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Mr. Zelenka agreed with Mayor Piercy about the importance of communal open space. He emphasized <br />the importance of onsite management for such a development because of the anticipated student <br />population and asked what the City could do to ensure that long -term site management occurred. He <br />suggested that the City codify a requirement for on -site management based on the number of units in a <br />development. <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Ms. Laurence said the developer planned to build to the <br />LEED silver standard or to Earth Advantage standards. The developer was looking into car sharing and <br />electric vehicle charging stations. Mr. Zelenka challenged the developer to meet the LEED gold standard. <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka about bicycle parking, Ms. Laurence said the bicycle parking <br />proposed would exceed the City's code standards. Mr. Zelenka wanted to ensure that there was sufficient <br />vehicle parking on the site to avoid a situation where students drove around looking for on- street parking <br />spaces. <br />Mr. Brown asked what entities on the property were paying property taxes. Ms. Laurence indicated she <br />would return with more detail. <br />Mr. Brown requested information about University of Oregon enrollment projections, the current student <br />vacancy rate, and the number of student housing units still under construction. <br />Mayor Piercy suggested the on -site management proposed would help address behaviors that people were <br />concerned about. She did not think the community would ever be completely in agreement about the <br />MUPTE application. <br />Mayor Piercy emphasized her commitment to urbanizing the community. Otherwise, she feared Eugene <br />would face sprawl, increased carbon emissions, and less livability. She acknowledged it was a big shift <br />for the community to grow vertically and acknowledged it made some people uncomfortable, but it was <br />where the council said it wanted the community to go. <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka about how the City could codify long -term on -site <br />management, City Manager Ruiz said staff would look into what legally could be done. <br />Mr. Zelenka believed that the development would relieve pressure on neighborhoods around the <br />University of Oregon, where old houses were being removed for the construction of high - density housing <br />right next to single- family houses, which dramatically changed the character of those neighborhoods. <br />Mr. Brown believed the council should hold as many meetings as possible and hear from as many <br />stakeholders as possible given the size of the proposed development. He said the Downtown <br />Neighborhood Association had been very concerned about the project because of the massing and fact the <br />residents would be students. <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Farr about the timeline, Ms. Laurence said the developers hoped to <br />begin construction in June so they could begin to rent units in fall 2012. Mr. Farr determined from Ms. <br />Laurence that the timeline took site preparation into account. <br />Mr. Poling agreed the scope of the proposal warranted extra council scrutiny and he welcomed a two -way <br />conversation with the development team. He asked what experience other communities had with such <br />developments when school was not in session. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council March 12, 2012 Page 4 <br />Work Session <br />