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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 08/13/07 Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall August 13, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the public forum. Mayor Piercy recognized Galena Groza of the Sister City Foundation and Natalia Sverdlova, visiting from the City’s sister city of Irkutsk. Galena Groza , 1778 Sullivan Street, thanked the council for providing additional funding for the Sister City Program. She introduced Ms. Sverdlova of the Irkutsk Linguistics University, and expressed gratitude for her visit, which was underwritten by two grants. Natalia Sverdlova discussed her involvement in a project being done in conjunction with the University of Oregon (UO) to deliver classes in Russian in an online format for students. She appreciated the interest expressed in the project by Eugene citizens and their support of the sister city relationship. She thanked the Eugene Irkutsk Sister City Committee and said it was good to see members present. Mayor Piercy noted that Ms. Sverdlova was leaving the next day after a two-week visit and invited her to come back anytime. th Deborah Frisch , 3003 West 11 Avenue, H168, addressed the code provisions that allowed for drinking at the University of Oregon before, during, and after home games, suggesting it was discriminatory to exempt a subsection of the population from the law. She believed the issue was a public safety issue and provided a handout about the members of the symphony who were killed in a drunken driving accident the previous year. She asserted that the code created liability for the City, University, and County and cited two cases from other states in support of her remarks. Ms. Frisch said that she was going to demand that President Dave Frohnmayer take a stand on the issue and asserted that he would be sure to oppose the extension of the ordinance to other areas, forcing the council to “fall in line.” nd Bob Cassidy , 1401 East 22 Avenue, concurred with using urban renewal money to renew the downtown, which had been effective with the library. He quoted the saying “build it and they will come” and suggested it was a huge examined myth in the case of downtown. He did not think a Cineplex would draw students. He was not surprised that Whole Foods did not move downtown and questioned how the City could continue to throw money at an idea that had proved to be a failure. He said the free market was not a reality in this MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 1 Work Session area, saying “location, location, location.” He hoped the council action regarding the West Broadway redevelopment did not threaten the gas tax, which was a tax he supported. Greg Bryrant , 2173 Alder Street, noted his receipt of a general notice regarding the money he could receive for relocating his business, which was for up to $20,000. He averred that he and his volunteers had put more than $1 million in sweat equity in his business, and termed the offer absurd. He said that staff had assured the council no jobs would be lost due to the redevelopment project, but he believed jobs would be lost and people’s lives destroyed. He noted his attendance at his high school reunion, during which people who had moved away had commented about the talent and interesting projects that Eugene had lost. He attributed that to an institutional lack of respect and said that the City should not be bulldozing projects that people put their hearts into. He called the proposed remuneration woefully inadequate and asked the council to pass legislation to require full compensation. th Paul Nicholson , 1855 East 28 Avenue, objected to the course of action the City was contemplating as it had failed in other places as well as in Eugene in the past. He agreed with Mr. Byrant’s remarks, saying there was something fundamentally wrong with a situation where government harmed some and protected others and collected taxes from some while exempting others. He asked the council to rethink the proposal and consider using public funds for truly public purposes for a project that brought the public together instead of dividing it. Zachary Vishanoff , a resident living on Patterson Street, asserted the City was in collusion with the UO and University Foundation to get money from Phil Knight. He hoped to ferret out the many ways that was occurring, and wanted conversations to occur about eminent domain, the Fairmount neighbors’ rights and the ability to appeal the rezoning of the bakery site. He objected to the fact a UO planner sat on the Historic Review Board and participated in historic reviews of “very important” buildings of cultural significance, such as the Joe Romania building. He thought that person should recuse them self from such decisions as they were effectively a “double agent” working for the UO. He said the City should remove the UO’s ability to exercise eminent domain and to influence the Historic Review Board. William Ivanoff , 1810 Harris Street, called for conversion of one-way streets in the city to two-way streets to facilitate travel by visitors unfamiliar with the community. He said such streets created more accidents, some of which he had personally witnessed. They also created anger and frustration for motorists. Drix spoke to the subject of the kids on the mall and said that the