CC Minutes - 10/13/10 Work Session

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the council needed to recognize the traded sector was a very good way to keep the community's economic engine running. Ms. Taylor wanted to know which of the CRG members had dropped out. It appeared to her most CRB members were part of the development community. Ms. Gardner was unaware of anyone who had dropped out. Not all members were able to participate at every meeting. She pointed out that those involved in the group were considered opinion leaders who had busy, dynamic lives. She reviewed some of the groups represented on the CRG, which included 1,000 Friends of Oregon, Friends of Eugene, and neighborhood associations. People were still being added, and she invited Ms. Taylor to contact her with suggestions for other participants. Ms. Taylor asked if there was a possibility that Eugene would retain the UGB in its current location. Ms. Gardner pointed out that State law first required Eugene to examine opportunities for increasing densities within the existing UGB. However, Eugene must also ensure that it was not assigning densities and capacities that would not work in the economic market or in the market of public opinion. She said staff would return with more information on the topic soon. Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Zelenka that the community should not plan for tomorrow based on what happened yesterday. Things could change. She anticipated that Eugene could end up being a community dominated by multi - family housing and that people would change the way that they lived. Ms. Taylor hoped that any decisions made by the CRG or the council would still be put out to the public for feedback. She did not think that many residents were aware of the process. Mr. Clark wanted to see approaches that supported existing businesses and allowed for more economic independence. He was concerned that the City was not adequately planning for manufacturing based jobs, which he continued to believe would be important to the area, particularly as they related to agricultural products, secondary production of agricultural products, and green technology. He thought that would both help to employ residents and increase property tax revenues by creating more taxpayers. Ms. Gardner said that small -group discussions at the last CRG meeting had touched on that topic. There was agreement among participants that the community needed to be equally prepared for smaller industrial and to ensure there were opportunities to nourish existing businesses. Mr. Zelenka agreed that the community needed to pursue manufacturing in a strategic and realistic way. He believed it was acceptable to pursue larger companies, but thought it needed to be proportional to the probability of securing one, and that Eugene wanted to avoid "giving away the store." He wanted a diverse strategy, or what he termed a "pie that had a lot of slices in it." He agreed with Mr. Clark that the City needed to support existing businesses to ensure they stayed here. Mr. Zelenka believed the pace of the process was too slow and said many CRG members shared that sentiment. He asked what the council would see in February and what decisions it would be asked to make at that time. City Manager Ruiz indicated he intended to present the council with a decision package that included what he termed "the deal points of a deal." What the council approved in February would move forward as the final product. He said that there would also be a formal adoption process, and that included public hearings that might prompt the council to make changes. City Manager Ruiz anticipated that in the future, the City would periodically revisit the plan to ensure that the assumptions behind it played out, and that effort would become a part of the regular work plan. Mr. Zelenka endorsed that approach. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 13, 2010 Page 4 Work Session