Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

ATTACHMENT B M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8 Avenue th Eugene, Oregon 97401 May 8, 2013 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: George Brown, Betty Taylor, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Claire Syrett, Greg Evans, Alan Zelenka (via conference phone). Her Honor, Mayor Piercy opened the May 8, 2013, work session of the Eugene City Council. A. WORK SESSION: Comprehensive Plan for Bringing Properties into City City Manager Jon Ruiz, Executive Director of Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Renee Grube, Senior Planner Terri Harding, and Principal Planner Steve Nystrom provided background information noting that their presentation was focused on the River Road and Santa Clara areas only, even though other parts of town do have properties that are outside the incorporated area that could be annexed. Santa Clara River Road Outreach and Learning Project (SCRROL) members Carleen Reilly and Kate Perle added the perspectives of the neighborhoods they represent as well as information about the SCRROL process and longer-term goals. Council Clark recapped the five principles he hoped would be used to guide the council’s deliberations and be incorporated into the plan. 1) No property owner should be forced to annex into the city. 2) Different incentives should be developed and implemented for applicable separate types of property owners. 3) The city should develop an extensive communications plan to insure these residents get accurate information about the city's intentions and the property owner's opportunity to benefit from annexation. 4) The process for annexation should be simplified and potentially discounted to allow for the greatest number of property owners to take advantage of the opportunity. 5) The city will collaborate with the existing service providers and special districts in the area to ensure greatest benefit to the area residents and to maintain to the extent possible locally valued assets. Council Discussion/Questions/Issues/Challenges:  There is general support for the City’s policy to wait for a trigger such as proposed development to initiate an annexation.  Changes to State law requiring all annexations to be contiguous with City properties creates many challenges.  New tools to make annexation more attractive should be identified and developed.  There will be benefits to bringing all City services to a more complete level.  Considerable time and care must be given to determining the best way to merge the River Road Parks District with the City’s recreation programs.  Protection of farm lands and food security is the highest priority. MINUTES – Eugene City Council May 8, 2013 Page 1 Work Session