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e Mr. Lindberg said that Mr. Obie's reason for asking to delay this decision was precisely Mr. Lindberg's reason for wanting to proceed. Mr. Lindberg said that he is a member of the advisory committee considering expansion of the ERA boundary and an ERA member. He said that all the projects and areas being considered by the advisory committee are represented by neighborhood groups except that area under discussion. He felt that widespread input from the business and residential communities is a necessary part of any decision regard- ing the future of the ERA boundaries. e Ms. Miller responded to Councilor Obie1s remarks by stating that there have been a number of times when the council did not do what the affected neighborhood group wanted. . She felt that one person's encumbrance over a development pro- ject, such as that cited by Mr. Obie in relation to the Whiteaker Neighborhood, is another person's right to have a say on what goes on in the area where he lives, and that it was necessary to preserve opportunity for a dialogue between the two. Responding to the suggestion that the council postpone this issue until the new ERA boundaries are set, Ms. Miller said that once the new ERA boundary has been set, it may be advisable to pull back the boundaries of all the affected neighborhood organizations so that no one has to deal with too many layers of government. Ms. Wooten disagreed with Mr. Obie1s interpretation that this a black and white issue of businesses versus residents. She felt that there is room for compro- mise and cooperation between the two groups. She agreed that business people can speak directly to the council without being represented by a neighborhood group, but she felt that business people have trained themselves to use this process while others in the area may need help from such an organization in framing and voicing their concerns. Mayor Keller said that he had served on the task force which years ago had tried to bring businesses and the WNQP neighborhood group members together and that it just had not worked out. He did not want to force people into a group they did not want to belong to. He suggested that the council again offer the leadership to try to resolve the issues by ironing out diversity rather than enforcing neighborhood representation. Councilor Haws said he did not like either of the choices presented so far on this issue. He sought another alternative. He personally felt that neighbor- hood groups are for residents of an area, not for businesses. He asked if the boundaries could be expanded only for residential uses and not for commercial uses. Ms. Wooten noted that this suggestion would require a further change in the WNQP charter. The neighborhood group would have to discuss this before the council could act on it. Ruth Miller responded to Mr. Hawsl question. She said that WNQP could amend its charter to allow only residents of the area to vote on issues, but to allow everyone in the area to participate in discussion. Ms. Wooten noted that there are 50 dwelling units in the block between Charnel- ton and Lincoln and that the rest of this area is businesses. In the area between Lincoln and Washington, there are 600 dwelling units and few businesses. She therefore suggested that the council resolve the issue by choosing the Lincoln Street boundary alternative. . MlNUTES--Eugene City Council May 11, 1981 Page 19