CC Minutes - 01/26/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Greg McLauchlan, 2401 West 22nd Avenue, stated that he was president of Friends of Eugene. He said he believed most of the proposed policies represented sensible directions for creating a more liveable, environmentally friendly, and equitable City. He said he felt there were two major shortcomings of the proposed policies: (1) Language about the Urban Growth Boundary had been watered down from that originally proposed; and (2) Language about alternative transportation had been watered down from that originally proposed. He suggested that the key to the success of the policies was whether they would be melded into a comprehensive plan with measurable results and accountability and that Policy 4 and Policy 7 were dangerously vague. He recommended that only persons who have a demonstrated commitment to the kind of policies proposed for adoption should be considered for employment as Director of the Planning and Development Department. David G. Hinkley, 1308 Jefferson, stated that he appreciated the work and time the council had given to development of the proposed policies. He said he was concerned that compromise and reaching consensus to arrive at their final form would not give the community what it needed. He said he believed the policies could be used to support arguments supporting multiple and diverse points of view and that "fights and debates" regarding principles in the policies had only been postponed and moved to the venue of implementation. He said he was concerned that those with the most effective debating skills would ultimately prevail. He recommended that the council approve the proposed policies with changes suggested by testimony in the public hearing, that staff be directed to track how the policies were used to support various arguments, and that the policies be reconsidered by the council in 18 months. Cornelius Swart, 658 Van Buren Street, stated that he worked with the Eugene Code Green project which was concerned with networking ideas related to City zoning laws. He said he was concerned that Policy 9 was overly vague and could be interpreted to enable establishment of restrictive housing maintenance standards. Jan Spencer, 283 North Polk Street, proffered fliers advertising a public interest forum on February 4 in Harris Hall which would feature 24 Eugene area public interest groups. He said he was concerned about revisions which had been made to Growth Management Policies since they were considered by the Planning Commission. He said he felt changes created a greater distance from views held by a majority of citizens--the Urban Growth Boundary is to be "supported" not "maintained," "maximizing" alternatives to the automobile should be returned, increased public oversight and approval should be provided for expenditure of public funds used to guide development, private infrastructure should be paid for by private funds. He provided printed information which he requested be duplicated for councilors. Robert Bolman, 878 Almaden Street, said he believed the proposed Growth Management Policies were a thoughtful attempt to gently move Eugene in the correct direction, but did not provide a clearly defined vision of what the City should look like in the future. He suggested that European cities could be a model for local development. He said he believed developers should be convinced of the profits available in high density, city-center development. Frank Drysdale, 912 Van Buren, said he believed many neighborhoods of Eugene were beautiful and loved, but that many interpreted the actions of City policies as an assault on neighborhoods. He said he had previously recommended that a formal environmental review policy should be developed, but that he did not believe proposed Policy 17 went far enough. He said events Minutes--Eugene City Council January 26, 1998 Page 10 7:30 p.m.