CC Minutes - 09/11/02 Work Session

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Ms. Bettman was concerned about the size of the commercial development, saying the developers were not looking to the future but rather to the past. She asked if what was being proposed increased VMTs or increased the use of transit as the latter was the whole reason for nodal development. She called for that analysis to be done so the City could determine how far it could go to compromise its standards before the resulting development was just another subdivision. Mayor Torrey determined there was no objection to extending the item for the item to 12:45 p.m. Mr. Fart commended the plan. He said that 50,000 square feet was not a lot of room for a grocery store. Many slightly larger stores were closing because they were undersized in comparison to the current retail market. He asked about the viability of a 50,000-square-foot grocery. Mr. Fart also asked staff to describe a typical two-story retail development. Mr. Yeiter said that the commercial center at 40th and Donald was mentioned frequently by the Planning Commission as a model. The commission recommended two functional floors rather than one floor and a mezzanine, for example. Mr. Farr expressed concern about the proposed ban on drive-through services in the node. He said that an integral part of a bank's business was drive-through service, and further noted the popularity of drive-through coffee establishments. He suggested that more compromises were in order, and hoped they were made to ensure the commercial uses in the node were functional. Responding to a question from Mr. Rayor regarding the differences and similarities between the proposed development plans and the composite Satre-Simpson diagram, Mr. Yeiter said there were many ways a developer could arrange the building on site and meet the intent of the code staff would ask the council to adopt. Staff attempted to ensure the critical components related to pedestrian orientation were included in that code. Mr. Yeiter said that the two development plans were "what if" scenarios, or ways the developers think they might meet the code requirements. He said that the developers' plans for the commercial area continued to evolve. He added that neither the composite diagram nor the plans show two-story commercial on the site. Mr. Rayor said that it appeared that the January 23, 2002, Simpson Concept Plan, showed a 50,000-square-foot grocery store and two-story commercial development east of Garden Way. Mr. Yeiter believed that the focus of those plans was on the building height rather than on two functional floors. Mr. Rayor asked if there was less connectivity in the developers' plans than was envisioned in the nodal plan. Mr. Yeiter said the developers' plans met the City's standards for connectivity. Mr. Rayor thought it interesting the developers' plans were not too divergent from the City's plans. Mr. Yeiter indicated that the City's planning effort had an impact on the plans, and the plans had evolved to meet City objectives as work proceeded. There were a few code requirements that the developers objected to as being financially infeasible. He noted that, just in case, the developers had applied for a land partition and planned unit development to ensure that their plans were reviewed under the old code. However, the developers preferred to see a nodal special area zone that worked for them financially. Mr. Rayor asked where the developers were in their planning. Mr. Yeiter did not know and suggested Mr. Rayor ask the developers that question at the hearing. However, it was Mr. Yeiter's understanding that the developers would like to sort out the land ownership and begin commercial construction in summer 2003. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2002 Page 4 Work Session