11/28/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e effort to make downtown's landlord-tenant complex operate like a shopping center: coordinated frontage design, common hours of operation, shared responsibility for maintenance and management of common areas, a master leasing strategy, shared parking, a concerted marketing effort, and so on. He said that CRM is a long-term effort; it cannot be achieved quickly. DEI is working on some elements of CRM (e.g., common hours), but its real focus for now is on items such as downtown security and marketing. Ms. Bascom said one positive point is the fact that the City and community have not given up on downtown. She also reiterated Mayor Obie's point about the need to be politically realistic. She said a lot has been done, and a lot can be done, to improve downtown access and circulation. Mr. Holmer stressed that although the City Council may not always support the commission's recommendations, it still needs the commission to propose a specific agenda for downtown. He also mentioned that the Lane Transit District (LTD) station is an important issue for downtown. Mr. Miller said the council has discussed the proposed reopening of Willamette Street a lot, but he asked if the issue has truly been put to rest. He did not think that the public has had an adequate opportunity to thoroughly consider the issue. Mr. Schwartz stressed that the City has a responsibility to maintain the public spaces downtown and to provide an adequate level of security (both the reality and the perception of security). He also reiterated that vehicular e access is cru~ial to the economic health of downtown. He said downtown is floundering, and things will only get worse unless access issues are addressed. Ms. Schue said there are many players in the downtown equation; compromise is required because individuals or groups do not always accomplish everything they want (including the City Council: witness the Eugene Water & Electric Board plaza). She also said that when public money is being spent, the sentiment of the public must be considered. The public was opposed to the proposed reopening of Willamette Street. Ms. Schue said she would like to express a positive assessment of downtown. Many positive things can happen for downtown (e.g., the proposed development at 8th and Willamette). She said people need to become enthusiastic about these possibilities in order to turn them into realities. Ms. Schue also said there are many ways to improve downtown access; people should pursue these rather than bemoaning the defeat of the Willamette Street proposal. Ms. Schue also mentioned that housing development in the greater downtown area needs to be encouraged. Ms. Young said the mall environment is good in many respects; however, she does have concerns about access issues. She said better access might decrease the vacancy rate on the mall and improve the perception of security. She added that a lot of progress has been made on West Broadway. Mayor Obie encouraged the commission to take a broader view of downtown, beyond the immediate core area of Broadway and Willamette. He also referred e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 28, 1988 Page 4