kids were always different kids coming from other communities to Eugene because it represented a “new way of thinking.” The kids were learning the street. He did not know what to do about it but thought it was interesting. He expressed pride for the undeveloped holes in downtown Eugene, calling them a metaphor for Eugene as their fate was in the hands of the citizens. He suggested new names for the sites, the ‘A’ hole and ‘S’ hole. Cathy Saranpa , 3015 Friendly Street, chair of the Crest Drive Citizens Association, said the Crest Drive Community Team was working on designs for the streets in the area. The team was seeking permission for nine-foot travel lanes for certain parts of the street system. The association passed a resolution in support of nine-foot travel lanes, which she shared with the council. st Scott Landfield , 29 West 31 Avenue, owner of Tsunami Books, shared a petition with the council signed by 300 people calling for urban renewal funds to be spent on affordable housing, helping local businesses, and building public institutions such as the library. The funds should not be spent to subsidize non-local MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 2 Work Session retailers who would compete with local businesses. Decisions regarding the use of urban renewal should be made with public input for specific proposals. Paul Moore , 2586 Potter Street, advocated for the inclusion of dedicated bicycle lanes in the area of Crest Drive/Storey Boulevard/Friendly Street to encourage bicycling. He did not think the council intended any transportation option to be excluded from the design, but that was occurring. He shared a petition with the council expressing support for his position. Gavin McComas , 2301 Spring Boulevard, the owner of Sundance Natural Food, registered his objection to the plan to increase the indebtedness of the URA to support the City’s contribution to the West Broadway redevelopment area. He believed that it was unfair to use his tax dollars to help fund wealthy corporate competitors. He supported the use of urban renewal downtown for responsible projects with public input, such as a new city hall and for low-cost housing. Mr. McComas indicated if the council went ahead and increased the indebtedness level, he would begin an initiative petition to refer the decision. Rob Handy , 455-1/2 River Road, discussed his work on the groundwater pollution issues in the Trainsong neighborhood. He had received a call from a distressed citizen wanting to know what she could do and he had no answers. He said the neighborhoods were asked by City staff to support a brownfield grant to the Environmental Protection Agency and he had worked with staff on the application but failed to realize that the funding would go downtown rather than to other places in the community that really needed it. Charles Biggs , 540 Antelope Drive, objected to the proposed scale of the West Broadway project and wanted it to be scaled back. He was concerned about the connection between the urban renewal district and Downtown Plan because the plan was not specific enough about density. The land planned for the development was zoned C-3, which had a height maximum of 150 feet, but the developers were planning for shorter buildings. He recommended that some of the buildings be built to that height and the remaining buildings be built lower as a compromise to make better use of the land. David Gussett , 1611 Lincoln Street, shared photographs of some historic buildings in the West Broadway redevelopment area and urged the council to save those buildings and use other vacant areas in downtown for redevelopment. He asked the council to let the purchase options for downtown properties expire as some of the property owners were not good stewards and let their properties deteriorate to drive down the value of adjacent properties for the purpose of buying them at rock bottom prices. He urged the council to use eminent domain to purchase the properties at market prices. Mr. Gussett then provided some history of the buildings in question. Lynn Reichman , PO Box 3901, Eugene, also discussed the historic buildings discussed by Mr. Gussett. She said that they had been identified by a group she was working with in an attempt to make them part of the West Broadway redevelopment plans. She said that the buildings were listed as historic by the City. She provided some additional history of the buildings. She believed that it was crucial no historic buildings were destroyed as part of the project, suggesting that such buildings, once renovated, would provide affordable space at a lower cost. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She thanked those who spoke and commended the Crest Drive citizens for the work they had done. She also was concerned about the groundwater pollution that residents were facing in the Trainsong Neighborhood and said that such issues were difficult to address given the many parties involved. She had asked staff to determine what the City could do. