CC Minutes - 07/21/08 Public Hearing

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Speaking to the issue of the public interest, Councilor Zelenka said there were no taxpayer dollars being used to build the arena but it could have a local economic impact in the form of lost property taxes and future maintenance costs. Councilor Zelenka thanked both the UO and neighborhood residents for meeting to identify the issues of concern. He thought it was time to get to work and suggested the UO return to the next liaison committee with a very specific “straw man” proposal that addressed all the issues identified by the neighbors so those could be discussed in more detail. Councilor Ortiz said that it appeared there was a need to expedite the application, so she was somewhat challenged by the motion. She asked for more information about the Attorney General’s opinion and its impact on the decision before the council. Ms. Jerome did not have first-hand knowledge of the question posed by the UO or what to expect. She did not think the council could rely on the opinion to any degree in the decision before it. Councilor Ortiz thought the City needed to get the most “bang for its buck,” and she liked the idea of a land exchange, particularly a riparian property. She asked if there was an opportunity for a traffic impact analysis. Mr. Ochs said there was a traffic impact analysis in the CUP. He did not think staff could evaluate the alley impact in 14 days using that information. The Hearings Official would make the final determination about the analysis as part of the larger CUP. Councilor Ortiz emphasized the importance of the jobs that would be created by the arena project to her constituency and said she was unsure how she would vote. Councilor Taylor questioned whether the council had heard enough about the public interest in regard to the vacation of the street as opposed to the public interest in regard to the arena. She wanted to know how the assessment amount was arrived at, and if the council could legally ask the UO for more money. She was also interested in the land exchange mentioned by Councilor Bettman. She supported Councilor Zelenka’s motion. Councilor Bettman believed the council was being asked to make a decision before all the issues emerged and before the public had a chance to “catch on” to what the easements were. She was concerned about the easements and who would pay to move the utilities. She was not seeing enough information in the materials before the council. She reiterated her concern about the loss of connectivity and the larger impacts from the arena. People were suggesting that the City use the money to mitigate the impacts of the arena but the City did not know what those impacts were. She did not think the motion would delay the start time of the arena project, which she was confident would be built as the council had no power to stop it, and could only work to mitigate its impact and get a fair deal for its citizens. She did not think a quick turnaround before the recess would give staff and the neighborhood time to negotiate conditions with the UO. Councilor Bettman suggested the council consider an “in-lieu-of-taxes” approach to the request. Councilor Zelenka did not think the motion would unnecessarily delay the UO but would give the council time to do due diligence and address the important issues already on its schedule. He pointed out the council could attach an emergency clause to its action to facilitate the UO’s plans. Councilor Ortiz said she tried to think of the issue in terms of how it affected her constituency. While it did not sound like the world would end if the council delayed, she thought the arena could be beneficial to the community. She did not want to give mixed messages to the UO in regard to what she considered its community contributions. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 21, 2008 Page 16 Public Hearing