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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 08/09/06 Workshop M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Workshop Bascom/Tykeson Room – Eugene Public Library August 9, 2006 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Papé, George Poling, Chris Pryor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Bonny Bettman. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORKSHOP: City Council Priority Issue – City Hall Complex City Manager Dennis Taylor said the purpose of the workshop was to refine ideas associated with the City Hall complex in preparation for a community meeting on August 24, 2006. He said the focus of discussion would be the site evaluation criteria. He introduced consultant Jonah Cohen to provide an overview of the workshop. Introduction and Objectives Mr. Cohen said the objective of the workshop was to begin the process of finding the appropriate site or sites for the new City Hall complex. He referred to the draft list of site criteria provided in the agenda packet and said the design team had identified over 30 possible sites for consideration, although both criteria and site options could be modified during the workshop. He said following the August 24 community forum, the design team would meet with the council on September 20 in a work session format with the hope that one or two site choices could be identified to be carried forward into the conceptual design phase. Mr. Cohen reviewed the agenda for the meeting and said the design team would make recommendations to eliminate some sites because they did not conform to the site evaluation criteria. A discussion of site evaluation criteria issues raised by council members would be followed by an interactive process to discuss sites by applying criteria. He hoped that three to five sites could be identified for further study and asked the council to also identify any additional information required to make a final site selection decision, as well as what specific feedback should be solicited at the community forum. Mr. Kelly said that narrowing the number of sites for consideration was not indicated in the agenda item summary (AIS) as an outcome of the workshop, nor was any motion suggested. He said Ms. Bettman opted not to participate by phone because no sites would be eliminated. Mr. Cohen replied that it was not necessary to eliminate sites but the discussion should commence. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 1 Work Shop Site Analysis Presentation Consultant Doug Macy said that the boundary of the study of potential sites was the Downtown Plan boundary. He said Eugene’s downtown was compact and nicely scaled and orientation of the City with Willamette Street running between Spencer Butte and Skinner Butte was a major organizing element for the community. He introduced consultant Ken Pirie to present findings of the study. Mr. Pirie used a map of the downtown area to illustrate all major open spaces, public roadway rights-of- way, building footprints and parcels. He said that all buildings in downtown were identified and key landmarks named. He referred to the revised site criteria provided in the agenda packet and said they would be used to inform the future site selection decision. He reviewed the following criteria and provided examples of how they might be applied to sites: ? Appropriate site size to accommodate space needs ? Ability to accommodate future expansion space ? High potential to integrate sustainable design ? Proximity to and beneficial relationship with other governmental services ? Compatibility with adjacent land uses ? Easy accessibility via multiple modes of transportation: auto, walking, transit, bicycle ? Easy access to transportation corridors for public safety vehicles ? Costs related to existing improvements and site preparation ? Site availability and willing seller/s ? Contribute to civic pride and vitality downtown ? Support downtown planning efforts ? Consider impact of displacing prime private development opportunities Mr. Macy remarked that a master planning process for the Park Blocks was in progress and recommenda- tions at a public forum last week called for preserving the historic integrity of the east and west blocks and th reestablishing of the traditional Park Blocks and improving 8 Avenue. He said the plan would be published in the near future. Mr. Kelly asked why a two- to three-block strip on each side of the railroad tracks was identified as high impact for noise. Mr. Pirie replied that the width of the area was arbitrarily chosen as likely to be most affected by the noise of passing trains. Mr. Macy added that noise could be mitigated and that factor was only noted as something to contribute to the discussion, not necessarily to use to eliminate a site. Mr. Papé asked if there were any examples of a public/private partnership to create a city hall building where commercial activities co-existed with government functions. Consultant Thomas Hacker replied that there were good examples of city halls that had been developed with areas for rental to private enterprises but he was unaware of any public/private enterprise to actually develop a building. Mr. Pirie reviewed a selection of policies approved as core elements of the Downtown Plan that were most relevant to siting of a new City Hall complex. He said an assessment of current zoning in downtown concluded that it supported a new City Hall complex in most of the Downtown Plan area with the exception of some residential areas south of Broadway and east of downtown. He said other considerations were key elements of overlay zoning and related to urban design. He noted the current City Hall site, as well as several other sites, were outside the boundaries of both urban renewal districts. He reviewed a map of MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 2 Work Shop potential sites owned by the City, other government agencies and by private single or multiple owners. He noted that sites could be added to the map. Status of Other Agency Sites and Existing City Hall Facility Project Manager Mike Penwell provided an