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 3 Work Session Mayor Piercy called for council questions and comments. Councilor Ortiz also thanked those who testified. She believed she now had council support to make the groundwater pollution issue a City Council goal. She said that she had reached out for assistance to Representative Peter DeFazio. She also expressed appreciation for the media coverage of the issue. Councilor Taylor thanked all those who testified and agreed with Councilor Ortiz about the importance of the groundwater pollution issue. She was particularly grateful for the comments of those who opposed the West Broadway development proposal and suggested that the council was forgetting the mistakes of the past. She feared that the City was about to destroy more historic buildings downtown. Councilor Taylor expressed appreciation for the campaign to be mounted by Mr. McComas. She believed it was an insult to offer only $20,000 to Mr. Bryant to take away the business he took years to build up. Other successful downtown property owners were similarly threatened if the council proceeded. She said a new theater would not take the place of the Bijou Theater, and the development proposal could possibly cause it to go out of business. She did not think the proposal was fair. Councilor Bettman also thanked those who testified. She also expressed concern about the groundwater pollution issue in the Trainsong Neighborhood and requested a legal analysis about the City’s authority in such a situation given its impact on Eugene residents. She also wanted to know what authority the Department of Environmental Quality and Union Pacific Railroad had. City Attorney Glenn Klein indicated the City Manager had asked his office for an opinion. Councilor Clark concurred with the remarks of Councilor Ortiz and Councilor Bettman in regard to the Trainsong groundwater pollution situation. He spoke of a proposal contemplated by Coos Bay to accommodate more containers from foreign countries that would be routed through Eugene on rail to reach Interstate 5. He hoped that as the City worked with the railroad on that issue, it also worked on the clean up of the area. Councilor Zelenka also expressed concern about the groundwater pollution issue and said he supported making it a goal. He also expressed appreciation for the media coverage of the issue, which could put pressure on the railroad. Councilor Zelenka said he cared about existing businesses in downtown, which was why he asked the West Broadway Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for a transition and relocation plan for those businesses and nonprofits. He believed they would all find homes in downtown. Councilor Zelenka pointed out that many of the nonprofits and other businesses were in downtown because it was the low rent district and people were paying very little. He did not think the heart of downtown should be the low rent district. He believed that if the project went forward, as many as 600 jobs could be created without the need to raise taxes. Councilor Zelenka was anxious to put the tools in place that would facilitate what the City eventually ended up with, which would be known only when the advisory committee made its recommendation and the developer responded with a real proposal. The council needed the tools in place to accept the proposal. Mayor Piercy said that a petition might not cause the council to change its minds, but the council appreci- ated the input. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 4 Work Session 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - June 20, 2007, Work Session - June 25, 2007, City Council Meeting - June 27, 2007, Work Session - July 11, 2007, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Appointment of Human Rights Commissioner to Police Commission D. Appointment to Lane Workforce Partnership Councilor Bettman noted her submission of corrections to the minutes. Mayor Piercy deemed them approved without objection. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calen- dar. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 3. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Public Improvements; Amending Sections 7.010, 7.085, 7.095, 7.100, 7.130, 7.140 7.145, 7.175, 7.190, 7.205, 7.210, 7.220, 7.290, 7.297, 7.302, 7.305, 7.307, 7.360, 7.370, 7.385, 7.405, 7.407, 7.410, 7.415, 7.425, 7.445, 7.720, 7.725, and 7.735 of the Eugene Code, 1971; Adding Sections 7.090, 7.143, 7.350 and 7.365 to that Code; Repealing Section 7.400 of that Code; and Providing an Effective Date Development Review Manager Peggy Keppler of the Public Works Department was present for the item. She said the council was scheduled to take action that evening. She responded to questions from Councilor Bettman. In regard to Councilor Bettman’s question about the required traffic impact analysis, Ms. Keppler said the City had standards in place for such analyses that addressed Councilor Bettman’s concern, and in addition staff proposed to amend 7.410(b) to require the studies to weigh the additional conflicts and congestion for pedestrians, bicycle, and vehicular traffic. She distributed copies of the amended text. In response to Councilor Bettman’s question as to how the changes would affect the cost of the Crest/Storey developments, Ms. Keppler said the proposed changes would not affect the cost of construction. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman about whether the City could recover the difference in the assessment to a residential zone and a commercial zone if a residentially zoned property later rezoned to a commercial use, Ms. Keppler said the City had no mechanism in place to amend assessment costs after the fact, and staff would require more time to evaluate that issue if the council wished to make the change. Councilor Bettman recalled staff recommended a change of street designation for Crest/Storey to collector but that was placed on hold during the design process. She asked if the assessments remained the same if the street was a collector versus a neighborhood collector. Mark Schoening, City Engineer, clarified that the streets would not be above the status of a neighborhood collector and the assessment to residents would not increase. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 5 Work Session Bill 4949, an ordinance concerning public improvements. Councilor Bettman determined that Councilor Ortiz and Councilor Pryor accepted the following as a friendly amendment to Section 7.410(b): Insert the following language in (b) between the word “study to” and the word “substantiate”: (i) weigh additional conflicts and congestion for pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic; and (ii). Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 4. ACTION: An Ordinance Adopting an Amended Urban Renewal Plan for the Downtown Urban Renewal District, Formerly the Central Eugene Project Richie Weinman, Community Development Director, introduced the item. He provided a brief history of the item and its connection to the Downtown Plan. Mr. Weinman reviewed the public involvement that had occurred in conjunction with the ordinance. He said few comments opposed the amendments and there was much enthusiasm about redeveloping downtown. He briefly noted the amendments, to increase the indebtedness, extend the life of the district, and rename the district. Mayor Piercy called for comments and questions. Councilor Bettman asked City Attorney Klein questions about the legal language in the ordinance and findings, clarifying that citizens would be able to challenge projects in the plan in the future, but not whether the provision in the plan that purported to authorize the expenditure was consistent with State law, or the process used to adopt the plan. If a citizen chose to refer the ordinance, they would be referring the plan amendments. Councilor Bettman further clarified with Mr. Klein that the mention of the West Broadway Plan in the findings was to provide background and meet State statutory requirements. The findings expressed the council’s intent but did not preclude it from spending the funding on something other than the plan. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt an ordinance adopting an amended urban renewal plan for the Downtown Urban Renewal District, formerly the Cen- tral Eugene Project. Councilor Bettman objected to claims of public involvement given the complexity of what was presented to the public. She also objected to the scheduling of the process, through which the council authorized the expenditure of the BEDI/HUD money without a project so that the time elapsed on citizens’ ability to refer that decision to the ballot. People in the community had little understanding of the complexity of the issue and the financing. She said everyone wanted a successful downtown. The council had never explicitly offered the public a conceptual plan and asked what it was worth, or how the money could be spent to maximize the public benefit. Unless that question was asked, public input was constrained by the lack of understanding. The council also did not ask the public if it wanted to demolish two historic buildings. She said the BEDI brownfield grant was introduced to the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations as a grant for use on vacant properties, not to displace existing businesses or demolish existing buildings. She did not support subsidizing commercial retail in competition with existing local retailers. She opposed the MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 6 Work Session motion. Councilor Zelenka agreed that the development tools under discussion were complex, which was why he had pressed for a transparent and clear public outreach process. He suggested the question was not whether the City should subsidize the developers, but rather should it invest in downtown to revitalize it without raising anyone’s taxes. Councilor Zelenka asked if the ordinance obligated the City to any particular action. Mr. Weinman said no. Councilor Zelenka asked if the loan proposed would be paid for out of the existing tax base of the district. Mr. Weinman said yes. Councilor Zelenka asked if any of the taxes generated by new development would be used to pay for the loans. Ms. Cutsogeorge said that would depend on the ultimate number, but in the preliminary financing plan the City was not planning on that. Councilor Zelenka confirmed with Ms. Cutsogeorge that any further action would require council approval. He also confirmed with Ms. Cutso- george that the HUD loan was a below market-rate loan. He also confirmed that the BEDI grant was contingent on the HUD loan unless the City increased the indebtedness level. Responding to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Ms. Cutsogeorge confirmed that the $10 million allocated for administration would be spent for staff and other administrative costs through the year 2030 at a cost of approximately $300,000 annually. Councilor Taylor agreed that all citizens wanted a vital downtown but she thought people needed to think about what would