Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

ATTACHMENT C M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon February 8, 2010 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Mat Beecher , 1331 Acorn Park Street, Councilor Pryor’s Ward, spoke as a representative of the Human Rights Commission (HRC). He read a letter, submitted to the council, into the record. The letter strongly urged the City to issue a statement that underscored that the University of Oregon students from China that had been involved in the recent Tasing incident were not at fault. The letter also commended the actions Chief Pete Kerns had taken to reach out and make amends. He recommended that the incident be used to improve cultural competency. Eli Volem , 2695 Madison Street, said he worked for Earth Advantage Institute and he was testifying in regard to the Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) that was before the council. He explained that Earth Advantage Institute was a non-profit provider and verifier for several green building programs. He said the institute had been working with the project team to “pave the way” to achieve Leading in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. He stated that he was present to validate the fact that the project was well on its way to LEED certification. He noted that his role would be as a LEED green rater for the building, which was unique to the “LEED for homes” rating system in that the person physically attended the site throughout development to ascertain that green building measures were being employed. He underscored that there were added costs to building to LEED standards. He predicted that the building would meet LEED gold standards and possibly platinum. He felt the building had the opportunity to be a landmark in Eugene. He said the northwest was known by the rest of the country as a green building hub. He also noted that the project was using local designers, energy analysts, and contractors. th Paul Dustrud , 30 West 17 Avenue, stated that he was also speaking on behalf of Dan Neal for the “hopefully” LEED-certified project. He said he was trying to help support the local economy by designing with wood, noting that the project would be five stories of wood over one story of concrete. He listed some of the strong design points, such as the unique system they would be utilizing for indoor air quality and the heat recovery systems. He also noted that they had added a “30s retro look” and balconies that looked out at the Coburg hills. He asked that the project be granted the MUPTE. Dan Neal , 1361 Pearl Street, also spoke on behalf of the project that was applying for the MUPTE. He declared that they could not build the project to LEED standards without the exemption. He thought that approval of the project would “resonate harmoniously” with the community. He asked them to approve the project not just because it would create jobs in the community, but because there were two visions for the property: the proposed project or a possible fraternity. He noted that construction of the latter would mean the City would not generate any tax revenue from it. He underscored that the property would generate approximately $80,000 in tax revenue annually after ten years. He MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 8, 2010 Page 1 Regular Meeting