update on the status and availability of properties owned by other governmental agencies: ? Existing federal building – General Services Administration (GSA) confirmed the building would be used for federal agencies for the next 10 to 15 years, although a small area would be available to rent, possibly to Municipal Court ? Butterfly parking lot – owned by Lane County and any transfer of ownership to the City would involve extensive negotiations; the County would entertain proposals, but the lot generated revenue and that would be a consideration Mayor Piercy pointed out that recommendations from the Park Blocks master planning effort were to return the lot to use as a park rather than a building site. Mr. Hacker said that those uses were not mutually exclusive and a civic building would a good companion to the Park Blocks. Mr. Penwell continued his review of properties: ? Former Lane County Elections site – possible compensation to County for market value or exchange of property ?th Lane County parking garage on 6 Avenue – heavily used garage with tunnel access to the Court- house and Public Service Building, would require significant compensation ? State Office Building – State is interested in surplusing the building ? EWEB site – recent decision by EWEB to move operations to west Eugene makes most of site available Mr. Penwell said there were three approaches to determining the value of the existing City Hall: 1) value in use – the value of the building as City Hall; 2) principle substitution – purchase by another organization; and 3) value exchange – analyzing the market value for rehabilitation and reuse. He said the third approach was the primary approach used to estimate market value and a quick analysis indicated the existing building might actually decrease the value of the land. He said other factors that affected income potential were the high costs associated with rehabilitating and operating the building, relatively limited leasable space and space that was low- to mid-quality. He said a more formal appraisal that included the full range of approaches to value would be done to confirm that the building value was low with little likelihood the market would rehabilitate it. He commented that the proposal from the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) to use the building for a visual arts center might be feasible it the building was donated or sold for $1. Mr. Papé asked if the City would continue to have any liability with respect to building defects if it was donated or sold. Mr. Penwell said that sale would transfer liability to the new owner. He added that there was a small amount of asbestos in the building and drilling beneath the building had not found any contaminants; the environmental risk of the building was low. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 3 Work Shop Mr. Kelly agreed that the current City Hall site could be worth more as bare ground, but the intent of the council was to determine if the building had community value as a long-standing downtown structure. He said the issue was not economic but rather community value and there should be some type of outreach to private for-profit and nonprofit organizations, such as a request for interest (RFI), to determine if there would be any interest should the building become available. He would not be willing to support the current City Hall site as the new City Hall site without some feedback from the community. Ms. Taylor declared that the current City Hall building had won prizes when it was built and was considered one of the best buildings in the country. She said the council should be cautious about demolishing the building and later regretting it. Consultant Ellen Teninty said use of the current building and its value to the community would be discussed in more detail later in the meeting. City Manager Taylor agreed that an assessment of community value could be done; however, he felt that it could be difficult for organizations to respond to an RFI without more information about the site and its potential use. Mr. Kelly asked that community feedback be made available by the council’s September 20, 2006, meeting, particularly if the expectation was that a decision would be made about whether the current site would be selected as one of the two sites for further analysis. Mr. Papé wanted clarification about the type of information on the current site’s community value that would satisfy other councilors. He was uncertain that issuing an RFI to for-profit and nonprofit organiza- tions would be effective. Ms. Ortiz echoed Mr. Kelly’s remarks about community value, but said she would also need information about the monetary value. Mr. Penwell said that a more formal analysis would provide that information for the September 20 meeting. Ms. Ortiz also requested seismic information on the current building. Criteria Discussion Mr. Macy demonstrated the consequences of applying evaluation criteria to various sites and the design teams’ recommendations with regard to eliminating some sites from further consideration because of factors such as flood plain, adjacency to or across railroad tracks, remoteness from the downtown core and incompatibility with sustainable design principles. