Laserfiche WebLink
working without a priority list and was "all over the list," trying to accomplish many things. Mr. Meisner <br />questioned whether those items should be listed as be ongoing. He was unsure what "other" meant if the <br />council could not prioritize the list at all. Ms. Muir said that many of the items on the list would be "back- <br />burnered" while staff focused on the priority list. For example, staff would continue to attend Region <br />2050 meetings but did not have a large role in those meetings. Mr. Meisner asked if staff was saying that <br />"other" items would not be done without "independent time or resources." Ms. Muir was hesitant to say <br />yes, because if a Region 2050 meeting arose with an agenda item important to the City, staff might attend <br />that meeting. Mr. Meisner believed that applied to everything on the list. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman did not understand how issues with dedicated funding could bump other items when the <br />dedicated funding was provided in addition to the General Funds provided to the department. She wanted <br />a list without any items with dedicated funding. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed that the work involved on the cell tower ordinance could be minor and said he would <br />support the amendment. <br /> <br />Speaking to the process, Mr. Kelly said he would move to remove items from the top priority list to <br />maintain balance. He said he had looked forward to the meeting because he wanted to help the division <br />set its priorities, but shared the frustration expressed by Mr. Meisner and Ms. Bettman about the lack of <br />information. Speaking to the concerns expressed by Ms. Solomon and Ms. Nathanson, he pointed out the <br />work session was an opportunity for the council to set direction for the division's activities. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner clarified that Mr. Kelly's friendly amendment related to funding was "for a funding request if <br />required for the development of the work program item." <br /> <br /> The motion passed, 5:3; Mr. Pap~, Mr. Poling, and Ms. Solomon voting <br /> no. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman advocated for additional funding for site-specific planning for nodal development. She <br />recalled the Budget Committee's 2003 discussion about the 29th Avenue and Willamette Street node, and <br />the general agreement that the area had characteristics of a node and needed some site-specific planning to <br />realize nodal development goals. She believed the division had the resources to work on site-specific <br />planning. She said the council already knew there were problems with the overlay zone and had directed <br />staff to rework it prior to allocating the funding for site-specific planning, so that was not relevant to the <br />issue. Staff was now suggesting that the council begin at "square one" and redefine site-specific planning. <br />That was not what the funding was allocated for. She said staff should be looking at nodes to find which <br />to apply its expertise. Ms. Bettman maintained that there were willing businesses and property owners in <br />the vicinity of 29th and Willamette who were ready to work on a site-specific plan. She was pleased with <br />the priority assigned the item, but believed staff interpretation of the council and committee's direction <br />was incorrect. <br /> <br />Mr. Coyle said that over the past year, the definition of "site-specific planning" had evolved from what he <br />considered a term of art to an exact science. He was hearing people saying they wanted to do site plans <br />for each node. Mr. Coyle said the problems staff encountered with zoning would be magnified by that <br />approach. He had interpreted site-specific planning as issues resolution as it related to ten or twelve <br />different nodes. The City could engage developers and residents in a high-level discussion, but staff <br />would not be "taking pen to paper" absent a developer. If the council wished staff to do predevelopment <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 9, 2004 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />