CC Minutes - 07/14/03 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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that she was willing to forego them to promote desirable development in the downtown area. She stressed that many people in this area were struggling to pay their property taxes. Councilor Meisner clarified that the council was being asked to approve an expansion of the MUPTE boundary and not being asked to approve any exemptions at this time. As such, he noted, there would be more chance to solicit citizen input. He expressed appreciation for the opportunity to promote a variety of growth in the downtown area. Councilor Kelly remarked that he had never read the legal notices section of the want-ads. He suggested that some thought be given to how public awareness of hearings in general could be improved. 5. PUBLIC HEAR1NG: Resolution 4766 Authorizing the City Manager to Make Application to the State of Oregon Economic and Community Development Department for Designation of a Vertical Housing Development Zone City Manager Taylor requested that Mr. Weinman briefly present the information already provided to the council during the work session of June 13. Mr. Weinman noted that the Planning Commission had recommended the same boundary as the downtown plan boundary, as indicated on Attachment B in the council packet. He noted that, should the City adopt this zone, it would only affect the City taxes. Other jurisdictions would also have to approve it for additional property taxes to also be exempted. Councilor Bettman commented that there were some residentially zoned pockets. She expressed concern that this would create a financial incentive to apply for the zone changes, thus potentially eliminating the existing pockets of residential housing. She wondered if it would be possible to adopt the vertical housing development zone and exempt all residential areas. Mr. Weinman responded that the council could design the boundary in a multitude of different ways, but pointed out that such a program was for residential uses. Councilor Bettman asserted that there was a lot of commercial property in the downtown area and a high rate of vacancy. She explained that she saw no benefit to rezoning any residential areas to commercial areas. She requested that language be added to the resolution to exempt residential areas from the vertical housing development zone. Councilor Meisner requested that the council be provided with a map indicating the different zones and a map indicating the land uses in the area. He said that he suspected that there was very little residential zoning usage in the downtown area. Jan Childs, of the Planning and Development Department, stated that the map would not likely be "100 percent current" but that she would provide them with what was available. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 14, 2003 Page 16 Regular Meeting