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Hacker explained the challenges of designing to LEED standards for a building facing south and north on its long facades and the importance of orientation as a consideration in site choice. Mr. Macy also pointed out sites that could be developed for commercial use to reinforce Broadway as a commercial street. Ms. Teninty asked for further discussion and direction on the following evaluation criteria: ? Consideration of sites prime for private development ? Affirmation of downtown planning policies and application to site selection MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 4 Work Shop ? Relevance of consolidation of police patrol function with the City Hall complex to the question of site size Mayor Piercy said the question of whether locating the City Hall complex in an area the City had been considering for private development and how that might influence surrounding development should be a part of the discussion. Mr. Kelly said he was somewhat concerned about the addition of examples to the list of site criteria and found them confusing. He preferred that the examples were not included in public workshop materials. Regarding easy access to transportation corridors for public safety vehicles as a criterion to be considered, he pointed out that typically patrol cars were only exiting the building at shift change and he was not certain that access should be a strong consideration. Ms. Taylor said she felt strongly that the criterion related to displacing prime private development opportunities should be eliminated. She said her preference was to retain the current City Hall, but if a new th complex was developed, she felt the former Sears building site at 10 Avenue and Charnelton Street was ideal because of its proximity to public transportation and accessibility of public services. She did not think train noise was a factor, nor was proximity to arts and cultural activities. She did like the idea of having the Library nearby. She said police patrol was a different function and should be located in a police station, not in City Hall, and that proximity to the County was important because people often needed to be redirected from City Hall to County services and it was convenient for the public if the buildings were close. In response to a question from Ms. Teninty, Ms. Taylor said she did not want to even consider impact on prime development opportunities. In response to questions from Mr. Papé regarding sustainability and building in a flood plain, Consultant Galen Ohmart illustrated the effect of sunrise and sunset in different seasons on the ability to control direct sunlight and increase occupant comfort while reducing the HVAC cooling load. He said that building orientation also affected energy conservation and use of wind for cross ventilation and cooling. Mr. Macy added that building in a flood plain was a poor practice, requiring consideration of the upstream impact of water displaced in a flood event and mitigation. Mr. Cohen pointed out that inclusion of the police function would present further complications. Mr. Papé said he would not eliminate the EWEB site and he had no concern with railroad noise. Ms. Solomon said she felt strongly that the Downtown Plan should be followed; it represented a significant investment by citizens and the City and presented a vision for the downtown. She said selection of a site for a new City Hall complex should remain faithful to that vision, particularly a civic street with civic-oriented activities along it. She urged that the Downtown Plan be supported by the decision-making process. Mr. Pryor said that he approached the issue as a 50- to 100-year decision and criteria should be considered from both long-term and short-term perspectives. He said some features of downtown, such as the street grid, river and Park Blocks would likely be there in 50 years, but other features like the train, commercial activities and buildings could be in a drastically modified form. He urged the council to consider what would be a suitable site for City Hall in 50 years. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Pryor regarding the long-term implications of a decision. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 5 Work Shop The council took a break from 1:20 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Criteria Discussion (continued) Ms. Teninty solicited additional comments on the three criteria she identified earlier. Mr. Kelly agreed with Ms. Taylor’s suggestion to eliminate the criterion to consider the impact of displacing prime private development opportunities. He said while it was a factor to consider, sites should not be ranked on that basis, particularly from a long-range perspective. He was in favor of retaining the criterion to support downtown planning efforts as it did not require strict adherence to each Downtown Plan policy. He said the issue of police consolidation was not on the table as options were still being considered. Ms. Teninty said the intent was to discuss the relevance of police consolidation to site selection so the design team would understand councilors’ points of view, but not to reach a decision on the matter. Mr. Kelly asked if patrol vehicle access other than at shift change was vital to Police Department operations. Rick Siel, Eugene Police Department, replied that access was less of an issue than originally stated; however, crossing railroad tracks was a problem. Ms. Ortiz questioned the need to integrate the police patrol function into a new City Hall complex as it could be done less expensively offsite. She did not think it was necessary to wait for a bond measure to address police needs as the City had other properties available that could be used to provide a much better facility for police personnel. She said that police functions did not necessarily need to be located downtown but acknowledged that the police chief preferred to have some of the administrative functions remain in City Hall. Mayor Piercy suggested a broader criterion that would consider both the development potential of the property as well as the community value aspect. She agreed with Ms. Teninty’s suggested wording: Consider impact of private and community development opportunities. Mr. Kelly supported Mayor Piercy’s suggestion and the revised wording. Ms. Taylor said she could support a criterion that considered whether a City Hall was the best use of a site. Mr. Papé said he also supported Mayor Piercy’s suggestion. He noted that the City currently lacked the capacity to analyze private development and suggested inclusion of private developers on a committee to assist the City with the analysis if that became a consideration. He said that including examples of criteria application with the list of evaluation criteria was confusing. Ms. Teninty said the examples were provided to facilitate the council’s discussion and would not be included in materials for the public workshop. Mr. Poling agreed with Ms. Solomon’s comments regarding support for the Downtown Plan. He was pleased that revised language was suggested for the criterion related to impact on private development opportunities, as that needed to be considered in the site selection process. He had an opinion regarding consolidation of police patrol but preferred to hear feedback from the public on that issue. Ms. Teninty said that consolidation had been discussed in the first public forum and could be discussed again with respect to site selection. