Laserfiche WebLink
Metadata
Document management portal powered by Laserfiche WebLink 9 © 1998-2015 Laserfiche. All rights reserved.
DRAFT EXCERPT MINUTES <br /> <br /> Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations <br /> McNutt Room--City Hall <br /> <br /> May 12, 2005 <br /> 9 a.m. <br /> <br />PRESENT: Gary Pap6, Chair; Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor, members; Mary Walston, Jason Heuser, <br /> Lisa Klemp, Mary Feldman, City Manager's Office; Ellwood Cushman, Eugene Police <br /> Department; Kurt Yeiter, Allen Lowe, Planning and Development Department; Eric <br /> Jones, Public Works Department; Glenn Klein, City Attorney's Office. <br /> <br />3. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Smart Growth Award <br /> <br />Mr. Yeiter and Mr. Lowe were present for the item. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked staff to define "smart growth." Mr. Lowe said it was a nationally used term for a <br />development concept that embodied many or most of the concepts the City had in its Growth Management <br />Study in regard to mixed use development, compact urban growth, smaller lot housing, diverse housing <br />types, transportation-efficient development, and containment within an urban growth boundary. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked if the audit to be funded by the award would determine if the City's code was at odds <br />with its growth management policies. Mr. Lowe said no. The award would bring in a group of specialists <br />who would assess Eugene's program in its entirety, including its policies, codes, and procedures for <br />approving development. Ms. Bettman said the results of the award sounded a lot like the audit discussed <br />by Mr. Yeiter the previous week. Mr. Lowe acknowledged some overlap between the award and that <br />grant. He added that over the past two years, most of the funding for the implementation of the City's <br />growth management policies was from grants. The award was another way to achieve the "new tools" <br />element of the two-year work plan, which was intended to be an audit of the City's programs to determine <br />if they were the right fit for the City's policies. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked where the specialists would look for barriers. Mr. Lowe cited as an example the <br />City's alley pavement standard, which was for seven inches of concrete. That standard stood in the way <br />of the construction of accessory units or any alley-access development. Many communities adopt a <br />different standard, and Eugene had not looked at alternatives that would lower the cost and facilitate <br />development in alleys. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said it appeared the effort would require the time of City staff. She did not support the <br />award application as it sounded like a redo of policy direction the City was in the process of trying to re- <br />evaluate. The process being proposed looked to her like it would be another process dominated by those <br />who could afford to participate, such as paid representatives from the Eugene Area Chamber of Com- <br />merce, as opposed to "folks who are working for a living and trying to nm a neighborhood organization." <br />If the award Was for an audit of how the code affected neighborhood livability, safety, and property <br />values, or how the City policies contribute to sprawl as opposed to creating a "new urbanism" landscape, <br />she would be supportive. However, she believed the audit accelerated a policy direction the council had <br /> <br />DRAFT EXCERPT MINUTES---Council Committee on May 12, 2005 Page 1 <br /> Intergovernmental Relations <br /> <br /> <br />