09/25/1989 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e said the Neighborhood Leaders Association believes that it can playa valuable role in getting positive information about projects to members of the community. She said that if citizens have this type of information, they are more likely to be accepting of projects. Ms. Atwood added that if the council is interested in making the City's representative democracy work it must be willing to respect the decision of the voters even if their decision runs counter to the desires of the council. Mr. Calvert agreed that the urban renewal information given to the Neighborhood Leaders was inadequate. He described the information as paltry and propagandis- tic. Mr. Calvert said he would like to see information about how urban renewal funds have been spent over the past 20 years, how the urban renewal projects have affected taxes in the area, and whether urban renewal has accomplished what it was intended to. Mr. Wostmann submitted a copy of the information about urban renewal and tax increment financing that the Neighborhood Leaders received. Mr. Wostmann reiterated that the Neighborhood Leaders Council unanimously agreed that the voters should be consulted about the projects that are funded by tax increment financing. He said that there is disagreement among members as to the appropriateness of tax increment financing in general. Mr. Calvert said the original proposal made by Ms. Bentsen was to phase out the central Eugene project, while keeping the device of urban renewal projects for other purposes. Ms. Schue asked whether the City could have tax increment financ- ing without an urban renewal district. City Attorney Tim Sercombe explained that if the urban renewal agency were terminated at this point, the tax increment e district would continue to be enforced and would continue to collect increment to pay the indebtedness of the Eugene Renewal Agency for several years. If, however, the Eugene Renewal Agency were terminated and the urban renewal plan were aban- doned, there would be no new projects on which to create indebtedness for the purpose of tax increment financing. Mr. Marshall made a plea for more comprehensive planning. He noted that the percentage of the City budget devoted to planning has declined over the past several years. Mr. Marshall said the lack of long-range planning in Eugene affects the quality of life here. Mr. Bennett supported Mr. Marshall's position. He expressed his disappointment that the update of the Metro Plan was abandoned and said he hopes to see this decision reversed. Mr. Nicholson said he remains unconvinced that urban renewal and tax increment financing have worked for downtown Eugene. He challenged staff to collect hard evidence showing that these tools have triggered development in downtown Eugene. Mr. Bennett said he firmly believes in urban renewal and feels that it is a very successful development tool across the country. He added that rather than reaf- firming its commitment to urban renewal, the community needs to reaffirm its commitment to downtown. Mr. Bennett said he believes that Eugene's downtown is a special part of the community and should be given preferential treatment to other parts of the community. He stated his belief that urban renewal triggers develop- ment in the downtown core that would not otherwise occur. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 25, 1989 Page 5 Dinner/Work Session