CC Minutes - 12/12/05 Work Session

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Ms. Taylor also commended Ms. Cahill and the stakeholders for their work. She said that many people supported changes to the plan and she hoped the council supported the amendments prepared on her and Mr. Kelly’s behalf. Ms. Taylor was pleased to see that bioswales were envisioned. Ms. Taylor agreed about the need to retain the character of the street. Ms. Ortiz was disappointed she could not attend the meeting in person, noting that she had asked that the issue be postponed but, due because of bidding issues that was not possible. She was very supportive of the stakeholders’ recommendations and also commended the process. She acknowledged that some community members were not satisfied but thought the amendments to be offered by Mr. Kelly would address those concerns. Mayor Piercy said when she received the stakeholders’ recommendations and the minority report she made inquiries about how the two conflicting recommendations would be addressed. She had been under the impression that with the exception of the issues related to Beltline, those issues could be resolved. However, she had since learned that might not be the case, and apologized for the misunderstanding. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to approve the conceptual design of trans- portation improvements for River Avenue approved by the River Avenue Stakeholder Group and direct the City Manager to proceed with the final design and bidding of an im- provement project. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the motion by inserting the phrase “except that street trees shall be included along the full length of both the north and south sides of the improvement” after the word “group.” Mr. Kelly acknowledged it would cost money to acquire the right-of-way and plant the street trees, but he thought it fundamental to the street character. He acknowledged the property owners agreed to talk about the issue but he wished to make the planting of trees a requirement like it was in other parts of the community. Ms. Solomon asked why the property owners wanted to use discretion with regard to the planting of trees on the north side of the east end of the project. Ms. Cahill said the property owners made the proposal and it had stayed in place. Ms. Solomon acknowledged Mr. Kelly’s concerns, but because the stakeholders group reached the agreement, she wanted to honor its recommendations and leave the issue to the discretion of the property owners. She suggested the City consider incentives for the property owners to plant the trees. Mr. Papé said he understood many compromises were made by different stakeholders, including compro- mises by the RRCO and property owners. He determined from Ms. Cahill that the Eugene Bicycle Coalition and Santa Clara neighborhood association continued to support the stakeholder recommendations. Responding to a question from Mr. Papé, Ms. Cahill confirmed that business visibility was a major concern for the property owners. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 5 Work Session