Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mayor Piercy complimented staff on its commitment to the Envision Eugene process. She appreciated staff’s outreach to the Board of County Commissioners, and asked that staff’s outreach effort included the Housing Policy Board and Human Rights Commission. Mr. Pryor was impressed with the breadth and diversity of those on the CRG. He acknowledged the subject of community growth was scary to some people. He appreciated the inclusive, accessible, non-technical approach taken by staff, which brought in many people who had not participated in the past. That informed his belief that it was better to do the process right than do it fast. Mr. Pryor believed that a holistic discussion was necessary and was the only way to reach a solution that connected all the different pieces of the solution. Mr. Clark thanked staff for its work. He continued to be concerned about the process time line and the potential of legislative action related to that. He was happy to hear staff was checking in with the County and hoped that included new commissioners. Given Springfield’s experience trying to work with the board, Mr. Clark was concerned that the Board of County Commissioners would delay the process. He hoped staff did more to engage the County board so it understood that it did not get to re-write the rules or the basis by which Eugene made its decisions. He called for further review of the rules governing the co-adoption process. Mr. Poling also thanked staff, the members of the CRG, and the residents who were participating. He believed the plan constituted very important work. Mr. Poling expressed concern that the depictions related to the work of the West Eugene Collaborative (WEC) could be misinterpreted and recommended that staff reinforce the hypothetical nature of the examples. Mr. Poling also appreciated that staff was checking in with the Board of County Commissioners and asked that staff report back to the council about the type of issues the board was raising and the staff response to them. Mr. Poling was not concerned that the State would intervene in the City’s process but he did not want to go beyond the council-imposed deadline to demonstrate to the community the council could act in a timely way to reach a reasonable conclusion. Mr. Zelenka acknowledged staff’s hard work. He believed the City was on the right track. He agreed with Mr. Pryor that it was more important to get the work done right rather than fast but he also shared Mr. Poling’s belief the council needed to stick to the timeline. Mr. Zelenka expressed disappointment in the last CRB panel discussion, terming it one-dimensional, traditional, “rear-view mirror thinking.” The discussion had not been forward-thinking enough for him, particularly as it regarded the “new green economy” and where the community wanted to position itself. He did not think Eugene could plan for tomorrow with yesterday’s knowledge. He said traditional incentives often did not realize what they were intended and sometimes had a negative net impact. He wanted to think more broadly. Speaking to Mr. Poling’s concerns about the visual depictions created for the WEC, Mayor Piercy noted the time community members put into developing those depictions and said the WEC members represented a MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2010 Page 2 Work Session