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neighborhood's desire to keep the area pristine in nature and unmarred by free-flowing traffic made up of cars passing through from one area of the city to another. She thought there were more efficient ways to ease traffic into the downtown area and emphasized that the neighborhood would not benefit from approval of the reclassification. Debra E. McGee, 29755 Lusk Road, spoke in favor of sustainable development that supported local businesses. She said local businesses enrich the civic fabric of the community as local merchants care about the communities they were a part of. She added that local ownership meant that profit circulated within the community as opposed to national chain stores. She opposed Wal-Mart's plans to build a ;;super center." She alleged that such stores sell food products below cost to undermine other smaller stores. She felt the stability of the local existing business districts was undermined resulting in an increase in empty store fronts. Noting that some people would say the community would benefit from an increase in job, she cited a 1993 study paid for by Wal-Mart that had concluded that a gain of 177 new jobs provided by such a store was offset by 148 lost jobs. She felt impacts on traffic, environment, community character, and local economy should be considered. She related that she had visited Arcata, California, to observe its process for creating a comprehensive plan for sustainable development. She advocated for a six-month moratorium on such development to allow citizens to provide more input in development standards. George Kjaer, 814 Lorane Highway, said he had lived at his house, a historically designated site, for 37 years. He related that he daily walked the streets that were proposed to be designated as collectors. He believed the change in designation would result in significant cost and would not increase safety, traffic efficiency, nor add to property value. He commented that people drove over the speed limit, in spite of curvy, narrow roads. He opined that improving the roads would only increase the hazards presented by motorists. He asked the City Council to direct the Planning Department (PDD) to design efficient arteries and arterials, leading to an efficient Beltline Highway. James Reed, 990 Crest Drive, related that he heard of the proposed change in street classification from a neighbor and not from the PDD. He noted he had received a small pink postcard informing him of a proposed traffic impact analysis (TIA) in his neighborhood and never heard anything else regarding it. He alleged that City staff had been unresponsive and, at times, ;;spiteful" of the public process. He asserted that no one had clearly stated the impact of the change and it was, as yet, unknown. He said he had asked what the financial impact to residents would be and staff had responded that they could not discuss this until they had financing for projects and could properly analyze the impact. He felt the reclassification was a ;;blank check" for the City. Will Sellers, 6071 Mondavi Lane, expressed his neutrality on a proposed Wal-Mart Store. He commented that family-owned businesses often do not pay more than $10 per hour and do not provide health benefits, due to the expense. He alleged that four companies had expressed willingness to move to Eugene but because of the ;;hoops" they had to jump through had decided not to relocate here. He asserted these companies average starting pay was $14.75 and hour and they had full health and retirement benefits. He remarked that one of the unnamed companies had a building in the San Jos6 area that was 500,000 square feet. He opined that restrictions on development told businesses that the community did not want such employment. He questioned the wisdom of doing so in the face of having the highest unemployment in the nation. Ray Wolfe, 1473 Luella Street, spoke in opposition to the Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE). He stressed that he was not an unmitigated tax opponent, but wanted property taxes to be MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 12, 2004 Page 4 Regular Meeting