05/11/1981 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e L Byron Baker, 824 Martin Street, represented property he owns at 352 West 12th and on Lincoln Street, in the area proposed for annexation. He said that citizens can speak to the council and do not need to be represented by neigh- borhood groups. He urged councilors not to think of this as a commercial versus residential issue, because he felt that the issues would change with time. He passed around a clipping from the January-February issue of Industrial Develop- ment Magazine which cataloged all the layers of bureaucacy and government through which industrial permits must pass. He urged the council not to create an additional layer of government for businesses in this area to deal with. Wallace L. Mull, 275 West 13th Avenue, said that he resided in the area under discussion. He did not believe that the figure Mr. Andersen gave of 650 resi- dences between 7th and 13th avenues and Charnel ton and Lincoln streets was accurate. He objected to being represented by a group which has veto power over issues concerning him and his property. He was a member of the group which seceded from WNQP and did not want to rejoin. He asked the council to "protect the rights of businessmen according to the constitution of the United States and not according to some neighborhood group." Dale Ber~, 451 West 13th Avenue, said that he owns a half block of property between ashington and Lawrence streets and a quarter block between Lawrence and the alley on 13th Avenue. He said that he had not received newsletters from WNQP. He was not interested in being represented by WNQP and was satisfied with the rapport between businesses in the area and the City Council. Theodore A. Larsen, 1100 Charnel ton Street, said that he is the owner of Poole- Larsen Funeral Home which has been at the corner of 11th and Charnelton for over 40 years. He did not want a neighborhood group to represent businesses in the area because he felt that such groups are primarily concerned with topics such as single-family housing, parks, and recreation. He preferred direct communi- cation with the City Council and did not welcome another level of government. Margaret Ellis, 2486 Grovedale Drive, Springfield, said she owns three business lots and four residential lots at the corner of 12th and Lincoln. She felt comfortable with dealing with the City Council because councilors are elected. She felt that neighborhood representatives are self-appointed and not responsible to all the people. She felt that neighborhood groups were useful to deal with issues such as crime prevention, but that they did not need to be formal. She said that neighborhood groups speak with an implied larger authority than is justified by the small number of people who attend their meetings. David L. Seamans, 292 West 12th Avenue, concurred with the remarks made by others who had spoken in opposition to the annexation. Stan Kurilo, OD, 272 West 11th Avenue, said he had been a property owner in the area since 1971. The building in which his optometric office is housed has been used for that purpose for over 50 years. He felt that the Washington/Jefferson couplet is a major divider between the existing WNQP and the area proposed for annexation. He said that this boundary had also been recognized by the ERA Expansion Study Committee. Dr. Kurilo said that even with the mixed-use zone which had been applied to the subject area, there is a potential for over 70 percent of the area to be developed with commercial uses. He stated that the existing WNQP area only has ten-percent commercial property. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 11, 1981 Page 15