CC Minutes - 11/28/11 Work Session

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At the request of Mr. Zelenka, Mr. Hostick explained the methodology used by staff to create the baseline for redevelopment for commercial redevelopment and multi - family development. City Manager Ruiz emphasized the relationship of the Seven Pillars to the methodology and said he encouraged staff to be aggressive but reasonable. Mr. Zelenka endorsed the standard of "aggressive but reasonable." Ms. Weiss said the City could employ the State "safe harbor" projection mentioned by W. Clark or it could develop its own growth forecast based on local conditions; that would not be a safe harbor. Another State projection was expected in January 2012. The council would ultimately decide what projection to use. Mayor Piercy suggested the council needed to consider both the Seven Pillars and its own council policies as it moved forward. She questioned the use of past trends in light of what she believed was a national trend toward more multi -unit dwellings. She asked how the council could reframe the issue of multi- family dwellings for Eugene to get greater community acceptance. The City was experiencing multi - family development people did not like in many areas and she suggested the council frame what a good multi- family dwelling was, how it would work in Eugene, where such development had been successful, and why. She agreed that the financial incentives could be controversial and emphasized the need to tie the incentives to the council's goals. She liked the idea of having more incentives. Mr. Clark asked about the likelihood of a legal challenge if the City decided to adopt a higher job growth percentage. Ms. Weiss said the City had to have a basis for its projection and could not merely be aspirational. The City must be specific about what it would do to create those jobs and able to justify its projections. Mr. Clark asked if the City could use the Joint Elected Officials Regional Prosperity Plan for that purpose. Ms. Weiss said the Technical Resource Group believed the City needed to develop an implementation plan for the Regional Prosperity Plan. Mr. Clark suggested a work session be held on the topic. Mr. Brown wanted the council to give the current list of incentives more scrutiny and recommended that staff look into the more modest development incentives offered by Boulder, Colorado. He said that Boulder required companies to remain in the community for a mutually agreed number of years before they received tax rebates. He also wanted the council to look into the Arizona law that severely limited the development incentives that cities could provide. B. WORK SESSION: Tri- Annual Report to City Council from Police Auditor The council was joined by Police Auditor Mark Gissiner. Mr. Gissiner reviewed highlights of his tri- annual report, copies of which were provided to the council. Councilors asked questions clarifying the details of the report. Mayor Piercy thanked Mr. Gissiner for the Police Auditor's newsletter, which she frequently shared with others. She continued to be concerned about the nature of the oversight system for the University of Oregon's Department of Public Safety (DPS), the relationship between the DPS and EPD, and the importance of ensuring people's rights were preserved. Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Brown concurred as to the value of the newsletter. Ms. Ortiz shared Mayor Piercy's concern about the lack of civilian oversight for the DPS. Responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz about the potential involvement of the Civilian Review Board (CRB) and Police Auditor in the proposed Hate Crimes Conference, Mr. Gissiner anticipated that some CRB would be interested in participating. Ms. Ortiz encouraged that participation. MINUTES— Eugene City Council November 28, 2011 Page 2 Work Session