CC Minutes - 10/27/08 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Bettman suggested the City consider adding another classification to the Arterial and Collector Street Plan to account for such exceptions. Councilor Solomon pointed out that the neighborhood was getting the design it wanted. She said that if the numbers indicated that a street was a neighborhood collector, the street should be classified as a neighbor- hood collector. She was concerned about the City’s exposure to legal liability as a result of the first motion, and thought it set a bad precedent for other neighborhoods. Councilor Zelenka asked how many unclassified streets were in the city. Mr. Schoening said that only the streets in the Crest Drive area remained unclassified. The entire area was left unclassified pending the outcome of the neighborhood process. Councilor Zelenka asked about the nature of staff’s discussions with the neighborhood about the street classifications. Mr. Schoening said that the neighbors believed the collector designation called for a certain design. He said the staff and residents struggled with the issue of the classification throughout the process, and put it aside until the design was completed. He emphasized that staff never promised any particular classification to the neighbors. Responding to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Mr. Schoening said the three routes in question were all snowplowed. Responding to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Mr. Schoening reiterated that the street design would be the same regardless of tonight’s decision. Councilor Zelenka agreed with Councilor Solomon about the analysis and indicated he would support the motion. Councilor Clark wanted to support the public process. While he was sympathetic to the residents, he was also sensitive to Councilor Solomon’s point about the precedent being set. Mr. Schoening thought there was a fairly low risk of the action setting precedent, noting that no other neighborhood had pursued such a course. He pointed out that the neighborhood in question was on the edge of the urban growth boundary, so there was not as much consequence to having a disconnected system as there might be in other areas of the community. City Attorney Jerome Lidz did not have a concern about legal precedent; he suggested the issue was one of political and policy precedence. Councilor Taylor thought that if the council did not classify the streets as local it would be a betrayal of trust. She said the original motion was consistent with the council’s previous direction, and if the residents were aware of the second option they would have been present at the meeting. She said that if the classification did not make a difference, why do something the residents did not want? Mayor Piercy believed that the council had indicated a commitment to the local street classification to residents. She supported the local classification. The substitute motion failed, 5:2; councilors Solomon and Zelenka voting yes. The original motion passed, 6:1; Councilor Solomon voting no. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 27, 2008 Page 10 Regular Meeting