CC Minutes - 08/10/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Kelly recommended that Action Item 1, the development of a Neighborhood-based Community Policing Strategy, involve the participation of neighborhood associations. Regarding Action Item 4, the suggestion to shift neighborhood involvement to an earlier point in the land use process, Mr. Kelly felt this would reduce contentiousness. He related that the City of Albany utilized a program that required a pre-development meeting between a developer and neighborhood residents. Mr. Kelly felt that Action Item 6, the neighborhood scoping projects, could serve as a tie-in to opportunity mapping and the growth density allocation that was discussed recently. He added that a scope without a land use aspect with legal weight would “just sit on a shelf.” Mr. Papé reiterated that he wanted the City to be careful not to make promises of neighborhood-based services (as specified in the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Comprehensive Plan) it did not have the resources to deliver. Mr. Papé thought the focus of the initiative should be participation by the neighborhood associations. He hoped that the larger neighborhood associations would split into appropriately smaller groups. He wanted to determine if the City had every house and area identified as being part of a specific neighborhood associa- tion and whether the associations were effective. He appreciated action items 30 through 35, which sought to enhance the role of neighborhood associations. He concurred with Mayor Piercy’s recommendation that the City provide training that would enhance the functionality of the associations. Ms. Bettman opined that people would participate with neighborhood associations when they knew their time and effort would make a difference. She noted, in regard to scoping, that the NLC had scoped each neighborhood in 2004 and had talked about their priority issues in a subsequent document. She thought the City could cooperate with the neighborhoods to perform their own scoping. Ms. Ortiz thanked staff for its work and acknowledged the amount of effort that had gone into the proposed plan. She shared Ms. Bettman’s sentiments regarding “getting buy-in” from the communities. She averred that if the neighborhoods were not interested in participating, the City may as well not pursue the initiative. Mayor Piercy called for a third round of comments and questions. Mr. Kelly cited Action Item 24, regarding the Citizen Involvement Strategic Plan, and observed that much good staff work had gone into the first iteration of it and he opined that most of the work went “nowhere.” He thought the item could be eliminated. Mr. Kelly thought Action Item 25, which sought to include feedback to participants in project plans, raised a good point and helped people to feel they have been heard. Mr. Kelly echoed Mr. Papé’s comments on action items 30 through 35. Regarding Action Item 30, he encouraged the inclusion of the NLC. He recalled that on occasion the NLC was not considered an official entity of the City and asked that it become one. In closing, Mr. Kelly opined that it was an embarrassment to see the elimination of the CIC “touted almost as if it was progress.” He agreed with Ms. Taylor that it should be reestablished. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2005 Page 5 Work Session