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

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He stressed that the commission felt that hospitals did not belong in R-l, R-1.5, and C-1 zones, but that the commission was in basic agreement with the matrix. He referred the council to the full Planning Commis- sion report contained in the council packet. Allen Hancock, 2244 Alder Street, spoke in support of the Planning Commission recommendation to adopt amendments to Chapter 9 of the Eugene code, because it encouraged use of the existing infrastructure by placing the hospital close to other medical facilities, transportation facilities, sewer, etc. He asserted that it would not impact existing residential neighborhoods. He commented that it made sense to build a hospital close to the people. Jack Roberts, 2330 Park Grove Drive, speaking as executive director of the Lane Metro Partnership, stated that the partnership did not care where the hospital was placed, but rather that the metro area of Eugene/Springfield maintained two hospitals as they were important economic assets for our region. He commended the staff recommendation as it made it easier for a hospital to locate in the City of Eugene. He opined that the Planning Commission recommendation was "180 degrees" from the staff recommendation and would hinder the City's ability to induce a hospital to locate here. He expressed concern that the decision could be made prior to the finalization of the partnership between Triad and McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. He called the existing Land Use Code regarding hospitals an improvement over the Planning Commission's recommendation. David Hinkley, 1350 Lawrence Street, #6, stated that a hospital was an important part of the civic infra- structure. He likened the staff recommendation to an exercise whereby the locations of fire stations were determined by throwing darts at a map. He felt that the location of hospital should be, in part, based on placing it so that it provided the largest portion of the city's population with the shortest trip to the hospital. He opined that neither proposal manifested the City's hospital needs, but that of the two, the option presented by the Planning Commission was least objectionable. He recommended that the City do the following: · Develop an overlay zone so that a zoning code with a set of criteria similar to a conditional use permit was in place to facilitate the location of a hospital. · Start a Metro Plan amendment now to shorten development time when the appropriate pro- posal for a hospital development was made, leaving only the zoning change to contend with. · Decide where the City wanted a hospital and then develop a set of incentives to make devel- opment at that location advantageous. · Make a list of where the City would not want a hospital and create disincentives to discour- age such development at those locations. Mr. Hinkley felt that the best option was the development of a public hospital owned by the City, but recognized that it was not economically possible. Mr. Hinckley related his experience of being transported to the hospital and expressed gratitude that he was able to arrive at the hospital in a short amount of time due to its convenient location. He reiterated the importance of not developing a hospital that would force many of the local citizenry to be transported for emergency care via a long and circuitous route. Rosie Pryor, 2671 East Wilshire Drive, stated that she worked for the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 7 Regular Meeting