Item 2A - Approval of Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

John Lawless, 90 East 26th Avenue, said the last thing to be built on 8m Avenue should be the police facility. He thought a one-block wide swath of potentially energetic street covered by a building and connected to the new courthouse would cause the sidewalks to be "rolled up" in the evening. He recommended that 8th Avenue join with Broadway Street with a crossing at 8th Avenue and Mill Street to the Courthouse District in order to enhance and enliven the pedestrian flow and activity. Kamala Shugar, 125 East 8th Avenue, Room 400, Assistant District Attorney, thought the vision for a justice center model would develop partnerships between public agencies and governmental agencies and would increase public activity at the police station. She related that she had traveled to San Diego, California, to tour a model family justice center. She said it was a city attorney's office that had implemented this model. Victims felt safe there because they knew they were going to get on-site counseling, on-site access to a restraining order petition, and on-site access to an investigator in a safe setting, as well as other beneficial services. She hoped this model could be incorporated on a smaller scale into the Eugene Police Department. She called it "one-stop shopping" for victims of crime. Russ Brink, 132 East Broadway Street, #103, president of Downtown Eugene, Incorporated (DE1), said there was a lot to like in the policy principles. He felt the opportunity to provide the Farmers Market a functional long-term home in the downtown area was one of the more exciting aspects of the plan. He opined that the Farmers Market, along with the Saturday Market, had become a real magnet of activity. He commented that, whether the public safety building was across the street or not, the design charette that occurred had provided a lot of good ideas to consider for the placement of it. Mr. Brink expressed concern regarding the general use of urban renewal money to fund public buildings. He thought the library had been a wise investment of urban renewal money, but urged the council to remember that the real goal of this funding mechanism was to leverage private investment in a particular area. Harriet Cherry, 1944 Alder Street, explained that she was an architect who had participated in the charette. She felt the principles advocated by the Mayor's Civic Center Visioning Committee represented a sound foundation for planning and design and were consistent with the charette and the downtown plan. She suggested the following modifications: · The principles on parking should be renamed "transportation" with the following addition: "The Civic Center should be planned to support multiple modes of transportation including pedestrian, bikes, bus transit, and automobiles. Facilities for each mode should support not only the Civic Center but also surrounding mixed uses." · Add to the principle entitled 'Employ cost-effective development approaches': "The Civic Center should employ sustainable principles of design, construction, and operation. Buildings and places within the Civic Center must be built within the resources available to the commu- nity. Within those resources, it should be treated as an important long-term investment in downtown, a place of excellence, and reflecting community pride." · Add a new principle called 'Mixed Uses': "Design the Civic Center to support mixed uses for an active, diverse, and vigorous downtown. Individual buildings and places within the Civic Center should incorporate places for art, community information, service briefs, coffee shops, displays, and gatherings. Properties in the Civic Center district should include a variety of primary uses such as housing, retail, arts, and others." Ms. Cherry further recommended that the City continue the efforts of the many concerned groups that had MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 12, 2004 Page 5 Regular Meeting