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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 04/19/06 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall April 19, 2006 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Chris Pryor. The Honorable Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Downtown Development Update City Manager Dennis Taylor introduced Community Development Division Manager Mike Sullivan and Associate Planner Nan Laurence to present an update on downtown development. He noted that the agenda item was scheduled at the request of the City Council. Mr. Sullivan used a slide presentation to review development opportunity areas as originally described in the Downtown Plan. He said the sites were key elements of ongoing work in downtown and included the following projects and their investment values: ? Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse - $72 million ? The Tate Condominiums - $16 million ? Whole Foods - $24 million ?th WestTown on 8 - $16 million Mr. Sullivan described two projects that were more speculative in nature, including the West Broadway proposal, which was a mixed-use development that included retail, housing, office and theater space and represented a potential investment of $165 million. He said the other project was the former Sears site owned by the City, for which a Request for Proposals (RFP) would be developed in conjunction with the Planning Commission. Continuing, Mr. Sullivan listed other sites that were highlighted in the Downtown Plan but where there currently was less City activity: ? AgriPac remainder property – approximately two acres of developable property owned by the City, zoned I-3, Heavy Industrial, desirable location at the heart of the th courthouse district, redevelopment would emphasize 8 Avenue as a Great Street ? Eugene Clinic site – 2.65 acres owned by PeaceHealth, 1.6 acres surface parking, zoned C-3, Major Commercial, available dependent on the hospital’s future plans ?th 5 Street Market – public and private ownership, zoned C-2, Community Commercial and Special Area, redevelopment potential, ? State Motor pool – 1.7 acres, property possibly in transition, much redevelopment potential MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 1 ? Eugene Water & Electric (EWEB) site – 27 acres owned by EWEB. EWEB working on relocation plans; with relocation the site would become one of the most important sites in downtown with a mix of development and open space values, zoned Industrial and Public Land, master plan required for rezoning, Ms. Laurence said that staff was trying to capitalize on development opportunities based on direction in the Downtown Plan, which was adopted two years ago as a policy document with a specific vision of downtown but flexibility about how that vision would be achieved. She said the plan was organized around nine themes and included 116 implementation strategies and project examples. She highlighted some of the themes and associated activities: ? Strong regional center and building a downtown – less progress on a strong regional center that would involve a downtown hospital or large regional facility, but much progress toward building a downtown as illustrated by the projects described earlier in the presentation ? Great Streets and special places – two most strongly supported themes during development of the downtown vision, most current development opportunities on the Great Streets, theme addressed by the City Hall complex master planning process, Park Blocks investments, actions to support The Shedd, more work needed ? Living downtown – supported by the residential projects discussed earlier, The Tate th Condominiums, WestTown on 8, West Broadway proposal as well as a full-service grocery store in downtown ? Downtown riverfront and cultural center – preliminary discussions with EWEB on th master planning the riverfront site, improving the connection along 8 Avenue from the Park Blocks to the river, support for Downtown Eugene Inc. (DEI), more work needed ? Safe civic center and getting around downtown – discussion of new police station as part of the City Hall complex, implementation of two-way streets downtown, road improvements surrounding courthouse district to connect commercial core to the east end of downtown and the river Ms. Laurence said that while plan implementation progress was being made, there were many elements yet to be addressed, such as developing a design complex for the Great Streets as urban open spaces, completing an open space plan for downtown, focusing on connections to nearby nature areas, coordinating arts and culture with the theme of Arts and the Outdoors, and specific projects such as redeveloping the Butterfly Lot as potentially part of the Park Blocks. She said that staff recommended continued implementation of the Downtown Plan with four areas of priority: ? Continue work on development opportunities, ? Work to refine an open space plan for downtown, specifically focusing on connections to nearby nature areas, ? Develop concepts for the Great Streets, creating inviting paths to special places downtown, and ? Work closely with EWEB on the master plan for the riverfront. Ms. Laurence concluded her presentation with a request for direction from the council regarding whether to prioritize certain projects, maintain staff’s focus on development opportunity work, or identify projects that needed additional staff work or needed to be initiated. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 2 Mr. Kelly commented that a thriving downtown was critical to a thriving Eugene. He asked what work was being done on the site adjacent to the federal courthouse site. Ms. Laurence replied that staff initiated work to rezone the property from industrial to commercial and was discussing the nature and timing of an RFP process. Mr. Kelly asked that RFP criteria be provided to the Planning Commission and City Council for review. He asked if the strategy related to helping employers remain and expand downtown by targeted use was supported by existing tools, such as urban renewal, rather than specific initiatives. Mr. Sullivan agreed that the strategy was being implemented with existing tools, such as assisting businesses with financing options. Mr. Kelly said he was least enamored with the Great Street theme as it seemed too grandiose for streets in Eugene and seemed to imply extra fancy street amenities that were not the best use of funds. He said there was community support for doing something significant for the Farmers Market, such as expansion or indoor space, and the council should assist those types of efforts. He urged staff to be aware of any opportunities. Mr. Papé agreed with Mr. Kelly’s remarks about the impact of a thriving downtown on the rest of Eugene. He asked if rezoning the remaining AgriPac land and EWEB site would be considered by the Planning Commission, then referred to the City Council. Ms. Laurence said the land use actions would be zone changes, which typically did not go through the City Council. Mr. Sullivan noted that the RFP process to dispose of the Agripac property would go through the council and could include a discussion of the underlying zoning and other aspects. Mr. Papé emphasized the importance of staying ahead of the curve on redevelopment of opportunity sites, including the Eugene Clinic property. He asked what uses were permitted under C-3 zoning. Ms. Laurence replied that a full range of commercial uses as well as residential were permitted. Mr. Papé asked if the Eugene Clinic site could be included in the urban renewal district. Mr. Sullivan said there was some expansion capacity in the district but it would not take in the entire footprint of the site. Mr. Papé asked about the timing of RFPs. City Manager Taylor said there would be an opportunity during the work session on City Hall to discuss timing as well as criteria. Mr. Papé concurred with Mr. Kelly’s comments regarding the Farmers Market. Ms. Taylor said the priority should be on doing things that were important and focusing on something particular rather than on the enormous list of implementation strategies, some of which she was apprehensive about. She said the Farmers Market was important to downtown and the City should immediately cease charging the market for parking spaces. She wanted a focus on helping the Farmers Market and referred to recommendations from an earlier task force. She asked how the City was attempting to facilitate the Conner-Woolley Opus West Broadway development project and whether staff had authorization from the council for its activities. Mr. Sullivan replied that the council had expressed a general interest in trying to assist the project to move forward and staff was doing nothing more than meet periodically with property owners in the West Broadway area to discuss concerns and issues and determine if staff could help address those. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 3 Ms. Taylor asked if staff was trying to push owners to sell their property. Mr. Sullivan assured her that staff was not attempting to influence owners. Ms. Taylor, referring to the strategy related to working with medical providers, asked if it was too late to have a medical facility downtown. Mr. Sullivan said the issue was addressed and much work was done but there was currently no hospital site identified downtown. Planning Director Susan Muir clarified that the strategy referred to a physicians’ group that had contacted the council several years ago about locating in downtown but the project had subsequently located outside of the downtown core. She said the strategy was still viable and staff would be willing to work with medical or other offices interested in the downtown area. th Ms. Taylor asked if the concept of a pedestrian overpass at 8 Avenue and Mill Street had been abandoned. Mr. Sullivan said a design for a grade level crossing was part of the street improvement package for the courthouse area. City Manager Taylor said the concept was not ruled out, although the current focus was on a grade level crossing. Ms. Bettman stated she hoped to have the opportunity to vote against a motion to direct staff to continue work on development opportunities and implementation of the Downtown Plan as she thought the plan had morphed from a vision to a plan. She thought the plan was too broad and was being used to justify projects. She said the council approved the plan conceptually, but now she no longer supported it as it lacked benchmarks, such as specific targets for housing units, commercial and retail. She was opposed to subsidizing retail because it put existing retail at a disadvantage. She said the plan was a concept but not a real blueprint for action; a real plan had a financial aspect that constrained actions to a budget. She said the strategies in the plan were not prioritized, not constrained, and not specific. Ms. Solomon commended the Downtown Plan and was pleased to see the fruits of its implementation in the staff presentation. She asked if the State motor pool site was going to be sold and whether it could be land banked for affordable housing. Mr. Sullivan said that there had been some interest in surplusing the site, but it would be offered first to State agencies, then to local jurisdictions, and finally to the open market. He said there were many potential uses for the site, but it was immediately adjacent to the