Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Poling suggested it could be challenging for a private party to rezone and develop the property given its current zoning, and there was a potential it might lie undisturbed for many years, allowing it to serve the function of natural habitat. Ms. Taylor did not think the City needed to maintain the park if it was left in a natural state. She asked if the City was sure the land would not be available after December 2010. Mr. Björklund did not know. Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Klein said if the City offered the property owner substan- tially less money than was under discussion, that figure must be approved by the bankruptcy court. He did not think the naming issue was of concern to the bankruptcy courts. In response to Ms. Taylor’s remarks, Mr. Björklund said that natural areas also required maintenance, although at a lower cost than required for developed parks. Ms. Ortiz asked if the City had to purchase the land for use as a park or if it could purchase the property and landbank it for another purpose. Mr. Klein said he believed the City could do so, but because the property would be purchased with parks bond money, the City would have to reimburse the bond for the cost. Mr. Brown reiterated his suggestion that the property could be a good place for UGB expansion, particular- ly given its proximity to infrastructure and services. Mr. Björklund said under State law, the City must first look to exception lands, and there were several such areas around Eugene. They did not include the property in question. Such lands generally had a level of existing development and infrastructure and were smaller in size than typical rural developments. Mr. Brown advocated for dropping the 20 acres on the north side of the property because of the higher cost. Parks and Open Space Manager Johnny Medlin explained that staff had negotiated the addition of that acreage, which the City had attempted to purchase when it negotiated the initial ridgeline trail acquisition with the property owners. Mr. Brown noted that City Attorney Glenn Klein had concluded that the proposal was legal even though the property was not mentioned in the bond measure, and suggested that under that reasoning, the City could purchase Civic Stadium because the bond measure materials mentioned a park in south Eugene that included soccer and baseball fields and a park and ride. Mayor Piercy did not think that spending money for parkland and open space was the same as buying and fixing buildings. Mr. Clark suggested the City faced a “take it or leave it deal.” He reminded the council that the City missed an opportunity to save money on an earlier south Eugene parks acquisition. He asked how many of the 13 new neighborhood parks mentioned by Mr. Björklund were to be located in north Eugene. Mr. Björklund said many were in north Eugene. Mr. Medlin concurred with a statement by Mr. Clark that the City was challenged in regard to its ability to maintain existing neighborhood parks, let alone new neighborhood parks. Mr. Clark, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to: 1) purchase the approximately 315 acres as shown on Attachment A and as detailed in the letter of intent included as Attachment B, contingent upon the inclusion of $600,000 donation previously agreed to; 2) use the MINUTES—City Council November 8, 2010 Page 6 Work Session