01/23/1984 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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There being no further testimony, the public hearing was closed. tit Mr. Obie stated he was unsure whether the council should attempt to reach a conclusion that evening. e e Mr. Obie moved that the City Council continue the meeting until 10 :50 p.m. Ms. Wooten felt that it would be in the best interests of the council to conclude the issue that evening. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Wooten, that the meeting be concluded at midnight. The motion carried 5:2, Ms. Smith and Mr. Holmer voting nay. The meeting was recessed at 10:42 and reconvened 10:56 p.m. In response to comments made during the public testimony, Jim Carlson of L-COG stated that the population projects are based on assumptions and that it is important to understand those assumptions. He said the projections used in the 6th/7th Widening Project, as well as in the Metropolitan Plan and the T-2000 Plan Update, were produced by L-COG, based upon long-term trends in labor force and employment, and were approved for planning by LCDC in August 1982. He acknowledged that Portland State University is in the process of producing new population projections for Oregon counties, but he clarified that PSU is under no mandate to perform that function and is only an agency of the State responsible for estimates of populations on a yearly basis. He said PSU is currently in the process of updating its 1976 projection, but, while L-COG is under no mandate to use the PSU projections, he added that the projections are used as one source of information to determine the reasonableness of L-COG's projection models. Mr. Carlson stated that he has talked to PSU personnel and was told that the new population projections are based on the assumptions of 1978-82 negative migration and the arbitrary resumption of 70 percent migration of the 1970s. He commented that the PSU projections are meant to be illustrative rather than predictive. He said L-COG has reviewed its projections since the 1980 census and will perform further analysis as the recovery continues. He said the L-COG staff feels that its projections are reasonable. Responding to comments on the Metropolitan Plan, Jim Farah of the Planning Department stated that the T-2000 Plan, on which the present widening project is based, was adopted in 1978 after one and one-half years of public testimony and that the Metropolitan Plan was adopted in 1982 after five years of public discussion; he felt the amount of public input into the project has been substan- tial. He felt that the issue of the widening project being one of land use is questionable, but, if one were to assume it is, then one must consider that that the LCDC acknowledged the T-2000 Plan when it acknowledged the Metropolitan Plan. He referred to Policy 2 on page 29 of the T-2000 Plan which calls for a "street capacity adequate to maintain an acceptable level of mobil ity" and explains that "projects of the street and highway element of this transportation plan shall serve as a basis for future street and highway improvements." He said the plan also discussed traffic management techniques and alternative modes of transportation. He stated that the widening project is also listed on page 80 of the plan document. In response to testimony presented on alternative transportation modes, he said it is important that the council and the community MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 23, 1984 Page 18