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<br />Ms. Potter indicated to Mr. Zelenka that the discussion of large industrial parcels in terms of their number, <br />size, and location was occurring. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka asked if the subcommittee had discussed the issue of brown fields and possible strategies that <br />could make the development of such sites affordable without government intervention. Mr. Sullivan <br />suggested that the City might be able to take advantage of existing federal programs to inventory and assess <br />brown fields and capitalize a revolving loan fund for their clean-up to keep such lands in private hands. <br /> <br />Mr. McMahon observed that he had heard that when companies came to Eugene to look for large-sized <br />industrial parcels they needed at least three 25 acre locations to look at. Ms. Prichard concurred, saying for <br />the community to be on people’s radar, they must have a choice. They wanted the best situation for their <br />employees possible, including access to restaurants and shopping. The same was true for existing <br />employers. They also needed a choice. She believed the community needed 12-15 sites of 24 acres or more, <br />and two 100-acre sites for the purpose of long-term planning. The City’s current sites were encumbered by <br />wetlands and had other issue as well. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy said that access to transit was another amenity of interest to companies seeking land. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor did not expect the economy to come back as it had before, and for that reason he believed a new <br />conversation about what the future would look like and potential tools was necessary. He did not expect a <br />return to ‘business as usual.’ He emphasized the importance of partnerships and a model that was designed <br />to compete on the global level. He believed it was the role of government to create the environment in which <br />the private sector could create jobs. That required the community to work smarter with what it had, and he <br />believed it was possible to do so with everyone’s commitment. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor suggested the goal related to job creation was low and Eugene could aim higher. <br /> <br />Mr. Brown questioned the relationship between the presentation and the task of identifying the location for <br />new industrial, commercial, and residential uses. He wanted to look at detailed maps to see where things <br />should go. He suggested that the subject of the Veneta water contact was related to the discussion. It would <br />have huge implications for the outcomes of the Envision Eugene process if the Eugene Water & Electric <br />Board was to become a regional water supplier for other Lane County communities. In addition, growth in <br />Veneta, which he termed a bedroom community of Eugene, also had implications for Eugene. He thought <br />those issues needed to be accounted for. Mr. McMahon asked Mr. Brown to have patience and trust the <br />process. Mayor Piercy concurred. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark emphasized the importance of ensuring the community had an inventory of appropriately sized, <br />unconstrained industrial lands unconstrained. Speaking to Mr. Zelenka’s remarks, Mr. Clark suggested the <br />community was moving in the opposite direction to the degree that local businesses had to move to other <br />communities when they wished to expand because of a lack of land inside Eugene. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark suggested the CRG Economic Development Subcommittee consider the economic opportunities <br />related to secondary agriculture products. He also noted the difficulty some employers encountered when <br />attempting to hire employees such as software developers because of a lack of other companies that could <br />hire them. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 15, 2010 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />