CC Minutes - 01/31/07 Work Session

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finance, politics and community will. He did not think there was agreement on what “significant” meant and progress would not be made until there was a common understanding. Mayor Piercy pointed out that downtown revitalization was being treated as a priority but not articulated as a goal. She said that the goal encompassed many current activities in the downtown area, including th development at 10 Avenue and Charnelton Street, a City Hall complex, the Park Blocks and the Farmer’s Market. Ms. Bettman said the City had taken great strides in the last decade toward revitalization of downtown, but it would not happen overnight. She said no one project would undo years of misdirected economic development. She pointed to the library as a community-oriented development that anchored the area. She said the council’s purpose to serve the public did not always translate into doing what a private developer wanted. She believed that community-based economic diversity was needed in downtown and that consolidating property into fewer and fewer hands was a mistake. She said the highest priorities for downtown were people and activity, adding that the City’s most significant role would be subsidizing housing downtown. Ms. Taylor asserted it was important to enhance the assets of the City. She said cities that were successful at revitalization efforts began by concentrating on their positive attributes, such as being a center for music or having historical significance. She said Eugene’s two biggest assets were the Saturday Market and Farmer’s Market. She urged that revitalization efforts focus on completing one project at a time instead of trying to do a bit of everything all at once. Ms. Taylor thought there had been many mistakes with urban renewal, such as demolishing historic buildings. She was not happy with the option to buy property with no plan for its use and was opposed to having a “theme park” in downtown. She said the small, independent businesses that were successful should be encouraged as part of enhancing existing assets. Mr. Clark agreed with Mr. Pryor about the importance of defining “significant” and added that there should also be a discussion about the word “facilitate” and determining the appropriate role for the City. He saw the downtown initiative as similar to the sustainability initiative in terms of developing a toolbox of strategies. He was interested in finding appropriate ways to encourage growth of the Saturday and Farmer’s markets. Mr. Pryor mentioned the Oakway Mall area as an example of significant revitalization. He said transforma- tion of the mall into a dynamic and impressive retail area required a major commitment. He said that transformation was an example of what he was looking for in downtown and hoped the council could reach agreement on a common vision. Mr. Zelenka pointed out that the Oakway Mall was redeveloped with no assistance from the City. He said th there were many good projects underway in downtown, including the housing developments at 8 Avenue th and Lincoln Street and 10 Avenue and Charnelton Street. He said a revitalized downtown needed people, and that meant transforming the infrastructure so it was more livable and provided an appropriate mix of housing and commercial activities, combining both local and national businesses. He was interested in what role the City could play; those things the City could do to facilitate revitalization could be listed as part of the goal. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 31, 2007 Page 3 Work Session