Agenda Packet 11-13-18 Meeting - AMENDED

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MINUTES – Eugene City Council October 24, 2018 Page 2 Work Session •Suggestion made that Planning Commission provide input to the council on reinstituting aCitizen Involvement Committee. •There is tension between some of the pillars of the Envision Eugene process: the goal ofprotecting neighborhoods vs the desire to increase density and limit sprawl. There is also alevel of incivility displayed by some members of the community towards the work of thePlanning Commission and council; important to remind and educate the public about theprocess. •The issues that emerged during the South Willamette project are a good example of aprocess that should have been referred back to the Planning Commission for furtherdeliberation. •The City Council needs to provide leadership around neighborhood livability and densityissues. •Important to remember that success comes with positive, incremental changes. •Encourage the public to attend Planning Commission and City Council work sessions andmeetings that occur before issues are scheduled for a public hearing. •Doing minimum outreach and public involvement on land use issues is not effective;consider going beyond what is required. •Improving public involvement and outreach is always helpful, but public should also beaccountable and make an effort to be engaged. •More regular updates on what the Planning Commission is working on would be helpful;particularly ward-specific information. •A greater culture of engagement is needed; important to appreciate, desire, and activelysolicit input from the community. •Consider diversity of city when designing public engagement efforts; invest in publicengagement up front for big community issues. •Consider use of reader boards to advertise issues and opportunities for involvement. •Clear direction from the City Council to the Planning Commission is very helpful; usebenchmarks and motions to clarify goals and direction. •Those in the community who practice strategic ignorance or are unaccepting of ademocratically made decision can hold the City Council hostage on an issue; recognize thosesituations where adequate outreach has occurred. •Project timelines may be dictated by state law or other factors; may limit the amount ofinvolvement. •Additional funding should be directed to neighborhood newsletters as a means to keepresidents informed. •If the council receives a significant amount of conflicting testimony on an issue, that is agood indication that the issue should be referred back to the Planning Commission. •Important for the Planning Commission to consider and present the potential consequencesof a decision when advising the council.The meeting adjourned at 1:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting: here. November 13, 2018, Meeting - Item 3A