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to the City of Springfield and that it was “obviously above and beyond” what the MWMC needed. She <br />opined it would be “wise stewardship” to retain the property. <br /> <br />City Manager Taylor asked the City Council to resist the amendment for the following reasons: <br />1. It would require an additional partition; <br />2. It would renege on the City’s initial commitment to the MWMC; <br />3. It would add more cost, both for the cost of the partition and for what the City would be assessed <br />as part of the Local Improvement District (LID) for River Avenue, given that this would give <br />MWMC a smaller footprint. <br /> <br />Councilor Pryor said while he could appreciate the desire to retain property that might not be needed by the <br />MWMC, he was also aware that this was part of the original deal, and this deal involved a variety of <br />funding sources. He questioned the notion of MWMC doing something with the property that the City of <br />Eugene would not do with it, such as developing it. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruffier assured the council that the property outside the fence line was planned to be open space and <br />there were no plans to develop it. In fact, he pointed out that the site currently operated under a CUP that <br />specified that this land would be maintained as open space. <br /> <br />Councilor Pryor was not persuaded that the City needed to preserve this land in order to protect it. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruffier reminded the council that the options before it included the transfer of easements necessary to <br />maintain the bikeway. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Councilor Ortiz, City Manager Taylor stated that the change would not <br />affect the properties that were not abutting the road. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman said that as she researched one of the zoning land use code updates, she learned that no <br />CUPs had been denied in over ten years. She alleged that whatever the applicant wanted could be provided <br />for or permitted with some conditions and the conditions were flexible. She asked if Mr. Ruffier could <br />guarantee that the property would not be developed and that it would be preserved in open space in <br />perpetuity. Mr. Ruffier replied that he could not. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman opined that the amendment was a “good compromise.” <br /> <br />Roll call vote; the amendment failed, 4:3; councilors Bettman, Taylor, and Ortiz voting in <br />favor. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Councilor Kelly, City Manager Taylor affirmed that the motion could <br />include language that would indicate that the City was retaining its easements for bicycle paths and City <br />facilities. <br /> <br />Councilor Kelly offered a friendly amendment to the motion that would add language indicating that the <br />City would retain easements for bicycle paths and City facilities. Councilor Solomon accepted the friendly <br />amendment, as did the second. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 10, 2006 Page 11 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />