CC Minutes - 09/08/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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that issue was postponed the worse the situation would get. He said that if the legislature did not meet the challenge, it would continue to lose credibility among the voters. City Manager Taylor indicated that Mr. Heuser would prepare a report on the recent session and would be available to answer questions. Mr. Pap~ asked that the report include recommendations for improvements to the committee process as well as a discussion of what went well. C. Work Session: Disposition of Westmoreland School Property The council was joined for the item by Public Works Director Kurt Corey and Planning and Development Director Tom Coyle. Mr. Corey reminded the council that the 4J School District was closing several schools and disposing of several existing school sites as surplus property, including the Westmoreland School. He said that during the summer, staff provided the council with information about those sites, and that information was included in the Agenda Item Summary. Mr. Corey called the council's attention to a map showing the Eugene parks service areas and school service areas. He noted that Barb Bellamy and John Lauch from 4J School District were also available to answer questions. Mayor Torrey called for council comments and questions. Ms. Bettman believed that the issue went beyond the immediate site and touched on the subject of the 4J sites, in addition to other infill opportunities in the urban core, as they related to the City's growth management policies, which called for higher densities. She said that the district intended to sell part of the site to the City to landbank for high-density low-income development. She assumed that 4J would use the residual and rezone it for higher-density housing or mixed use and then sell it, so at some point the entire site would be developed for high densities. As that occurred, the neighborhood would be burdened with such things as congestion and an amenity in the form of the open space created by the school use would be lost. She agreed the City should densify and do infill development, but contended that initially, the City had considered design standards and amenities that enhanced those higher densities to ensure such developments were community enhancements. Ms. Bettman suggested that the City convert part of the property into a neighborhood park to serve the area south of 18th Avenue, or consider developing a pocket park as a compromise with the district, wherein both parties donated a half-acre of each parcel. She said that residents of high-density developments, particularly children, needed a place to recreate. She maintained that children living in the high-density developments would be attracted to the inadequate sidewalks and the street, potentially leading to an accident. Mr. Kelly wanted to ensure the council gave clear direction to staff. He believed that the subject before the council was related to how the community did infill development to achieve higher densities and satisfy other community goals related to transportation and employment. He said the surplus school sites presented the council with potentially the largest infill projects it would see. If that occurred, the development should be done right to demonstrate that it could be done. He looked to Mr. Coyle for specific ideas on how that could be accomplished. He noted that Growth Management Policy 9 discussed the need to mitigate the impact of high-density and infill MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 6 Work Session