Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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improve and expand collaboration between neighborhood associations and the City. An additional neighborhood planner was hired to develop neighborhood- based plans. Mr. Clark commented that he heard frequently from neighborhoods about land use planning. He asked if the neighborhood planner would be measuring the priorities and goals of a broad section of a particular neighborhood, not just those who participated in the association. Ms. Weiss responded that staff had been discussing an equitable system for developing neighborhood plans that did not begin with one neighborhood, leaving the others behind. She said the system would allow neighborhoods to take the initiative to move forward with their plans and there would be readiness components that required involvement of a broad cross-section of the neighborhood, particularly during the early phases of issue identification. The tools for that were still being developed. Mr. Clark said many constituents had remarked that neighborhood groups who spoke on behalf of the neighborhood actually had differing levels of participation in the organization. He was interested in the true representative nature of the voices that were being heard and assuring that services being delivered were truly desired by a large cross-section of the neighborhoods. Mr. Zelenka saw the goal as twofold: strengthen and support neighborhood associations and involve neighborhoods earlier and more effectively in the land use process to preserve and protect their livability. He hoped the initiative would continue to pursue those two goals. Ms. Piercy hoped neighborhood residents felt that the last neighborhood summit drove actions and priorities. Mr. Zelenka agreed that the summit should result in actions by the City. He asked if the neighborhood plans were considered refinement plans and carried any legal weight. Ms. Weiss said that issue was being grappled with and while a refinement plan might be one of the tools that was needed to implement neighborhood priorities, the planning process might identify other venues for implementing priorities. Mr. Zelenka noted that refinement plans were expensive and time-consuming, but a plan without any legal teeth did not have much value in terms of protecting the livability of a neighborhood. He hoped staff would investigate what resources would be required to develop refinement plans for neighborhood associations and bring that information back to the council. Ms. Bettman stated that the City had been discussing the issue for some time. She said an early suggestion was to ask neighborhoods to identify problem areas and develop smaller refinement plans that targeted those areas instead of doing a refinement plan for the entire neighborhood. She said it was a good idea to bring neighborhoods into the land use process at an earlier point but not all neighborhoods would be able to participate. She said the City should have policies in place to protect people’s homes and neighborhoods. She pointed out the cost of appealing a land use decision and said that should be waived for neighborhood associations so that money was not an obstacle. Ms. Piercy said while the City tried to reach out to the broader neighborhood, it was important to recognize those people who did put their time and energy into neighborhood activities. She commended neighborhoods for modeling and sharing new ideas with each other and encouraged them to also seek things that were shared by all neighborhoods. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 8, 2008 Page 7 Work Session