CC Minutes - 02/12/07 Work Session

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constituents who requested of him not to let this get drowned into a process that would go on forever. He said that EWEB had a real interest in that also. He said that having everyone at the table made sense to him. He said that he hoped that this would be given consideration. Mr. Poling asked if there was any idea of how long the master planning process would take. Ms. Laurence said that the minimum time would be six months to nine months. She said that the factor expanding the time had to do with how participatory the process was and how quickly a broad agreement could be reached. Mr. Poling said that Strategy 1 seemed to describe what should be happening because it would get the master planning process going. He said that it did not commit EWEB to selling the property and it did not commit the City to buying the property. He said that the citizens, EWEB, and the City would all have a say in the plan. Then the property could be sold at the maximum amount of the purchase price to a developer who would have to follow the master plan. He thought that this would be a win/win situation. He said that the motion simply directed the City Manager to work with EWEB to pursue Strategy 1. He said that he thought that action needed to be taken for EWEB’s benefit and to protect that valuable property. City Manager Dennis Taylor said that was exactly what he and Mr. Berggren were recommending and that, regardless of what was done, the first step was to initiate master planning. Mr. Poling said that by initiating the master planning process early, he thought that a plan for the optimal use of the property could be developed in which there would be open space, bike paths, and mixed use of commercial and residential land. Ms. Solomon said that Strategy 1 made the most sense to her and involved all the players, including the community. She noted that Eugene’s community had a strong voice and a great diversity of opinion and ideas. She thought that this would lead to a very thoughtful process for developing a master plan. Mr. Brown referred to Mr. Clark’s comments about Cottage Grove and said that he had been very involved in that process. He said that one of the most critical factors in getting the Cottage Grove project completed was the timing and not the numbers. He said that timing was just as critical as anything in the process. He said that everyone needed to be cognizant of the fact that EWEB needed resolution in order to avoid uncertainty, which would not work. Mr. Farmer cautioned people against being too optimistic about how quickly the process would move. He said that while he respected Ms. Laurence’s optimism, he pointed out that the Research Park took 10 years under this same process. He clarified that the EWEB Board had not yet finalized its position on the potential strategies. Ms. Bettman said that she agreed that the planning process needed to be collaborative. She said that while it was very understandable, EWEB’s impetus was to maximize the profitability and financial value of the property. She said that the City’s interest that the river was a significant resource and that the redevelop- ment of the property needed to be done consistent with certain criteria and values of the City as underscored in the Downtown Plan and all other plans. She said that, therefore, she believed strongly that the master planning process should be managed by the City with EWEB and other stakeholders at the table. She agreed that the timeline was important and should not take four years to complete. She noted that if the City exercised its option to purchase the property, it would have five years to plan for it. She said that she thought that the process would go move smoothly it the City managed it because the City would be able to capture more of the community’s sentiment. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 12, 2007 Page 9 Work Session