CC Minutes - 04/19/10 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Councilor Poling remarked that there was nothing in the proposed plan amendment that would destroy any part of downtown; the projects would add to its beauty and vibrancy and the district would sunset when they were completed. He said opponents objected to the expenditure of funds on public and nonprofit projects that would not pay taxes, but objections to the previous urban renewal plan were based on expenditure of funds on private development instead of public services. He emphasized that expansion of the district was specific to the VA clinic site and would occur only if that site was actually selected for the clinic. He was concerned that if the council approved the plan and it was then referred to the ballot, the delay would jeopardize the projects and perhaps cause the City to miss a golden opportunity. Councilor Taylor felt that the council should find another mechanism to assist LCC to avoid any delay in the event the plan was referred to the voters. She asserted that urban renewal did not create money, it came from taxes and if the funds continued to be diverted from the County, the County had a greater need to raise taxes to support public safety. She preferred to use the City's current resources to support the LCC project without putting it to a vote of the people. Mayor Piercy expressed her appreciation for the community's outpouring of support for the projects. She stated that there had been a request to keep the record open until May 17 and typically the council allowed an additional 7 to 14 days when such a request was made. She said the City had agreed to keep the record open until April 30 for the overlapping taxing districts and asked that a motion to that effect be put forward. Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to leave the record open until April 30. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to substitute that the City Council, acting as the Urban Renewal Agency, keep the public record on the Downtown Urban Renewal District plan amendment open until May 17. Councilor Ortiz inquired about the timing of council actions and efforts to gather signatures for a ballot referral if the record remained open until May 17 instead of April 3 4. Mr. Ruiz said the council was scheduled to take formal action on the amendment at its May 24 meeting. He was concerned that extending the record beyond April 30 would make it difficult for staff to provide the council with a compilation and evaluation of any additional testimony by its May 10 work session on the amendment. He said that could be accomplished if the record remained open until April 30. The operational date for signature gathering was the May 24 action by the council. Councilor Poling said he could not support the substitute motion based on the timeline for council consideration of the amendment and formal action. He said if the substitute motion did pass, the May 10 work session and council action on May 24 should be postponed to allow staff adequate time to process additional information and the council time to review it. Councilor Zelenka commented that the council typically granted a two -week extension if requested, which would extend the record to May 3. He suggested that as a compromise it would still allow staff time to prepare materials for the council. Mr. Ruiz said staff could provide responses in time for the May 10 work session if the record remained open until May 3. Councilor Brown preferred to extend the record for a longer period of time because each of the projects was rich with problems and potentially legal problems associated with some of the proposed uses of tax increment financing. He felt that the process was moving too quickly and had not allowed sufficient time for discussion. MINUTES Eugene City Council April 19, 2010 Page 8 Public Hearing