05/11/1981 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. e . Mayor Keller said that the time allotted for public testimony had been used up. Councilors agreed to hear briefly from the rest of the citizens who had asked to testify. Ron Schmaedick, 1742 West 34th Place, said that Mr. Andersen had indicated by his remarks that he is a newcomer to this process. Mr. Schmaedick said that the MU zoning involved a compromise on the part of WNQP which had wanted consider- ably more down-zoning in the area. He felt that the whole downtown retail area and downtown core increased housing density development will be put in jeopardy if the council agrees to the proposed boundary change. Julie Hill, 955 Louis, represented L. R. Brant Investments, which owns property at 1001 Washington Street. She said that her firm opposed annexation of the MU district to the existing WNQP area because the planning uses in the two areas are not the same. She felt that the neighborhood group's interest in single-family residential living would be in conflict with City goals for increased downtown housing density. Mayor Keller closed the public hearing and thanked those who had spoken for keeping their remarks brief and to the point. Councilor Wooten wished to make it clear that at no time does representation by a neighborhood organization pre-empt access to the City Council by any group or individual. Ms. Schue asked staff for clarification of the role of neighborhood organiza- tions relative to the tree-cutting ordinance. Neighborhood Liaison Ruth Miller responded that she did not believe that tree cutting is referred to neighborhood groups. - She said that neighborhood groups had in the past complained about trees being cut, but that there is no referral process for tree cutting. Ms. Schue referred to a reference made in testimony to the proposed expansion of the Eugene Renewal Area boundary. She said that she knew that there is a group currently studying this, and asked staff for information on the time line of the study and on the boundaries within which the study group is working. Jim Farah of the Planning Department indicated that the study area boundary goes to Washington Street. He thought that the task force was about two-thirds of the way through its process and would be making its recommendations on any boundary expansion to the Renewal Agency in mid-summer. Mr. Obie asked staff for information on the past secession from WNQP of the area now being considered for annexation. He wondered how this had been done, whether a vote was taken, and how many people were involved. Ruth Miller referred to a memo from former Assistant City Manager Keith Martin which said that a majority of those present at a WNQP meeting had voted to withdraw the area from the neighborhood organization. She indicated that the item had not been on the agenda and had not been publicized in advance. Councilor Obie asked if it were possible for secession to occur againr Ruth Miller responded that this was possible, but indicated that the WNQP charter had been changed since the original secession to require that there must be prior public notice of agenda items. Responding to another question from Mr. Obie, Ruth Miller said that she did not know how many people had been involved in the vote to secede. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 11, 1981 Page 16