CC Minutes - 03/07/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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scheduled for April 8 - 10 at the University of Oregon, included a design charette for future redevelopment of the rail yards. He noted that the coalition was hosting a number of community meetings that sought to inform the public and to gather ideas. He announced that a larger meeting would be held on March 30 at the Red Cross office, located at 862 Bethel Drive, and invited the council to join the process and brainstorm with area residents. He stated that the results from the design charette would be announced on April 8 at 5 p.m., and that Mayor Piercy would be one of the judges. Carol McBrian, 1875 West 15th Avenue, said she learned from parenting and teaching that it was easier to set up a situation that would avoid disaster than it was to remedy disaster. She opined that building low- income housing next to the WOW Hall was a recipe for disaster. She thought the concerts at the WOW Hall could cause conflicts with people living next door. She recommended holding a public hearing and gathering input on development of the adjacent property so that future problems could be avoided. David Helton, 878 Glory Drive, noted that he prepared the economic analysis on the proposed Santa Clara land swap for the City, though he was speaking for himself before the council. He felt opponents of the swap used inflammatory language, such as calling it the "McDougal land swap." He hoped that the decision on whether to undertake the swap could be made on a more rational basis. He commented that thousands of people moved into the neighborhood and needed park space. He said the City needed more community park land now and needed to make investments when it could. He underscored that the community would continue to grow and the area was going to continue to develop with or without the land swap. He supported making investments to increase the quality of life. He thought the City had three choices at present: 1) to go forward with the land swap and get a free park; 2) to condemn the land followed by a legal court battle; or 3) to not do anything and development would ultimately occur with no park at all. In response to concerns that the change in UGB for a development would set a precedent, he hoped it would set a precedent and that every land owner who wanted to bring land into the UGB would be willing to donate land for parks and schools. Jonathan Pincus, 590 West 12th Avenue, #5, wished to clarify his comments at the last Public Forum. He recalled that he advocated for holding a public hearing or a format for examining the West 8th Avenue project and the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan using more than one criterion. He wished to underscore that he had no financial interest in the building. He only advised the people submitting one proposal regarding the process of assessing the structural integrity of the Ridenour Building and its viability for renovation. He felt it was a well-documented process that included a code search, examination of all of the previous building permits, and a walk-through by the City's Plan Check Supervisor. Regarding the latter, he related that the supervisor had suggested that no further seismic upgrades or fire safety upgrades would be necessary. He felt the information submitted had been very accurate and asked that the council take into consideration all of the possibilities. Ruth Wren, 1285 McLean Boulevard, requested a public hearing for the planned development on West 8th Avenue. She opined it was obvious that building an apartment building next to a music hall would create conflict. She predicted the response to the conflict could be to curtail activity at the WOW Hall. She did not think that the planned noise mitigation would be enough. She commented that young people needed a place like the WOW Hall to gather. Wren Davidson, 2295 Riverview Street, said she lived in Eugene for 25 years and her child had grown up sleeping under the bleachers of the WOW Hall while she listened to music. She felt that the 8th Avenue MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 7, 2005 Page 5 Regular Session