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Mr. Sorenson said that the plan amendments represented a good opportunity for the Eugene City <br />Council to work with the board on the public's business, particularly given the large number of <br />issues affecting both jurisdictions. He said that if the elected officials were given additional <br />information not included in the record, the public should be given an opportunity to respond to <br />that information. <br /> <br />Mr. Sorenson believed that the statement on page 7 of the staff notes was significant: "In <br />summary, the above tables show that nearly all the proposed changes slightly favor the <br />development designation compared to the criteria in the existing plan." He said that it was <br />significant for those concerned about the need for balance between industrial development and <br />wetlands protection. It appeared the planning commissions had identified improvements that <br />protected the wetlands while slightly favoring development. <br /> <br />Mr. Sorenson said that to put the issue in context, Governor John Kitzhaber has invited <br />Willamette Valley citizens to a forum to discuss the future of the Willamette Basin. Issues of <br />livability and congestion were directly related to planning efforts such as WEWP. He thought <br />Oregonians wanted their livability and the natural environment protected. He agreed with Ms. <br />Swanson Gribskov that the plan was a nationally significant model, and encouraged the elected <br />officials to schedule adoption of the plan amendments soon. <br /> <br />Mr. Green noted his support for Mr. Cornacchia's information request. <br /> <br />Mr. Green said that the City's SPLASH curriculum educated young children about the value of <br />water and water resources. The curriculum indicated statements about the value of protecting <br />wetlands as well as the economic value of wetlands. Mr. Green said that the elected officials <br />should keep the latter point in mind. <br /> <br />Mr. Green said that everybody cares about wetlands. He thought all those present were <br />supportive of wetlands protection. However, he thought Mr. Cornacchia was appropriately <br />seeking some middle ground and a plan that all could support before the community in a unified <br />fashion. He supported that approach. Mr. Green asked if the elected officials were willing to <br />work toward that middle ground. <br /> <br />Mr. Green said that, like Ms. Nathanson, he did not want the integrity or credibility of the plan to <br />be jeopardized. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Green about the proposed date for action, Ms. Childs said <br />that the process had gone on for some time, and there were specific undesignated sites in the <br />plan to be resolved as well as the new proposed designations that needed to be added to the <br />plan. <br /> <br />Mr. Green acknowledged the importance of both future business opportunities in West Eugene <br />and the importance of wetlands protection. He said that he was very concerned that future <br />business opportunities not be lost. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson questioned how the elected officials would redress the situation if research <br />indicated that the supply of special light industrial or commercial land had been significantly <br />impacted by wetlands protection. She did not think it was appropriate to address the issue of the <br />supply of industrial land through the WEWP adoption process, which was focused on federal and <br />State requirements for wetlands protection. Ms. Nathanson said that the elected officials should <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 8, 1998 Page 5 <br /> 11:30 a.m. <br /> <br /> <br />