04/11/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Mayor Obie reviewed three developments concerning downtown: 1) Ed Whitelaw's information with regard to economic impact, which he said he found to be substantial and very meaningful; 2) a recent announcement that The Bon planned to open a store at Valley River Center; and 3) discussion about a new Sears store in the Gateway area, He said he believed it was important for the survival of downtown to have the street opened, and he was ready to submit that recommendation to voters. Ms. Wooten said she was amenable to submitting the issue to voters. She added that she remained opposed to opening the street to traffic, but she favored proceeding with the decision, Mr. Holmer said he favored opening the street to traffic, but he believed the issue deserved to go before the voters, Ms, Bascom said she did not favor council action to open the street and she thought it was necessary to refer the issue to voters. Mr, Miller said he favored opening the street and he believed the issue should be submitted to voters with a recommended option to open the street, including the costs of opening and not opening the street to traffic, e Ms, Schue said she thought the perceived benefits of opening the street could be lost in the hard feeling generated by how the council handled the issue, and she therefore thought voter referral was imperative. She said she favored keeping the street closed, but she thought getting the voters' advice was essential. Mr. Miller said he thought information about costs and economic impact should be presented to voters, Ms. Schue said she did not believe the information presented by Mr, Whitelaw necessarily could be applied to Sears or The Bon, Mr. Holmer suggested referring to voters the issue of whether vehicular traffic should be permitted on Willamette Street between 8th and 10th avenues, He said details of design, plazas, etc. then could be dealt with, Ms. Bascom asked how many lanes would be permitted. Mayor Obie said he thought any more information would run a risk of misleading voters. Ms. Schue said she favored including in the motion "through" traffic, Ms, Ehrman said that if the vote did not favor opening, she would be reluctant to introduce traffic through alleys, Ms, Wooten said she was not opposed to considering drop-off circulation possibilities in the event of development or expansion activity along Willamette Street from 8th to 10th avenues, and she thought it should be made clear that those options remained open, /I MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner/Work Session April 11, 1988 Page 3