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vacant and underutilized. He felt the City’s response to this was to engage in “development schemes” in order to bring another building downtown. He said the reasoning was based on the “field of dreams/Taj Mahal theory” of development: if the City would build just the right development people would “flock” downtown to see it. He averred that the money the City had left, a “paltry $40 million or so,” left the City with developments that were “instead of vast, half-vast.” He recalled the construction of Broadway Place, once considered justification for cutting down “beautiful trees,” which was supposed to be Mixed Use, Residential and Retail development. He had visited it the previous week and found it to be very quiet. He remarked that using the subsidy to promote student housing would create an “unfortunate side effect,” in that the University campus was far away and the Lane Community College (LCC) campus was even farther. He said by taking 472 student bodies and multiplying that by their weight it meant that there would be 20 to 30 tons of students to put on the LTD system, which was already struggling because of rising fuel costs. He noted that he frequently rode on the EmX and it was crowded. He suggested that instead of bringing another building downtown, the solution would be to make downtown more pleasant. He suggested that the City should put a park in the “pit.” He thought much of the cost could be offset by the same type of donation system that supported the library. George Brown , 1740 Graham Street, spoke in support of the Beam Development proposal for the Sears site. He commented that the process to get a building on that site had been long and frustrating. He encouraged the council to reflect on both proposals and to consider possibly including a park there. He averred that a lot of people would be disappointed and angry if there was no park space. He also wanted to be sure the apartments would not be solely reserved for University of Oregon students. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called on the council for questions and remarks. Councilor Clark thanked everyone who spoke. He indicated his intention to pull Item D on the Consent Calendar. He agreed with testimony regarding the possibility of a park in the downtown area. He thought the opportunity for expansion or to develop more fully the Park Blocks area might meet that need. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - April 16, 2008, Work Session - May 12, 2008, Work Session - May 12, 2008, City Council Meeting - May 14, 2008, Work Session - May 19, 2008, Public Hearing - May 27, 2008, Work Session - May 28, 2008, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Annexation Request for Eugene School District 4J (A 008-1) D. Annexation Request for Westfair Associates (A 08-2) E. Approval of Police Auditor Cost of Living Adjustment Councilor Pryor, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved to approve the items on the Con- sent Calendar. Councilor Taylor pulled Items C and D. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 14, 2008 Page 4 Regular Meeting