CC Minutes - 06/18/01 Work Session

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expansion at its Crescent property if a vote to fund the financial assistance failed. He explained that PeaceHealth was asking for $10 million more in assistance than the City was offering, and the hospital was also asking the City to share costs above a certain level. He said that the City could not agree to the hospital's proposal that its costs be capped and the City pick up the costs after that capped amount. Rather, the City proposed to cap its contribution. Regarding certainty of expansion, Mr. Johnson said the hospital proposed a clause that the City would support its expansion at the Crescent site if the revenue measure failed, and would expedite its work in building the new hospital. Mr. Johnson said that the City did not suggest alternative language in this area as its representatives believed that the City was already offering a substantial amount of assistance to the hospital. Mr. Johnson asked for comment from Ms. Bettman and Mr. Kelly about the reasons the City was negotiating with the hospital. Ms. Bettman thanked Mr. Johnson and Allen Lowe, Lew Bowers, and Richie Weinman of the Planning and Development Department for the work they had done throughout the negotiations. She identified four reasons to keep PeaceHealth in the city center: 1) provision of health care; 2) economics; 3) land use; and 4) transportation. Speaking to the first reason, Ms. Bettman said that Eugene-Springfield was fortunate to have two hospitals, which resulted in extremely high-quality health care and a choice of providers. She said that one must ask how the geographic change in location of one of those facilities would change the market and affect the provision of health care and choice. In terms of economic development, Ms. Bettman pointed to the City's commitment to preserving the city center in the form of policies and resources. She said that City was often short of tools in accomplishing its objectives; she suggested that keeping the hospital downtown would have more impact than several smaller initiatives. If the hospital moved north, downtown would lose 1,200 jobs at the hospital as well as jobs in businesses and support services that rely on the hospital. Those businesses would have to move north with the hospital. Ms. Bettman pointed out that the City declined $43 million in tax revenue from Hynix and spent several million dollars on infrastructure to support the facility for a total of 850 jobs, which were located at the periphery of the city. Regarding land use and transportation, Ms. Bettman thought a hospital at the Crescent site would produce sprawl, and the demographic shift would be intense, leaving the city center "looking like a ghost town." She thought the hospital's move could impel some its workers to move north to be closer to the hospital, which would create pressure to rezone predominantly residential land to commercial use and lead to metropolitan densities and intensities of uses from Chad Drive to Coburg. It would also increase pressure to expand the urban growth boundary. Ms. Bettman thought the hospital downtown was well-served with transit and alternative modes and its expansion in that area would be more manageable. She said that transportation challenges to the north were more expensive and extensive, and would change the landscape of the area completely. She acknowledged that no transportation analysis had been done, which would occur in the context of a permit application. However, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) stated that an elevated concrete flyover would likely be needed to accommodate traffic to the hospital, and that Coburg Road could not be expanded to handle the increased capacity. Ms. Bettman acknowledged the cost and pain of keeping the hospital in the city center, but also believed there would be cost and pain if the hospital moved north. If the City was willing to be proactive and keep the hospital in the core, it would have the added benefit of revitalizing downtown. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 2001 Page 2 Work Session