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Mr. Clark suggested the council consider the issue from the perspective of increasing the property tax <br />base. The only way the City could pay for the increasing costs of providing the services that people <br />demanded was to increase the amount of property taxes paid. <br />Mr. Clark asked if what percentage of economic growth Eugene would achieve if the portfolio of sites <br />discussed by staff achieved full build -out. Mr. Dedrick indicated staff needed to do more analysis to tie <br />job growth to the portfolio. He added that the State forecast did not account for any new industrial <br />acreage. Mr. Clark suggested a need for 25,000 – 26,000 jobs in the next ten years. He wanted the <br />council to be able to review metrics related to the type and amount of parcels added, their potential impact <br />on the property tax base, and the number of jobs generated. He feared the City would take a conservative <br />approach and plan for what it could defend to the State rather than take a more aspirational approach that <br />planned for economic success as opposed to intentional planning to extend the recession. City Manager <br />Ruiz suggested that the next Envision Eugene presentation, which addressed commercial land, would help <br />fill out the entire picture. <br />Mayor Piercy asked that the council be provided with a comparison of Eugene's wages to other local <br />jurisdictions, the state, and the nation. <br />Mr. Zelenka questioned the need for five sites of more than 50 acres. He said most job growth came from <br />small businesses and the economic incentives sometimes offered by governments to attract larger firms <br />requiring such sites cost more than they realized in tax revenues. He did not think history supported the <br />designation of five such sites. He did agree some large sites were needed and existing industrial sites <br />needed to be reconfigured. Mr. Zelenka said the City did not need any industrial lands to meet its legal <br />requirements. He asked what Springfield and Lane County were doing in areas such as Russell Creek and <br />Goshen to meet the goals of the JEO Regional Prosperity Plan. <br />Mr. Zelenka noted that the Game Farm Road property was in the 100 -year floodplain and asked how that <br />affected potential development. Mr. Dedrick said it did not; the floodplain was a planning consideration <br />rather than a prohibition to development. He acknowledged some industries would not want to develop <br />on such a site. <br />Mr. Farr reiterated that Eugene companies such as Rexius Forest Products found it impossible to expand <br />in Eugene and had to move to another community to find sufficient land. Other local firms like Feeney <br />Wireless wanted to stay and grow in Eugene. Mr. Farr believed that relying on history to predict future <br />development was a "mixed bag" and thought it was essential to ensure there was land for local businesses <br />to expand on, not just to attract outside companies. <br />Mr. Brown requested a map showing where the location of 50 -acre and 100 -acre sites. He wanted to see <br />totally unconstrained parcels and suggested it was possible that Eugene had no such sites and companies <br />might have to go to other communities. The community might be facing some natural limits to growth. <br />He did not think that was necessarily a bad thing. Mr. Brown acknowledged the City's need to comply <br />with State law but was concerned that the Eugene- centric approach moved the community away from <br />regional planning. Mr. Dedrick anticipated staff would return with information reflecting planning for <br />industrial development at the regional level and said the sites presented by staff represented the <br />community's available and least constrained sites. <br />Ms. Taylor expressed concern that large factories attracted ten people for every new job, and when the <br />factory closed the laid off workers needed social services. While such development brought tax revenues, <br />they also generated the need for new services. She agreed that it was important to consider the issue at <br />the regional level. Ms. Taylor recalled a collaborative three -city approach taken by three Massachusetts <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council November 23, 2011 Page 4 <br />Work Session <br />