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Ms. Edwards liked the term "environmental business ethic" and suggested it could be a template that could be applied rather than merely discussed, although she acknowledged that would be a challenge. She believed it could create common ground among citizens. Mr. Rexius asked where the resources for economic development would come from. Mr. Johnson said the money was available, but its allocation needed to be a council priority. Mr. Obie concurred. He cited Springfield as an example of a community that had placed resources into economic development with success. Ms. Rygas asked what the community could do to account for mistakes made in the past by the polarized sides without dwelling on it. Mr. Johnson pointed Out there was not polarization on many community issues. Mr. Obie believed that one could not ignore the fact the community was polarized and had disagreement. As a result, things do not happen and the community gets lower paying jobs. Mr. Wanichek asked Mr. Bowers to discuss the importance of an organization such as the Portland Development Commission. Mr. Bowers said it was essential. He said the commission was a special purpose form of government separate from the City of Portland. The commission was not elected, which made a big difference, but members were sensitive to politics. Members had business expertise and community credibility. Mr. Obie agreed as to the importance of the commission. Ms. Rygas asked by what mechanism the commission's guidelines were put in place. Mr. Bowers indicated they were formally adopted policies that went through a public process. Mr. Coyle observed that Eugene had a very complex zoning code. He asked the presenters to comment on the regulatory nature of the code, which worked against consensus. Mr. Johnson said the City Council had tended to attempt to achieve its public policy goals through regulation. He thought that was the wrong approach. He suggested the City needed to consider incentives rather than take a regulatory approach. He believed PeaceHealth's plans to leave Eugene were because of the council's attempt to regulate it in staying in its current location. Mr. Johnson said he was not sufficiently familiar with the range of zoning codes to talk about what was wrong with Eugene's. Mr. Coyle said the community continued to use zoning as a hammer rather than a scalpel. He asked how zoning related to the Portland Development Commission's projects. Mr. Bowers was unsure he could answer that specifically. He said zoning and regulation were designed to prevent the worst case scenario and represented a floor rather than a ceiling. Extraordinary projects were created by incentives and partnerships. He did not think Portland's zoning scheme was simpler than Eugene's, but it had an incentive base that allowed projects to "rise above that" and achieve some degree of innovation. Mr. Bowers noted that everything he worked on in Portland regarded mixed use rather than separated uses. MINUTES--Mayor's Committee on Economic Development April 20, 2004 Page 9