Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Councilor Bettman asked if the council could condition its decision on future council approval of the proposed design to ensure they were not approving ramps, and that decision would have to be brought back to council. City Attorney Jerome did not think so. She believed this was the council’s sole decision point. Councilor Bettman averred that the council’s approval would mean tacit approval of the ramps desired by Mayor Leiken. Ms. O’Donnell said that if the addition of new ramps required Metro Plan changes, the council would then have an opportunity to weigh in on that decision. Councilor Bettman suggested that ODOT could argue that the council already approved those ramps by adopting the resolution. City Attorney Jerome said no. The resolution did not anticipate a particular design outside the greenway area exception to accommodate the bridge. Design is more appropriately discussed under the next agenda item. Councilor Zelenka said that when he asked ODOT staff at the MPC meeting if the design accommodated ramps at Franklin, staff indicated it did not and also that the costs for such ramps were not included. He was concerned by Councilor Bettman’s remarks, however, and wanted to modify the ordinance to state that reconstruction of roadway approaches to the bridges involved only the existing ramps. City Attorney Jerome pointed out that the three entities with jurisdiction over the matter—Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County—needed to agree on the text in the ordinance. Springfield had already passed the same ordinance as the ordinance before the council; Lane County had yet to take action. Councilor Zelenka did not support on-ramps at Franklin Boulevard because of the impact it would have on the neighborhood he represented. He maintained that Mayor Leiken’s suggestion was a “dumb way to do it” because fixing the Glenwood intersection accomplished “almost the exact same thing” at half the price. He indicated his intent to offer an amendment that would require Springfield to change the text it adopted. Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved to amend the motion to add “existing” before the word “ramps” to the line on page 13. Councilor Bettman believed that the findings as well as the ordinance would need to be changed anywhere which referred to ramps. Ms. O’Donnell indicated she believed there needed to be clarification on the different ramps being discussed to avoid confusion. It was stated as a clarification, any on- or off-ramps to Franklin are within the greenway therefore changes to those would trigger a greenway permit and would thus trigger a Metro Plan amendment which would go before council. So this would come before the council as a project in the future. Although he sympathized with Councilor Zelenka’s desire to protect a neighborhood in his ward, Councilor Clark could not support the amendment because he did not want to contribute yet another story about how the council would not cooperate and coordinate with Springfield, which was a major concern for City residents. Mayor Piercy understood what councilors Zelenka and Bettman were trying to achieve, but questioned whether there was another way to address the issue that did not require Springfield to readopt the ordinance. City Attorney Jerome volunteered to return with a legal memorandum on the topic. She did not think approving the Metro Plan amendment authorized future additional ramps. She did not think ramps could be constructed without being placed in the greenway, which would require council action or a Metro Plan amendment. Mayor Piercy asked if the item was time- sensitive. City Attorney Jerome said that the council could not hear the next item pending resolution of the item before the council because of the ex parte issue. Ms. O’Donnell indicated that ODOT would like to move forward as soon as possible given its concerns about the time limits for doing the necessary in-water work . ODOT hoped to have action by the council break. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 16, 2008 Page 10 Meeting