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 6 Work Shop Mr. Poling remarked that consolidation might also depend on the site selected. Mr. Hacker reminded the council that massing diagrams for both full block and half block sites indicated that either could accommodate Option B; however, selecting Option C would require two sites: one for City Hall and one within two blocks distance for police. Mr. Kelly said that Option C did not specify a distance. Interactive Session Applying Criteria to Potential Sites Mr. Hacker said that in relation to all of the criteria discussed previously, the current City Hall site was a good choice and the design team recommended that it should be considered as a primary possibility for the new City Hall. He said the site was positioned on a great civic street, had desirable relationships to other governmental functions, and was close to the Park Blocks and cultural center of town. Regarding proximity to cultural activity, he stated the team believed that city halls benefited from being visible and seen by the public; sites near places used by the public in large numbers were a benefit to the image and presence of government. Mr. Macy said the site from Willamette Street to Oak Street, incorporating the butterfly lot and commercial uses, as a potential City Hall site included the prospect of reclaiming the historic Park Blocks and would contribute to the great civic street as well as promote the concept of a City Hall with a great civic space. He said that locating the City Hall across the street from the Hult Center would also provide high visibility. Mr. Hacker added that the site was also consistent with higher use of the land and sustainability. Mayor Piercy said that the public should discuss whether use of the current City Hall as a visual arts center would be consistent with the civic vision. Mr. Macy said that with respect to the great street concept, there were two problems with the current City Hall over the long-term: in a 50- to 100-year horizon it was a complete underutilization of land and had no ground floor relationships. He said the building was designed in a time when ground floor relationships were not deemed important but over time, planners and architects recognized that a community’s streets were its most valuable open space. Mr. Papé asked if the buildings along Willamette Street on the west side of the site were on the Historic Register. Mr. Hacker replied that the quarter block site did not have any historic structures and was currently underutilized. He said there was some attraction to having a local government presence on the main street with a connection between Spencer Butte and Skinner Butte. Mr. Papé said the current City Hall site could be better utilized either as the site of a new City Hall or sold for a different, more intense use. Mayor Piercy said it appeared that all were in agreement that the current federal building and County’s parking garage were not viable sites and could be removed from the list of potential sites. Mr. Macy encouraged an approach that would mix other uses with civic uses along the great civic street to promote activity throughout the day and evening. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 7 Work Shop Mr. Kelly asked for the consultants’ perspective on the old County elections site. Mayor Piercy commented that the site was bordered by a street that was not pedestrian-friendly. Mr. Macy agreed that the street would only get busier and additionally the site was somewhat isolated from the downtown core, although still within walking distance. He said it had the feeling of being on the perimeter of downtown. Mr. Papé said he favored retaining the former Sears site on the list. Mr. Pryor noted that the County was also searching for a downtown site and asked if there had been efforts to coordinate the City and County searches. City Manager Taylor replied that there were active discussions in progress with the County. Mr. Poling preferred to retain as many potential sites on the list as possible for the public forum. He expressed concern about locating a City Hall complex on the EWEB property because of the flood plain issue. He did not believe that locating a government building close to the railroad tracks would create noise problems. He commented that the location of the two State motor pool lots also presented a barrier to the rest of the downtown area. Mr. Kelly did not want the sites discussed by Mr. Poling to be removed from the list prior to the public workshop and suggested that the problems with those sites could be identified and, if possible, the cost of mitigation estimated. Ms. Ortiz said she was in favor of removing those sites that were near the railroad tracks but they should remain for the public forum. She agreed with removing the remote sites such as those west of Olive Street th and north of 6 Avenue, as well as the PeaceHealth site. Mr. Poling said an important question for the public would be their willingness to have government facilities farther apart, particularly if it was necessary to go from one building to another. Mayor Piercy questioned characterizing some sites as remote as they were all within walking distance of transportation and parking. th Ms. Taylor agreed with eliminating all sites west of Olive Street and south of 11 Avenue. She suggested that the old County elections site would be a good location for a police station. She favored the quarter block that included the butterfly lot as a site for the new City Hall complex. She did not feel that the police chief needed to be with other administrators. Mayor Piercy asked that the public discussion include the topic of type of urbanization that was desired for the downtown area. Mr. Hacker said, in general, urban vitality increased with greater density, greater numbers of people living in the downtown, and a very active street life. Mr. Papé asked the consultants to provide the public with diagrams that illustrated the mass and scale of various building heights on different sites. