CC Minutes - 09/14/98 Work Session

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In response to a question from Mr. Meisner, Mr. Watt said another rising initiative focuses on watershed/water environment issues, i.e., a spinoff of the Clean Water Act and the Oregon Plan on Endangered Species. Mr. Lee said the forum was an important exercise for the valley, calling it crucial for understanding by both officials and the public the context in which these decisions are being made. He asked Mr. Watt to elaborate on the "choices" mentioned in the report. Mr. Watt said, in the shod term, it describes what "could be." He added that the "would be" was being developed jointly by Oregon State University (©SU) and the University of Oregon (U©) with substantial funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Mr. Lee noted that this would afford the community an opportunity to make a conscious decision about what future it wants for the Willamette Valley. Mr. Watt said it also informs an action. Ms. Nathanson asked people to stop using the phrase "nonpoint source pollution," saying that this is generalized pollution that the entire population is responsible for. She questioned the phrase "to work close to where we live" used in the core vision for land use, noting that it may be irrelevant or unrealistic-someone may live far away from work but use public rapid transit. Mr. Watt said the vision was to provide choices and the concept would be refined as the work progressed. Mr. Fart recalled a recent study that named Eugene as the second most expensive place, second only to San Francisco, for housing and wondered if that had been addressed. He said he believed it contributed to urban sprawl as people are forced to move to smaller communities where housing is more affordable. Mr. Watt said there was a statewide discussion on the topic, adding that it was also a type of growth, e.g., higher density. He added that that was why it was important to have a regional collaborative effort. Mr. Fart said it was imperative to acknowledge how the individual growth policies impacted surrounding communities. Addressing a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Watt said the forum had secured funding through March 1999, and after that the forum will need to decide whether to find additional resources to continue the work. In response to a follow-up question, he said the changing membership had not impeded the forum's work because it has only met three times in two years; most of the work is done in task forces. Ms. Swanson Gribskov said the challenge is to understand what it means via the action plans, adding it would be helpful to use examples of likely choices to give meaning to the vision. Mayor Torrey said the League of Oregon Cities members' most critical concern was infrastructure and asked how the State could be convinced to work with local governments to deal with these types of problems. He said it was unproductive to develop visions such as this and then not to provide support for realizing those. Mayor Torrey encouraged collaboration among communities on the "hard issues" such as economic development. Mr. Watt said the governor, through his Community Development Boards, planned to get communities working/cooperating with each other to address issues such as adequate infrastructure. Mr. Tollenaar appreciated Ms. Swanson Gribskov's comments about the generality of the vision, saying it needs to be reduced to a practical level locally. He wondered if the forum might want to, MINUTES-Eugene City Council September 14, 1998 Page 2 5:30 p.m.