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zoning status affected that potential. Mr. Bjorklund believed it was possible the property could be <br />rezoned. Mr. Brown asked how much Lane County was collecting in taxes from the property owner. Mr. <br />Bjorklund did not know. <br />Mr. Brown expressed concern that if the City bought the land and took it off the tax rolls, it would <br />negatively impact Lane County government. He suggested the property was also a candidate for inclusion <br />in an expanded urban growth boundary (UGB). He was concerned about removing the property from that <br />discussion without more analysis. <br />Mr. Pryor believed the City could purchase the property and still have money left over for a community <br />park in Santa Clara. He said the question was whether the purchase was a worthwhile investment. He did <br />not know but thought the acquisition was worth examining at the proposed price. <br />Mr. Zelenka agreed the purchase was a good deal and suggested the council also needed to think about <br />what would happen to the land if the City did not buy it. He agreed with Mr. Clark about the need for a <br />community park in Santa Clara and the importance of reserving money for that purpose. Mr. Zelenka also <br />noted the City had committed to the acquisition of several neighborhood parks through the POS measure. <br />Mr. Bjorklund indicated that goal had been the most challenging to achieve. The City sought out four - <br />acre sites with good street access owned by a willing seller, and to date had found no sites meeting those <br />criteria, forcing staff to consider smaller sites. He said the City had acquired one neighborhood park of <br />about an acre in size. Mr. Bjorklund anticipated the City would start to purchase lots with houses on them <br />to combine for a park in the future. He was unsure the City would ever be able to get neighborhood parks <br />in all the areas identified in the materials associated with the POS measure. <br />Mr. Zelenka speculated it would take decades to achieve the POS measure's goal for neighborhood parks. <br />He suggested the tradeoff before the council was the goal for neighborhood parks, which could take a long <br />time to achieve, and the proposed land purchase. <br />At the request of Mr. Zelenka, Mr. Bjorklund reviewed the council's options regarding the City's naming <br />policy. <br />Mr. Zelenka expressed concern about the long -term maintenance cost of the parcel in question and <br />determined from Mr. Zelenka that no endowment accompanied the property. Mr. Bjorklund referred the <br />council to the meeting packet, which included projected maintenance costs based on different develop- <br />ment scenarios that ranged from $127,000 to more than $900,000 annually. <br />Mr. Poling pointed out that the bond identified south Eugene as an area eligible for bond funding and <br />given the property's location in south Eugene, he did not think purchasing the property would be a misuse <br />of the funds. <br />Speaking to the naming policy, Mr. Poling noted the many charitable and community activities that <br />Suzanne Arlie was involved with. <br />Mr. Poling suggested it could be challenging for a private party to rezone and develop the property given <br />its current zoning, and there was a potential it might lie undisturbed for many years, allowing it to serve <br />the function of natural habitat. <br />Ms. Taylor did not think the City needed to maintain the park if it was left in a natural state. She asked if <br />the City was sure the land would not be available after December 2010. Mr. Bjorklund did not know. <br />MINUTES —City Council November 8, 2010 Page 5 <br />Work Session <br />