CC Minutes - 09/21/09 Public Hearing

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He said planning staff had provided responses to LUBA’s concerns and noted that the neighborhood had contributed hundreds of volunteer hours to achieving a favorable outcome for everyone. th Paul Conte , West 10 Avenue, Ward 1, Eugene, remarked that the ordinance was not the problem; there were minor technical deficiencies that resulted in the remand and those could be easily addressed. The remand did not require rethinking the entire issue. He said LUBA determined that building heights would not limit density under MiCAP standards and parking requirements did not increase car usage. He said students used their cars for purposes other than getting to and from campus. He said MiCAP represented the council’s best efforts; taking it away would allow more damage to be done and remove incentives for the building community to meet the neighborhoods halfway and get ICS standards adopted. Carolyn Jacobs , Agate Street, Ward 3, Eugene, stated she was involved in both the MiCAP and ICS processes. Progress was slow and interim measures were necessary to protect the neighborhood from incompatible infill and redevelopment. She urged the council to readopt the MiCAP amendments because the conclusion and results of the ICS process was uncertain and the neighborhood should not be offered up to a handful of developers who were only interested in dollar signs. Will Shaver , Peppertree Drive, Eugene, said the City and the council had frequently reaffirmed that sustainability was important and growth should be up and not out. An expensive and complicated analysis of buildable land was being done and part of that analysis was density. He said that zoning was factored into the land use equation and transportation plans and the MiCAP proposal was a subtle way to change zoning in certain areas instead of doing it properly by deciding as a community that those areas should be rezoned for lower density. He said the area now had bus rapid transit and a shift to more bike and pedestrian uses, along with a much higher student population. He opposed the readoption of the MiCAP amendments. Kevin Matthews , Eugene, president of Southeast Neighbors and Friends of Eugene, was tired of the Sustainability Commission chair making anti-neighborhood statements to the council; there was no dichotomy between the quality of traditional neighborhood livability and sustainability. He said there was a way to address density of the community without a debate about how much damage to inflict on neighborhoods. A small amount of growth could be accommodated through residential infill; a large amount of growth could be accommodated through aggressive mixed-use development of core commercial areas. He said the remand from LUBA was on the basis of weak findings from the Planning Department, which continued to encourage appeals. He encouraged the council to adopt the MiCAP amendments on the basis of the improved findings. Mayor Piercy closed the hearing and called for comments from councilors. Mayor Piercy commented that there were admirable goals that moved in conflicting directions: jobs, sustainability and neighborhood protection. She said all sides of the issue had valid points to consider and urged those who spoke to have a respectful conversation and not to vilify others when defending their positions. She agreed that the University could have a more active role in meeting the housing needs of students and more work was needed on the parking issue. Councilor Clark agreed that people should not demonize others in order to make a point as it diminished their credibility. He said many of the concerns revolved around parking and the increasing student population would thth exacerbate problems. He suggested making 18 and 19 avenues between Alder and Agate streets one-way and adding angled, meter parking to dramatically increase parking. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 21, 2009 Page 5 Public Hearing