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Laura Potter, 1401 Willamette Street, representing the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, expressed support for the manager's recommendation to expand the UGB to accommodate additional industrial land. The issue was a high priority for the chamber. She related that the community recently lost more than 500 jobs, including family -wage jobs, due to the loss of large employers. Those losses coincided with the economic downturn. Ms. Potter reported that averages wages in Lane County were on the decline and emphasized the importance of high -wage, family -wage jobs to the health of the community. Such jobs kept young families in the Eugene and kept schools open. They enabled the City to maintain its livability. She concurred that the City should create a portfolio of sites. Ed McMahon, representing the Home Builders Association of Lane County, agreed that the industrial land supply had reached the crisis point. He expressed support for City Manager Ruiz's recommendation to increase the supply and emphasized that it was based on actual data. Phil Farrington, 1160 Monroe Street, supported the manager's recommendation to expand the UGB for industrial purposes. He believed that the community's legacy of livability depended on paying attention to fundamentals such as employment opportunities and job creation. Eugene needed to ensure there were opportunities for economic growth. The recommendation would add a modest number of sites of varying sizes to the inventory. Will Shaver, 2494 Portland Street, believed a long -term solution to homelessness was needed and suggested that increasing the industrial land supply was one such long -term solution. He said it was critical to add employment opportunities to the community. Infill development had not worked for those who had tried to do so locally. He was aware of local employers who had tried to expand their operations and had done so on a piecemeal basis, spreading their businesses across the community, resulting in higher transportation costs and more damaged goods. Mr. Shaver believed the manager's recommendation was reasonable. He advocated for local jobs, which led to local taxes. Tom Slocum, 1950 Graham Drive, supported the manager's recommendations for the UGB expansion to accommodate industrial uses. He noted the examples offered by others about the challenge of locating a new industrial business in Eugene. He was concerned that Eugene's growth was so slow that it would not have the jobs needed to make the community viable and there would not be sufficient tax revenues to support the community's needs and desires. He was also very concerned about the industrial land supply, and agreed with Mr. Reed that perhaps more acreage was needed. Brent McClure, 3015 Walnut Street, the chair of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Committee, said the committee supported the manager's recommendation to expand the UGB for industrial uses. The lack of large parcels was an obstacle for many companies seeking to locate in Eugene. Carolyn Jacobs, 2040 Agate Street, recalled the council's establishment of the ICS Project and reported that since that time 700 young people had moved into 10 new projects in her neighborhood. Lot aggregation had resulted in enormous buildings with minimal setbacks next to single- family houses. Open spaces were nonexistent, and parties spilled into the street. Ms. Jacobs said her neighborhood could not survive development based on the sole guiding principle of the developer's bottom line. Neighbors were being driven out of their walkable neighborhood and were desperate to sustain it. Ms. Jacobs further reported that the City was currently in the midst of permitting a multi - family project near her home that would occupy a full quarter block, be 42 feet high, and have a five -foot setback on the property line it shared with a single - family house. Ms. Jacobs said without standards, a neighborhood that should be a resource for the University of Oregon and the City would be "thrown away." She said MINUTES— Eugene City Council April 25, 2011 Page 8 Regular Meeting