the economy and, more specifically, living MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 28, 2005 Page 2 Regular Session