Item 4A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Councilor Ortiz arrived during the public hearing. Mark Robinowitz , Ward 3, called for protection of farmland to ensure food supplies when oil ran out. He called on the council to involve energy experts in the planning process. He said the community had “passed the limits of growth.” Shawn Boles , Ward 7, spoke to Pillars 3 (climate change) and 7 (adaptive implementation). He emphasized the reality of global warming. He believed Envision Eugene should be implemented in the context of the City’s Climate & Energy Action Plan. He argued for a 45:55 single-family/multi-family housing ratio and opposed expansion of the urban growth boundary (UGB). He would accept a 50:50 housing ratio but expansion should only be onto exception lands. Mia Nelson , 1,000 Friends of Oregon, supported the City’s industrial lands analysis but added that if the County moved forward to provide industrial land in Goshen she hoped the City would consider a compensating adjustment. She believed the Clear Lake residential expansion would meet state requirements and would conflict with adjacent industrial uses. She called for a 50:50 single-family/multi- family ratio and suggested that demographic changes meant more people would seek multi-family housing. She believed the community was under-planning for multi-family. Ms. Nelson submitted written testimony on behalf of her organization. Rob Zako , Ward 3, suggested that the community did not need 20 years of land to build, but rather enough to support a fluid land market. A 20-year supply that practically equated to a three-year supply was acceptable. He did not believe the planning process had ended because he did not think the community had all the information it needed, such as the results of transportation planning. Scott Coleman , Lane County, a property owner in the Clear Lake Road area, said he was okay with his land being inside the UGB but questioned the suitability of the land for residential uses given its proximity to industrial uses. He recommended the City consider locating the Lane County Fairgrounds to the Clear Lake area so the fairgrounds could be redeveloped with residential uses. He commended the City for its holistic approach to planning and believed that the chosen approach could result in useful multi-use areas. Alma Hesus , Ward 4, supported the manager’s recommendation for expansion of the UGB for industrial uses because it would give Eugene a competitive edge in attracting employees. She had collected the business cards of 100 community members in support of her remarks and shared a map that showed their residential locations. Brent McLean , Ward 5, said the council needed to ensure there was enough land for growth. If Eugene did not grow, small bedroom communities would continue to grow toward Eugene. He supported the manager’s recommendation for industrial expansion and recommended the council consider adding more acres. He said the mitigation of brownfields and formation of an industrial land bank was costly and took years to produce results. Ralph Parcell , Ward 4, expressed concern that two of his three children had to leave the community to find employment in their fields. He said the council should be concerned about the lack of living wage jobs for families. If the council did not show foresight in the identification of additional industrial lands he thought the community would have failed. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2012 Page 3 Regular Meeting