CCMinutes - 01/26/04 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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required of the development. He recalled little discussion of the industrial zones as they related to the hospital when the council made zone changes needed to accommodate the hospital. He said the redevelop- ment opportunity presented by a hospital would be significant. The City would be asking a quasi-residential medical use to be a pioneer in a major redevelopment project in an industrial area. Ms. Nathanson was enthusiastic about the 2nd and Chambers site but thought the council needed to keep in mind the need to site other medical uses nearby, which would consume considerable industrial land that was proximate to other industrial activities. When she considered the fairgrounds, she thought of the loss of the community, convention, and meeting facilities, some of which might be replaced and some of which might stay. She had hoped to have more discussion of that with the Lane Board of County Commissioners and the Lane County Fair Board. It was not mysterious to her why a hospital would be looking at the Delta site because of the proximity of clinics and doctors who could partner with the hospital. She encouraged the staff to continue discussions with the hospital. Mayor Torrey concurred with Ms. Nathanson. He said the incentives were in the preferred area. He said that the hospital was looking for a location and it was driving the decision. The council wanted it to go one place, and the hospital did not want to. He suggested the potential that the hospital could go to Glenwood as Springfield was buying options on property in that area, and Glenwood is in Springfield. He said a hospital in Glenwood would not be a Eugene hospital. He thought the community wanted a hospital with a full emergency facility. Mayor Torrey said that if the answer from McKenzie-Willamette/Triad was that it could not find a site in the preferred area, so be it. He thought more could be done to make the fairgrounds work, although he acknowledged the neighbors would object. However, he believed the neighbors would object no matter where the hospital located. Mayor Torrey spoke to those who asked, ;;Why not 2nd and cnamvers. He suggested the answer to some degree was in the uncertainty of being the first development in such an area. He reiterated the site was what the City wanted, not what McKenzie-Willamette/Triad wanted. Mayor Torrey called for a second round of comments from the council. Noting the council was scheduled to go into executive session, Mr. Kelly did not think anything that had been said prevented the council from discussing the issues involved in open session. Mr. Kelly shared Ms. Nathanson's concerns about the potential loss of industrial land but pointed out that the industrial vacancy rate was currently not high. He said the Metro Partnership was not enthusiastic about the development potential of the land in question, and he did not think the City would be losing out on other industrial development opportunities if the site was occupied by a hospital. Speaking to comments that McKenzie-Willamette/Triad was considering a Glenwood location, Mr. Kelly pointed out that Glenwood was also largely zoned industrial and if the hospital found the industrial nature of the 2nd and Chambers undesirable it should find Glenwood undesirable as well. Mr. Kelly liked Ms. Bettman's suggestion for a ;;Plan B." He said the council should flesh out such a proposal and begin to develop the actual boundaries for a tax increment district, for example. Mr. Kelly pointed out the hospital could proceed with its development plans tomorrow if it wished to locate MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 26, 2004 Page 7 Work Session