be destroyed because of the project. She asked if Kemper would still build condominiums at the Sears site if the project fell through. Senior Management Analyst Denny Braud said that Mr. Kemper has indicated continuing interest through the process. Councilor Taylor hoped that project happened. Councilor Bettman asked how the current financing situation would affect the developers’ ability to go ahead with the project. Mr. Braud did not know. He said that the construction project could be 12 to 18 months, and it was difficult to forecast finance rates at that time. Councilor Bettman asked staff where the council could reverse directions. Ms. Cutsogeorge said that the council would have to approve the project budget for money to be expended and the council, acting as the Urban Renewal Agency, would have to authorize the development agreement. Councilor Bettman believed that the relationship between the BEDI grant and HUD loan was structured in the manner it was because of a council and staff decision. She maintained there had been other ways to access the grant. Councilor Bettman said that talking about spending $25 million was inaccurate as the council was actually talking about upwards of $50 million and there were other things, such as transition and relocation costs, that were not factored into the estimate. The design was not firm and could change, adding more costs. The lack of a firm design also constrained the public’s ability to provide meaningful input. Councilor Bettman said the project might not raise taxes, but it would divert taxes from other units of government, including schools. Mayor Piercy said nothing was being done for the benefit of the developers. The developers would be implementing something the City wanted and the City would be purchasing that from them. She pointed out the West Broadway Advisory Committee would be examining the design elements and what the community MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 7 Work Session wanted in the project, and following the committee’s report to the council, she hoped the community could weigh in on its recommendations before the council adopted it. Councilor Zelenka pointed out that people were objecting to a plan that was not in place. The City did not know if the businesses downtown would be local or non-local in nature. He suggested that people were misinterpreting Table 5 in the packet, which was an example list of what the project could include. The City could still decide to include more public amenities and less parking. Councilor Zelenka agreed that the project goal was not to make the developer rich, and suggested it instead responded to community demand for downtown revitalization. He envisioned a downtown that was a vibrant neighborhood with housing and interesting shops and restaurants that would draw people downtown and create new jobs. He wanted a downtown the community could be proud of. Councilor Clark concurred with the remarks of Councilor Zelenka. He recalled the council’s goal setting session where the council adopted downtown as a goal. He thanked staff for trying to put all the pieces in place to help the council accomplish that goal. Councilor Bettman said that all the public input was gathered before there was a project with a clearly defined cost estimate. She thought that made a sham of the public process. She suggested that the City have a plan and price tag and then ask the community if it was willing to pay for it with the clear under- standing the money would be diverted from other taxing districts. Instead, staff and the council majority had its own way in regard to the BEDI grant, the public input took place based on a conceptual plan, and the council was now being asked to approve the spending increase based on that plan. She did not think Councilor Zelenka should criticize those who thought the City lacked a plan. Mayor Piercy said she believed in the good will of all involved and that all wanted a good downtown. People just had different ideas of how to reach that goal. She invited all to be part of the discussion and to work on the issue of downtown together as it is something for the entire community. Councilor Zelenka said he was not criticizing people for criticizing the “plan that’s not a plan”; he was suggesting they “hold their horses” until there was a plan, and he believed the process he initiated would get the City to a plan. He said the City created numerous opportunities for comment. He hoped that those offering comments helped to mold and shape the plan so the eventual plan was reflective of the public input and what Eugene would support. He believed the developers knew what they were doing and would build what people wanted. He hoped the project that was proposed would be supported by the community. Councilor Bettman suggested that if Councilor Zelenka believed that people should wait until there was a plan he would support her substitute motion. Councilor Bettman moved to postpone action on the motion until the council had a plan and an estimate of the actual project costs. Roll call vote; the motion failed, 6:2; coun- cilors Taylor and Bettman voting yes. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Taylor and Bettman voting no. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 8 Work Session Angel Jones City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 9 Work Session