Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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the urban renewal dollars. Mr. Sullivan replied that there were two urban renewal districts and the projects would be in different districts. Mr. Kelly said he was a long way from using eminent domain to support the project and wanted to see the City act as a facilitator and work with the current owners and developer to achieve a “win-win” situation without the need for eminent domain. He wanted to see that arrangement addressed in writing. Ms. Taylor asserted that 25 years ago the downtown area was thriving. She asked how much of the Broadway Place retail space was empty. Mr. Sullivan replied that historically the retail space on Lincoln Street experienced difficulty but the other spaces were filled, although there was some attrition. Ms. Taylor asked what made staff think that the new space would be filled, considering the difficulty in filling Broadway Place space. Mr. Sullivan replied that the Opus Development business plan was to create a critical mass of retail that had a magnetic character and was a destination. He said the critical mass of development would create a destination that did not currently exist in downtown and draw people who might otherwise go to a suburban mall. Ms. Taylor said she had heard the development described as a “theme park.” Mr. Sullivan said that developer would need to work with Eugene’s existing historic street grid and the City would need to see a building type that would endure, not a building type that would go out of fashion. He said the City was looking for an urban form, not a Disneyland. Ms. Taylor asked what changes to the urban renewal district would be needed. Mr. Sullivan responded that the district’s boundaries, plan and policies would not need to be changed, but the total indebtedness would be revised. He said the issue was very complex and required a separate work session to address in detail. Ms. Taylor asked to what extent the public would be involved in the City’s adoption of a development proposal. Mr. Sullivan said that any changes to the urban renewal plan provided an opportunity for public involvement. City Manager Taylor stated that a substantial project such as the proposed development deserved a community conversation and the developers would be encouraged to find useful ways to obtain public input beyond whatever was required as part of an urban renewal plan change. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to direct the city manager to work with Connor and Woolley on developing a more detailed proposal related to West Broadway development to be brought back to the council. Speaking to the motion, Mr. Poling said he agreed with many of Mr. Pryor’s comments and Ms. Ortiz’s observation that the project would change the face of downtown Eugene. He commended Connor and Woolley/Opus for having a vision and felt that the project was appropriate for the downtown area. He noted that the current and previous councils had, through plans, urban renewal districts, incentives and visions, put the ground work in place for such a development. He strongly supported the motion to develop a more detailed proposal related to the West Broadway development for the council to consider. He thought that facilitated negotiations between the City and unwilling sellers could be a good alternative to eminent domain; but the City should retain eminent domain as a tool and carefully weigh the needs of the unwilling property owner against the rest of the community. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Kelly, moved to extend the discussion by ten min- utes. The motion passed unanimously. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 7 Work Session