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 8 Work Shop Mr. Pryor said the current City Hall site was attractive because it was a full block. He also liked the butterfly lot site with its proximity to the Park Blocks and Ms. Taylor’s suggestion of the old County th elections site for a police station. He said the two parking lots across 8 Avenue from the current City Hall should be considered a potential site. He would support removing sites west of Willamette Street because of th their location and orientation and sites south of 10 Avenue because of remoteness. Mr. Hacker asked for councilors’ opinion about sites close to the new federal courthouse. Mr. Papé thought the sites were remote but the public’s opinion should be sought. Ms. Ortiz said the sites did not appear to be welcoming or easily accessible and should not be considered. Mr. Kelly indicated he was lukewarm about the sites but they should be left on the list for discussion at the public forum. He expressed concern about shifting downtown to the east before the current core had an opportunity to be revitalized. Mayor Piercy agreed with Mr. Kelly’s concern about a shift in downtown, as did Ms. Taylor. Mr. Papé said he was not certain that a significant amount of retail could be attracted to the downtown; offices and restaurants could be the more typical use. Following a discussion, Mr. Hacker determined that the issue of train noise would be discussed at the forum only if raised by the public, although access issues could be addressed and crossing sites illustrated on the map. Ms. Teninty clarified that the EWEB site would remain on the list but information about flood plain issues would be presented at the public forum. She asked about the relevance of stimulating arts and culture in the downtown. Mayor Piercy said her concern was not with adjacency of arts and culture but rather with having an arts and cultural component to the new City Hall that would connect it to the community. Desired Public Feedback and Information Required to Evaluate and Select Site Ms. Teninty asked if the criterion related to high potential to integrate sustainable design was clearly presented. She determined there was general agreement that it was. Mr. Kelly remarked that it was important for the consultants to raise issues during the public forum, but not to the extent that it was implied a site was eliminated. Ms. Teninty asked if the criterion related to proximity and beneficial relationships with other government entities required clarification. Mr. Kelly felt it would eliminate confusion by simplifying the criterion to just proximity to other governmen- tal services. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 9 Work Shop Ms. Teninty determined there was agreement with Mr. Kelly’s suggestion. She also determined that the language related to compatibility with adjacent land uses was acceptable. She asked if the issue of a flood plain could be presented under site costs. Mr. Poling asked that the issue of potential safety hazards with a site in the flood plain or adjacent to the railroad tracks be included in the criteria and presentation by consultants. There were no objections to the wording of the criterion related to considering the impact on community and private development. Mr. Kelly suggested that the criterion related to public safety vehicle access to transportation corridors be eliminated or revised to indicate the criterion was dependent on whether the patrol function was consoli- dated. Ms. Teninty asked if there were particular questions that should be posed to the public to elicit information for the council. Mr. Kelly asked that hard copies of the maps be provided at the public forum to aid the discussion. He said the presentation and discussion should include all sites except those that were determined to be impossible and removed from the list. He suggested that the remaining sites be numbered with a key to identify each site to make discussion of sites easier. He said members of the public should be asked if there were certain sites they loved or loathed. Ms. Ortiz said she was interested in whether the public would support a bond issue. Ms. Teninty said that question would be asked in the next phase of the project. She asked if there was other information the council wanted in order to confidently make a decision to narrow the number of sites that would move forward to the conceptual design process. Mr. Papé said that it was important to know the public’s opinion on the current City Hall, its community value and retaining it for community use. Mr. Kelly said there was also an economic component to the discussion of disposition of the old City Hall and he was interested in estimates of the fair market value of the block and building and the cost of seismic upgrades for general use. He also wanted feedback from the for-profit and nonprofit communities indicating interest in the building. Mr. Penwell asked for more clarity on what type of information this would produce that would help the council make a decision. Mr. Kelly said that the quantity and quality of expressions of interest would be useful. Ms. Ortiz said she was thinking about the future reaction of voters and was interested in some background information about the potential sale of the current City Hall, costs associated with repairs and improvements and similar issues so she could have informed conversations with constituents about the estimated cost of various options. Mr. Papé said it was not the City’s mission to preserve period architecture. Ms. Teninty invited the public to participate in the August 24, 2006, public forum. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 10 Work Shop The meeting adjourned at 3 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 9, 2006 Page 11 Work Shop