railroad tracks. th Ms. Solomon expressed dismay that a grade level crossing was being planned for the 8 Avenue and Mill Street intersection, as she thought an overpass was critical. She said that Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart was also interested in efforts to support the Farmers Market and there might be an opportunity to partner with the County. Mayor Piercy stated her interest in and support for the Farmers Market. She asked how staff interpreted the Downtown Plan in terms of whether it was a plan with specific implementation or applied in a broader sense. Ms. Laurence said that staff tried to ensure that their work was related specifically to the policies in the plan; the implementation strategies and project examples illustrated the plan but the policies were its heart. She said because downtown was so high profile and there were financial implications involved, most of what staff was doing in downtown came before the council for specific direction on specific activities. She said the plan went through a full range of public hearings at the Planning Commission and City Council levels and was approved by the council as an aspirational document. She said there was language in the plan that specifically stated that conditions and circumstances would change and the plan was not meant to be so rigid it could not be reinterpreted as necessary. She said it was the intent of the plan to be flexible while remaining true to the vision. She said the plan technically had the status MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 4 of a refinement plan and some policies had been adopted into the land use but most the Downtown Plan’s policies were too aspirational to be adopted as evaluative criteria in the land use plan, with the exception of the requirement of a master plan for the EWEB site. Mayor Piercy said her understanding of the implementation strategies was that they were examples of ways to achieve those aspirations and as each opportunity was presented, the council had the opportunity to say it was consistent or inconsistent with the plan. Ms. Laurence agreed that Mayor Piercy’s understanding was consistent with staff interpretation. Mr. Kelly pointed out that the adopting ordinance was in the back of the Downtown Plan and pointed out that the policies were adopted as a refinement plan and the implementation strategies were essentially examples. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to direct staff to undertake a broad, high-level planning exercise to consider potential locations for downtown green space. This exercise should also examine (at a very rough level) potential costs and timelines. The results of this exercise should be brought back to the City Council within four months for further deliberation and direction. Mr. Kelly said it was difficult during discussion of a specific project to step back and have a broader, proactive discussion. He said the plan was mostly silent on the subject of green space and his intent was to generate ideas and potential sites for further discussion. Mr. Papé said he supported the motion generally and asked if a plaza or piazza would be included in the concept of green space. Mr. Kelly replied it was not included but he did not object to a plaza being included in the context of a larger open space study, but the focus was on green space. Ms. Ortiz supported the motion as green space would encourage people to live downtown. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to direct the City Manager to pursue, hopefully in collaboration with the Board of County Commissioners, interim projects to accommodate the needs of the farmers participating in the Farmers Market downtown. Mr. Kelly questioned the restriction to interim projects and suggested that the term “and longer term” be included. Ms. Bettman accepted the friendly amendment. Ms. Solomon said she was not opposed to the idea but felt the motion was premature and the issue should be discussed in a separate work session that included consideration of recommendations from a previous task force. She recognized the value of the Farmers Market but wanted to be better informed about options before taking action. Ms. Bettman said the downtown area was “dead” on days when there was no Farmers Market and supporting the market was a key and immediate step to helping downtown. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 5 Mr. Kelly encouraged support of the motion which initiated focused work, consistent with the staff’s request for direction. He said it was consistent with community interest in support for the market and strategies in the Downtown Plan. Mr. Pryor was supportive of the Farmers Market but concerned having only a few minutes to make a decision about on-the-fly motions. He asked for examples of projects that could support the market. Ms. Bettman cited electricity, wastewater and infrastructure issues that could be assigned a cost and considered in the next fiscal year. She said a longer-term project such as a semi-permanent structure could be scoped and brought back to the council. Ms. Solomon, seconded by Mr. Papé, moved to extend discussion time by ten minutes. The motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Ortiz voting in opposition. The amended motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Solomon voting in opposition. Ms. Solomon, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to direct staff to continue work on development opportunities and implementation of the Downtown Plan. Ms. Taylor said the plan was supposed to be conceptual but she believed it was used as a “weapon.” She said the plan worried her; there were many things in it she did not think were good ideas and she would vote against the motion. th Mr. Papé concurred with earlier remarks about the need for an overpass at 8 Avenue and Mill Street and urged that the option remain open with the design of the parking garage. He encouraged the council to continue to have regular discussions on downtown. He hoped that locations downtown could help with opportunity siting and asked if the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) discussed a north side parking structure. Mr. Sullivan replied that the north end scoping project addressed the issue of parking in association with the train station and he would research whether north end parking was considered in CATS. Mr. Kelly commented that there were some implementation strategies and example projects in the plan with which he did not agree but did not think the council’s action in 2004 or currently bound it to those strategies as anything significant had to come to the council for discretionary action. He used the parking garage as an example and pointed out that it was consistent with one of the implementation strategies but any member of the council was free to oppose it. He supported the motion on the floor. Mayor Piercy noted that sustainability was not specifically mentioned in the plan but hoped that it would be a factor in consideration of downtown projects. Ms. Taylor said that fixed rail transit and a walkability assessment were implementation strategies that should be worked on. Ms. Bettman said she would vote against the motion because the community perceived it as a plan and, in order to have a plan and move in a responsible way towards objectives, there had to be specifics, benchmarks, a blueprint, and financial constraints. She said when a project was presented to the council, the community and the media expected it to be supported because the plan was adopted unanimously and any project was consistent with the so-called plan. She said downtown deserved a real plan with benchmarks. She mentioned that a main theme of the plan MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 6 th was connecting downtown to the river and putting 6 Avenue along the river was counter to that objective. The motion passed, 6:1; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy asked if there could be a discussion of incorporating benchmarks in the plan. City Manager Taylor replied that in response to the council’s motions today, staff would illustrate that the plan was visionary but also dynamic, and elements could be added as they were refined and adopted by the council. He said the specific approach recommended by Ms. Bettman would be consistent with direction from the council to give priority to development of a two-year action plan with specific steps and a decision package as part of a budget building process for the fiscal year (FY) 2007 or FY08 budget. B. WORK SESSION: Parks and Open Space for River Road/Santa Clara City Manager Taylor introduced Parks Planning Manager Carolyn Weiss to present a progress report on the River Road/Santa Clara parks issue, particularly the Santa Clara community park. Ms. Weiss used a slide presentation to present an overview and describe future plans for parks and open space in River Road/Santa Clara and maps to illustrate potential acquisition areas for a Santa Clara community park and projects identified for the River Road area. Ms. Weiss said that significant progress had been made in acquiring neighborhood park sites, including Loan Oak Park, Filbert Park, Rosetta Place, Wendover Park, Terra Linda Park, and Ferndale Park. She said that neighborhood park service areas were those within a one-half mile walking distance of a neighborhood park or playground without crossing a major barrier. She used a map to illustrate service areas and pointed out that even with the new acquisitions, there was still a significant amount of unserved areas within River Road/Santa Clara. She said there were plans to acquire additional neighborhood park sites and improve access to existing parks as well as complete the development of acquisitions. Ms. Weiss used a map to illustrate service areas for community and metropolitan parks throughout the community. She said a community park service area was a two-mile distance to the park site and there was currently no community park service in the River Road/Santa Clara area, particularly north of Beltline. She said that criteria to identify and evaluate potential park sites had been developed in conjunction with Santa Clara citizens. She said the criteria included the size of the parcel, cost, transportation infrastructure, flood zone, inside or outside of the urban growth boundary (UGB), ownership of adjacent properties, existence of natural resources, and willing seller. She reviewed a map that identified a number of potential community park sites and described each site, including whether the owner was willing to sell. She said securing a community park site was the first priority. Continuing, Ms. Weiss stated that the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Project and Priority Plan identified the following Priority 1 projects for the River Road/Santa Clara area: ? Acquire three neighborhood park sites ? Acquire a community park site ? Stormwater corridors that linked with existing parks ? Acquire additional Willamette River frontage MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 7 ? Development of two neighborhood park sites ? Development of a synthetic surface playing field Ms. Weiss also noted that within the 20-year planning window were acquisition of an urban plaza, development of the community park site, development of six additional neighborhood park sites, implementation of the Rasor Park master plan, construction of an additional boat launch on the Willamette River and access improvements to all park sites. Mayor Piercy called for council questions and comments. Mr. Papé said he asked for the work session because while most of the 52 projects in the 2003 parks and open space measure had been completed or were in progress, the exception was a community park in the Santa Clara area. He noted that staff had been working on the issue and hoped that the council would provide additional impetus, perhaps through consideration of eminent domain to assemble the parcels necessary for a park site if other approaches failed. He was willing to consider eminent domain to assemble the necessary the 30 to 40 contiguous acres. He said north Eugene was the only area still lacking a community park. He asked if sites outside of the UGB could be used for parks and if that would require an expansion of the UGB to incorporate that area. Ms. Weiss said that land outside the UGB could be purchased and developed as long as the City followed the County’s land use regulations. She said that permitting would be dependent on the type of facilities constructed and expansion of the UGB would not be necessary. Mr. Papé asked if Property C on the potential park sites map would meet the criteria for a community park. Ms. Weiss said it would be a challenging site because of its long, narrow character but the criteria for a park had been broadened because so few sites were still available in the area. She said that the property did present some options. Mayor Piercy said that neighbors in the area asked the City to “look outside the box” and approach assemblage of park land in a different way. Mr. Pryor thanked staff for their efforts to respond to Santa Clara residents. He noted that the conversations around neighborhood and community parks were very distinct and the one of greatest immediacy related to a community park because property suitable for a community park was rapidly disappearing. He agreed that the many challenges of creating a community park in the area required innovative thinking in order to meet the City’s obligation. Mr. Kelly said he was not an advocate of the use of eminent domain but agreed with Mr. Papé and Mr. Pryor’s comments about the need for a community park and the rapidly decreasing availability of land for that project. He preferred a willing seller but the land would be used for a public purpose and urged staff to bring eminent domain to the council if it was deemed necessary to acquire a suitable site. He reminded the public that eminent domain did not mean the City would take the property; a fair market value as determined through an appraisal would be paid. He asked staff to inform the council about the extent to which sites outside the UGB were currently exclusive farm use and not exception land. Ms. Bettman asked if sites outside of the UGB would be outside of the two-mile community park service area, as there would be population only along a portion of the park. Ms. Weiss replied that the park would be on the edge of the service area for Santa Clara. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 8 Ms. Bettman encouraged flexibility and looking at a combination of uses such as linear park land and partnership with the school district. She agreed with Mr. Kelly and Mr. Papé about the possibility of using eminent domain while there were still viable options available. She questioned how a community park had grown from a 40- to an 80-acre purchase and felt that only the amount necessary for a park should be acquired, particularly if eminent domain was used. Ms. Ortiz thanked everyone who supported providing a community park for River Road/Santa Clara and said she would support extreme measures for assembling the necessary property. She also agreed that a 40-acre park would fulfill the City’s obligation. Ms. Taylor asked if there was an urban plaza in the community. Ms. Weiss replied that the Park Blocks were good examples and the City would like to provide smaller versions in other areas of the community. Ms. Taylor asked why an urban plaza would be planned for River Road/Santa Clara. Ms. Weiss replied that the Project and Priority Plan called for an urban plaza in the Santa Clara and Bethel/Danebo areas. Ms. Taylor asked if there were other community parks besides Amazon Park in south Eugene. Ms. Weiss clarified that the map illustrated community and metropolitan parks and included the Ridgeline Trail and Hendricks Park. Ms. Taylor said she was not certain about eminent domain and would not support it to acquire farmland. Mr. Papé noted that Churchill High School and Sheldon High School represented two successful examples of community/metropolitan parks. He asked if the school district had been contacted about partnering on a community park in the area. Ms. Weiss said there had been conversations with 4J School District and more were scheduled. She said one option being discussed was Madison Middle School. City Manager Taylor summarized that staff’s priority was to obtain a 40-acre community park and be more aggressive in conversations with property owners, continue the dialogue with neighbors on park specifics, consider how connections along the riparian corridor might influence community park decisions and work with the school district, particularly on opportunities related to Madison Middle School. Mr. Kelly added that staff should also consider that a community park, instead of one large property, might be two smaller parcels that collectively provided the same services. The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. Respectively submitted, Dennis M. Taylor (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 19 Page 9