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would eliminate the requirement for a building permit for any improvements costing $35,000 or less, a <br />measure that would disallow contributions to political candidates from entities the candidates were <br />negotiating a contract with, a measure that would provide a property tax exemption for senior citizens, and a <br />measure that would create an immersion program for foreign language students. He commented that the <br />notion that building permits would not be needed was odd given that most regulations were for safety and <br />health reasons. He said he did not support any of Mr. Sizemore’s potential ballot measures. <br /> <br />City Manager Taylor acknowledged the hard work of the Eugene Airport for gaining direct flights to Los <br />Angeles and Las Vegas. He averred that those flights were “huge” in terms of economic development for the <br />community. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened a meeting of the Eugene <br />Urban Renewal Agency at 5:41 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />B. WORK SESSION: <br /> <br />Review of West Broadway Request for Qualifications Responses <br /> <br />City Manager Taylor averred that revitalization of the downtown area was “really just putting together a <br />string of successes” and making sure decisions were made thoughtfully and deliberately with the goal in <br />mind of having a vibrant 24-hour downtown. He underscored that the task before the council at the present <br />work session would be to select the team or teams that should move forward to negotiate the project details <br />with the City, and not to determine what those details should be at this time. He reiterated that this was only <br />the initial step in a multi-step process. He anticipated bringing back future decisions for council action. He <br />asked Susan Muir, Executive Director of the Planning and Development Department (PDD), to provide the <br />context for the discussion. <br /> <br />Ms. Muir felt this discussion represented a milestone as the decision before the council was an important <br />decision for the community. She stressed that PDD staff had tried to be objective in moving through the <br />responses. She noted that PDD added three people to the Eugene Redevelopment Advisory Committee <br />(ERAC): a tenant on Broadway, an individual representing the arts community, and a member of the 2000 <br />Downtown Vision Committee. <br /> <br />Denny Braud, Senior Development Analyst, stated that the West Broadway redevelopment area consisted of <br />the two blocks along Broadway between Willamette and Charnelton Streets. He reviewed the Request for <br />Qualifications (RFQ) process and the RFQs that were received. He conveyed staff’s recommendation to <br />select KWG Development Partners for the project. <br /> <br />Ms. Muir said that in talking to developers through the RFQ process, she surmised that they recognized the <br />city of Eugene was ready for this change. She related that in talking with similar cities across the country <br />about this type of revitalization, staff heard that developing a downtown such as the one in Eugene was like <br />a “20-year overnight success” as it would take a long time “to get there.” She underscored that PDD staff <br />made the recommendation to select KWG Development Partners in order to move forward to the next step. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked how much revenue the City received from the Broadway Place commercial space. Mr. <br />Braud indicated he could research the answer for her. Ms. Taylor remarked that this was significant as she <br />thought most of that space was currently vacant. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 3 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />