CC Minutes - 11/19/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Weinman provided a brief overview. He stated that previously the City Council and the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency had adopted motions to initiate the process to update the Riverfront Renewal District Plan. He emphasized that the most important piece of this was the need to extend the life of the district before it expired in 2005. He noted that, through the process, new draft language had been reviewed, projects to be included in the plan had been identified, and an extension of the boundary of the district had been approved. He highlighted the attachments in the agenda item summary (ALS). He said the amendments to the plan were key to the implementation of the vision of the greater downtown and the Downtown Plan Update. He conveyed staff's recommendation for approval. Mayor Torrey acknowledged that the motion, made at the beginning of the meeting, was still on the floor. Mr. Kelly referred to page 7 of the agenda packet and asked if the boundary expansion had been included in the financial projections. Financial Analysis Manager Sue Cutsogeorge affirmed that it had not been included. Mr. Kelly asked staff to provide a sense of the financial magnitude of the extended boundary. Noting that the City had spent $6.3 million on the future courthouse site, Mr. Kelly expressed concern that the City would not recoup its expenditure from the sale. Mike Sullivan, Division Manager for the Community Development Division of the Planning and Development Department, replied that the numbers were a conservative projection on the sale of the remainder of the property. He stated that the actual settlement with the Government Services Administration (GSA) was higher than the number that was included in the original Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Mr. Kelly said he hoped the City would "come out even" when all of the property was sold. Mr. Meisner voiced his agreement with Mr. Kelly that the land values would reflect the whole expanded district. In response to a question from Mr. Meisner, Mr. Sullivan said the restaurant space was for sale. He added, in response to a further question, that the Autocraft property would remain whole and was priced at $550,000. Mr. Meisner supported the motion. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Weinman stated that the Citizen Involvement Committee had provided input to this project prior to being disbanded. Ms. Taylor asked how urban renewal contributed to Growth Management Policy 16, supporting local environmentally sensitive business. Mr. Weinman replied that there would hopefully be more development in that area and some of the businesses in the research park were focused on such endeavors. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Charles Kupper, consultant, said the council could shut an urban renewal district down unless there was an existing bond issue. Ms. Taylor registered her opposition to urban renewal districts on principle. She hoped every effort would be made to involve the public before the project was moved forward. She averred there would be more taxes collected and the tax revenues would be allowed to be spent without sufficient project review. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 19, 2003 Page 5 Work Session