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Mr. Tharp said that the new plan was devoted primarily to rehabilitation, e infill, and the strengthening of the infrastructure of the new area through improvements to pedestrian corridors, streets, and the sewer system. Mr. Tharp said that the ERA will hold a hearing on the plan on September 22, 1981, and will then make a recommendation on the plan to the Eugene Planning Commission. He said that the ERA could pass the plan to the Planning Commission with or without a recommenation for adoption and could also revise the plan as it sees fit. Mr. Tharp said that the Planning Commission will have a study session on the plan and will hold a public hearing in November or December. The Planning Commissionls recommendation will then be passed on to the council for a public hearing and possible adoption in late December 1981 or early January 1982. Mr. Tharp said that staff had hoped for a decision before January 1, 1982, to capture the tax increment for the following calendar year, but that the process had taken longer than originally planned, with the result that the deadline might not be met. Mr. Lindberg explained that he had chaired the RPAC. He wanted to make it clear that despite the fact that no recommendation had been made on the plan, the committee had done a great deal of work and made many important decisions regarding the area. The committee had strongly emphasized development of a pedestrian and communication linkage between the Eugene Performing Arts Center and the downtown area through acquisition of property near the railroad tracks currently owned by the Burlington Northern Railroad. The committee had also favored housing rehabilitation efforts in the Whiteaker neighborhood and residen- tial and commmercial mixed-use development of the west side of the downtown area. e Ms. Wooten asked what effect capturing the tax increments for the study area would have on the taxing power of the overlapping jurisdictions. Mr. Tharp explained that over a ten-year period, the study area would draw $30 million from the tax rolls, but that the revitalization which this would finance would produce increased property values when returned to the tax rolls and would therefore more than repay what had been removed. Ms. Wooten asked if establishment of the study area as a renewal area would preclude designating the Four Corners area as a renewal area. Mr. Tharp responded that the legal renewal limit of 15 percent of the assessed valuation of a city would allow both the study area and the Four Corners area to be designated as renewal areas. Responding to further questions from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Tharp said that the plan developed by the RPAC would playa part in the long-range housing rehabilitation program to protect low-moderate income housing in the downtown area. He said that the issue of displacement must be balanced by the benefit of increased livability. He indicated that the study had favored preservation of existing structures. Ms. Wooten said she wished to discuss this trade-off further before the matter comes before the council. Mr. Lindberg said that as chairer of the RPAC he had received a letter from Acting Superintendent of 4-J Public Schools, Terry Lindquist, who said that the material contained in this study confirmed the school board's decision to close Lincoln School. Mr. Lindberg said that he had responded to Mr. Lindquist e that, on the contrary, the number-one goal of the study was rehabilitation and preservation of existing residences. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 14, 1981 Page 4