CC Minutes - 04/13/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Evelyn McConneaughy, 1653 Fairmount Boulevard, said she represented the Eugene Natural Historic Society, which strongly favored Option E for the riverfront district because of the unique character of the area. She said that it should be maintained for its recreation and scenic values. Regarding the downtown district, she said that she almost favored retaining urban renewal for building a library but feared that the decision would not bind future councils. She called on the council to adopt Option A, terminate the district, because she believed the district had not worked. Bayard McConneaughy, 1653 Fairmount Boulevard, said that there was considerab;e University faculty opposition to the riverfront district and the research park. The majority of scientists he was acquainted with opposed the district, and he believed the same was true for the majority of the University community. He opposed tax increment districts, saying that the result was "slush funds" used for the interest of particular businesses or projects without a vote. Mr. McConneaughy said that large projects in Eugene should always be voted on by the people. Marcus Coffman, 1071 East 19th Avenue, said that he supported Option C for the downtown because he supported compact urban form. However, Mr. Coffman opposed the riverfront district, saying it had been created during a recession and economic conditions had changed since its inception. He supported Option E, terminate the district. He said that firms were attracted to Eugene for many reasons and it did not need the park to research new companies. New residents were drawn to Eugene for what he termed "the second paycheck," in the form of mountains, clean rivers, bicycle paths, and cultural amenities. He said that the riverfront was part of that second paycheck, and developing the riverfront in the name of attracting investment negated it. Mr. Coffman said that additionally, because Eugene lacked residents who were qualified to fill high-tech jobs, those jobs were being filled from out of state. Derritt Hodgekiss, William Middleton, and Alex Rook, spoke on behalf of the Men's and Women's rugby clubs regarding the lack of athletic fields at the University and asked the council for its support for a rapidly growing sport. Calan Taylor, 2000 Sylvan Street, said that the University lacked sufficient playing fields and those available to the general student body were comparable to those available to students at South Eugene High School. He said that currently, eight club sports teams use the south bank field for practices and games. That resulted in much conflict. He said that before the district, the area was designated to be developed as playing fields. He asked the council to reconsider the need for playing fields as he did not believe the district lived up to its expectations. Mr. Taylor said that any plan involving the University should be based on what would benefit students the most. Playing fields promoted a healthy life style and would be heavily used by students. He said it would be tragic if the last remaining open land on campus was used for private businesses such as restaurants and non-research related businesses. Kevin Aaron, 534 West 11th Avenue, said that he was opposed to development in the Willamette greenway except for restoration and education activities. He asked the council to "read between the lines" of statements coming from somebody claiming to speak on behalf of the University. He claimed that it had been difficult for citizens to obtain information about plans for the research park, and asserted that the planning committees appointed by University President David Frohnmeyer were "stocked with members who were known to be in agreement with development interests" and "off limits" to concerned students and faculty. Mr. Aaron said that the natural open MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1998 Page 12 7:30 p.m.