02/15/1989 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Mr. Holmer referred to three County properties within the expansion options and asked how amenable these properties would be to urban renewal. Mr. Hibschman said the County is interested in selling the three parcels. Ms. Schue said the property owners in the expansion options should be contacted before decisions are made. She said the council should hear their views before it makes a final decision. Mr. Hibschman raised the possibility of using the Downtown Commission as the forum for processing this issue among the property owners. Ms. Ehrman and Mr. Rutan did not support this idea. They said the council has spent a lot of time on the expansion issue and is nearing a decision; therefore, there is no need to refer it back to the Downtown Commission. Mr. Boles said the council also should consider the possibility of creating another Downtown Urban Renewal District. Mr. Bennett said this might not be a wise course to follow. He was concerned that forming a new district might result in less focus on the original district. Mr. Hibschman said the current district is almost in the same financial situation as a newly formed district, because all of its resources are committed: the tax increment flow is committed to debt payments, and the district's cash reserves have been committed to the proposed new library. He said this makes the creation of a new district a more viable option--that is, more viable than it was thought to be when the expansion of the district was first considered (which was before the proposal to build a library with tax increment funds had been made). He said the creation of a new district might be easier than trying to include all of the key parcels of the entire northwest area through the "swiss cheese" expansion approach suggested by Mr. Rutan. Referring to the proposed development of the 8th and Willamette lot, Mr. Boles said the council needs to consider the impact of the loss of this important public space (e.g., during the Eugene Celebration). He said the downtown needs a place to have significant public gatherings. Mr. Boles also said the council should give some consideration to more creative ways of using urban renewal resources to address long-term transportation issues--that is, more creative than simply constructing more parking garages and thus increasing traffic congestion. Mr. Bennett said that while long-run transportation planning is important, the City also needs to recognize the immediate fact that development requires adequate parking in order to succeed in the current economy. Ms. Schue asked if the intent behind expansion is to use the current area's resources to support improvements in the expansion area. She said she had thought that improvements in the expansion area would not occur until this area began to generate increment of its own. She said this question needs to be considered more thoroughly by the council. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 15, 1989 Page 6