CC Minutes - 05/09/07 Work Session

Home Browse Search

Mr. Poling, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to call the question. The vote on the motion was a 4:4; Ms. Bettman, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Zelenka, and Ms. Ortiz voting no, and Ms. Solomon, Mr. Poling, Mr. Clark, and Mr. Pryor voting yes. Mayor Piercy voted in opposition to the motion and it failed on a final vote of 5:4. Mayor Piercy said the Beam proposal currently proposed to use the Aster site for surface parking, which she did not think was the best use of the property. The company indicated the proposal was a placeholder as it believed there was a better use for it. She asked KWG about innovative solutions to helping local businesses to stay within the project footprint, and representatives of the firm indicated they had ideas about how that could occur. Mr. Zelenka said the MOU would commit the City to KWG and Beam as partners, but the details would remain to be worked out. He noted his proposal called for relocation and transition planning for local businesses. He did not think the Beam proposal took the City much farther than it had been five years ago, when the Washburn and Centre Court buildings were fully occupied. Mr. Zelenka said he would propose two amendments to his motion, one that the work of the committee be done by the end of August and one incorporating elements of Ms. Bettman’s motion. Ms. Bettman said she received a call from the owner of Lucky’s Tavern who said her property had not been optioned and she did not want to sell. She indicated she knew of at least two other owners whose properties were not optioned and who did not want to sell, but whose properties were included in the footprint of the KWG proposal. She thought it overly optimistic to think the public process could be completed in three months. She thought going forward with the KWG proposal was a big mistake and that it was also a mistake to presume the businesses who did not want to sell would be a part of the project. The motion failed, 6:2; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting yes. Mr. Zelenka amended his motion, with the concurrence of his second, Ms. Ortiz, as follows: Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to select Beam and KWG as the developers for the West Broadway project, and to direct the agency director to initiate actions related to agreements with the developers, a public process that includes a citizen advisory committee with an independent planner/facilitator whose work will be completed by the end of August in time for City Council action in September after summer break. As pertains to the re- maining portion of the West Broadway development site footprint, the motion further di- rects the agency director to secure the services of a qualified urban planner to oversee the public process for the remainder of the West Broadway development site footprint, and to establish a West Broadway Development Advisory Committee to work with a qualified ur- ban designer to identify preferred design elements, mix of uses for the remaining footprint of the West Broadway development site, as well as a transition plan for existing businesses. The ad hoc committee shall be comprised of 11 members, one each appointed by a council member and three by the mayor. In addition, the agency director shall secure services of a qualified consultant to perform a market analysis and economic feasibility studies for the remaining portion of the site. This research and analysis will inform the Urban Renewal Agency and ad hoc committee’s deliberations. Option agreements, financial tools, and a re- location transition plan consistent with the agency’s May 9 discussion, with all proposed MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 9, 2007 Page 8 Work Session