Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Jen Evans , 1591 High Street, #1, showed a drawing she made for her architecture class that demonstrated her plan for seven blocks of park in the downtown area. She thought this was an example of what could be done in downtown Eugene if “we opened our eyes and let people propose what they’re thinking.” She thought the City would then truly become a great city for the arts and outdoors. rd Lora Byxbe , 677 West 23 Avenue, said she had a chance to see the plan for downtown Eugene prepared by Professor Gillem of the University of Oregon; his students and she thought it was a beautiful proposal. She felt it was unfortunate that the Whole Foods project was in the middle of it. She thought Eugene needed to formulate a master plan for the downtown area and follow it. She felt doing so would prevent the City from making a big mistake. John Etter , 85444 Teague Loop, expressed concern that the planning process surrounding the federal courthouse/Cannery Square area was insufficient. He thought there was no site specific planning that would give further direction as to how the downtown objectives would be achieved. He opined that this caused those with a focus on urban design focus distress as they saw those with a focus on urban development “allowing development proposals to proceed without consideration of how all objectives of the downtown plan would be met in a coordinated manner.” He opined that the current policy seemed “first come, first serve.” He felt the opportunity to design and enhance the general architecture of the City was lost in this process. He lauded the university students who examined this opportunity and produced a proposal for a park blocks connector from the downtown to the river. He asked the City to “give the best design visionaries” the chance to work on this development. th Virginia M. Lo , 1855 East 28 Avenue, said she was a professor at the University of Oregon. She was concerned about the direction and process of development in downtown Eugene. She urged the council and staff to tap into the talent of the community for design ideas, such as the one presented by Ms. Evans. She asked that a vision of downtown that was for everyone be sought, and not just a vision of high-rise condominiums and “shopping for yuppies.” She suggested that the City pursue a slow, deliberate, and fiscally responsible policy that was not driven by developers’ agendas. Jozef Siekiel-Zdzienicki , 1025 Taylor Street, recalled that the council passed the Special Chambers Zone Area on December 15, 2005. He hoped the City could maintain those standards for other neighborhoods with similar old houses in them and ensure that the Planning Commission remained within the guidelines the council set. He also conveyed his gratitude for the Forest Legacy Program. th Paul Nicholson , 1855 East 28 Avenue, concurred with Mr. Hinkley’s remarks. He asserted that changes in the structure of the three hearings were “symptomatic” of the rushed character of the whole process. He hoped that the council would step back and allow for more time. He commented that he participated in many of the public parts of the downtown planning process over “many years.” He felt the kinds of visions that were preferred by the public were not reflected in what was occurring. He expressed concern that the downtown plan would push out middle- and lower-income people by making it unaffordable to live there. Charles Biggs , 540 Antelope Way, read a letter into the record requesting that his testimony to the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee from the meeting held on March 8, 2006, be included as part of the City Council’s packet. He asked the council to postpone its vote on Consent Calendar Item C, which would authorize an application to the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment for loan guarantee assistance and other related matters until councilors had a chance to review the points he made in his testimony. MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 5 City Council Meeting