CC Minutes - 09/12/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Taylor expressed hope that the slogan would be aspirational and that it would cause the community to move toward making the arts more accessible. She suggested that one thing that could be done to further accessibility would be to reduce the parking fee at the amphitheater. She maintained that the city could do better with regard to open space and should make sure that prime open space would not be "eaten up by development." She asserted that the Nectar-Dillard forest and the West Amazon Headwaters should not be developed. Mayor Piercy said she was happy to see so many people present in support of adoption of the slogan. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. City Manager Taylor related that he had found stationery from the turn of the century that had referred the Eugene as "The City of Radiation." Councilor Taylor shared her admiration for the people from Santa Clara for sticking to their goals and working hard for them. She hoped the council would do what it could to help out. Councilor Bettman concurred with Councilor Kelly's comments regarding the "party patrol." Regarding the Neighborhood Initiative, she assured Mr. Hinkley that it was a council initiative and had not come from staff. She commented that had it been a neighborhood program revision she would not have supported it. She said the council would be presented a revised draft of the initiative that she did not think would be a revision of the neighborhood program. She underscored that her goal with such an initiative was to put on- the-ground improvements into place, such as increased bicycle patrols in urban parks and addressing the conversion of residential houses to commercial and office space adjacent to the downtown area. Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone for coming down. She said her concern lay with bringing a motion forward and passing it in the same night without opportunity for public comment. She did not want people to get the impression that the council was not treating all of its constituents the same when they were coming forward with such a request. She appreciated Councilor Taylor's comments about the need for more accessibility to the arts in the community. Councilor Pryor agreed that it should not be the normal practice to bring an item up and vote on it in the same night, but in this case he felt it was fair to make an exception. Regarding Civic Stadium, Councilor Pryor remarked that he understood it to have a deed restriction dictating that it had to be used for educational purposes and could not be sold for another purpose. He said the stadium was only being used by the Eugene Emeralds because the school district also used it for games. He thought it would be interesting to see what sorts of opportunities there were within the restrictions on the property, but he did not believe that it would be possible to build condominiums on the property. Councilor Pape observed that the Mayor's Art Show was free and accessible to the public. Councilor Pape shared that he had an uneasy feeling when hearing the concerns about campus parties. He related that the City had experienced troubles in the past with fires and some riots. He wanted the City to "get its hands around" the situation before any serious problems arose. MINUTES-Eugene City Council Regular Session September 12, 2005 Page 5