Laserfiche WebLink
Document management portal powered by Laserfiche WebLink 9 © 1998-2015 Laserfiche. All rights reserved.
boundary (UGB) to allow for the proposed land swap and development of a larger park. Speaking for <br />herself, she urged close consideration of the proposal because she felt the McDougal land swap was a <br />precedent-setting issue. She thought the council should consider how it would affect future development <br />of the Santa Clara area and the surrounding community. She felt the goals of the Parks and Open Space <br />Division could be achieved in other ways. She agreed with Ed Singer that Eugene would grow, but <br />averred that a growth plan should look to preserve Class 1 soils to feed the increasing population. <br /> <br />Mai eska Seese-Green, PO Box 1214, president of the Whiteaker Community Council, spoke on behalf of <br />the Railroad Pollution Coalition (RPC). She conveyed its support for the amendment brought forward by <br />Councilor Ortiz that proposed to exclude properties now owned by the railroad from the application for an <br />enterprise zone. She alleged that a number of properties that were within the railyard boundary were now <br />included in the proposed zone and asked that the boundary be adjusted to remove any rail-owned and <br />other railyard-related properties. She indicated that the coalition believed the intent of the amendment had <br />been the exclusion of all of the properties within the Eugene railyard. She urged that planning be done for <br />the railyard and surrounding neighborhoods before industrial or any other type of development was <br />actively promoted in the area. She stressed the importance of planning in order to avoid diminishment of <br />the health and livability of surrounding neighborhoods. She suggested that Northwest Container Services <br />was poised to develop one or more parcels in the vicinity. She conveyed the neighborhood's concern that <br />the new facility was considered to be a potential spur to additional distribution and trucking facilities in <br />the same vicinity. She predicted this would initiate further growth that would thwart comprehensive <br />planning. She opposed providing tax waivers to such development. <br /> <br />Linda Swisher, 3285 Bell Avenue, stated that the RPC represented four neighborhood associations and <br />other community groups concerned about Eugene's railyard. She acknowledged the ambiguities in how <br />the railyard was defined. She related that RPC had found little justification in the definition of railroad <br />property boundaries provided by staff. She alleged that staff had bisected some properties while leaving <br />others out altogether. She said the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had little information and <br />no maps showing railyard tax lots. She asserted that the DEQ admitted it did not know the "justification <br />for how the boundary of the yard" was depicted on their maps. She averred that the DEQ environmental <br />contamination site investigation database listed seven tax lots as within the Eugene railyard site, described <br />in a letter submitted to the council. The RPC believed that, at a minimum, the seven lots should be <br />included as part of the railyard exclusion from the enterprise zone. Additionally, she said Appendix L of <br />the enterprise zone application failed to mention that comprehensive planning had not been done for the <br />rail-related areas of the zone. She noted that the application mentioned Eugene's active neighborhoods <br />program. She pointed out that the member neighborhood groups in the RPC had not received information <br />on the enterprise zone and that participating neighborhood groups would be asked to sign advisory letters <br />to the State in opposition to the enterprise zone. <br /> <br />Nadia Sindi, 3950 Goodpasture Island Loop, urged the council to take a stand against torture. She said <br />she had been born in the Middle East in a country that did not respect human rights. She came to this <br />country for freedom and she wanted to be proud to be American. She stated that she dealt with many <br />Arab-American and Muslim issues, especially since the tragic events of September 11,2001. <br /> <br /> George Gessert, 86070 Cougar Lane, commented that it was unfortunate that the council had to discuss <br /> the resolution against torture, especially given the number of pressing local issues. He said it was <br /> apparent that President George W. Bush approved of the use of torture, making this clear to the world <br /> through his appointments and his defense of Donald Rumsfield. He pointed out that the majority of the <br /> members of both houses of Congress had supported the President or acquiesced to him about this issue. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 2005 Page 4 <br /> Regular Session <br /> <br /> <br />