CC Minutes - 04/23/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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community's goals for the area. Other funds were needed for that, and extending the district across Broadway could be useful. Mr. Meisner asked if additional expansion to West Broadway and Mill Street could be accommodated by reducing the district in another place. Mr. Weinman said no. Mr. Meisner thought there was merit to including the west end and surrounding streets in the district. Mr. Meisner said that the City did not partner nor communicate well with the University of Oregon. He had learned that morning that the University was unaware the City had requested funding for the extension of the southbank bicycle path, and urged more communication. Ms. Taylor recalled extreme opposition from some to the entire plan because of environmental concerns. People had worked to prevent the plan's adoption. She thought their fears had turned out to be true. One of the results of the plan was a road to nowhere, and a large underpass under the railroad. Businesses had moved away from other places in the community to the park. She said that the money was easy to spend and the public had no control over how the money was spent. The money could be used for desired amenities in other places. Ms. Taylor called for public involvement in the any major spending decisions. Ms. Taylor suggested that rather that stimulate activity in the courthouse area, the City should work to stimulate activity in downtown. Ms. Nathanson agreed with Ms. Taylor that the public should be involved, and noted the time line, which provided for public involvement. Ms. Nathanson suggested a River Walk modeled on the Art Walk be organized between downtown and the area in question. Regarding expansion of the district, Ms. Nathanson said that there was not a lot of money involved and there were many ideas generated out of the Greater Downtown Vision that would require funding. She said that the money in question was needed to redevelop a part of the city in decline, and a location where the city turned its back on the river rather than embracing it. She suggested environmental mitigation be added to the list of projects. Mayor Torrey called for a second round of council comments. Mr. Kelly wanted language about environmental protections in the goals. Referring to page 43 in the draft plan, Mr. Kelly said that it discussed some amendments being adopted by the Urban Renewal Agency and some being adopted by the City Council, and asked staff to clarify that. He also requested more detail on who authorized the expenditure of significant dollars. Referring to page 37 of the draft plan, Mr. Kelly asked that the language on the upper Millrace include the desired day lighting throughout the courthouse area. Referring to the text in C(2)(a) on page 37 of the plan that referred to excessive dwelling unit density, Mr. Kelly suggested it was left over text and at odds with the council's goals. Page 36 included text that spoke to ensuring emergency vehicle access, and Mr. Kelly questioned why it needed to be mentioned explicitly as he assumed it would be a condition of any development. Mr. Kelly requested explanation of why it was relevant to mention the Riverfront Park Study in the draft plan. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 2003 Page 7