HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/25/1988 Meeting
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M I NUT E S
Eugene City Council
Council Chamber--City Hall
January 25, 1988
7:30 p.m.
COUNCILORS PRESENT: Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Robert Bennett, Debra
Ehrman, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue.
COUNCILOR ABSENT: Cynthia Wooten.
The adjourned meeting of January 20, 1988, of the City Council of the
City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B.
Obie.
I. PUBLIC HEARING: FUTURE OF OUR LIBRARY COMMITTEE REPORT
City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the item. Pat Decker of the
Planning Department presented the staff report. She said Vice Chair Jim
Saul and other members of the Future of Our Library Committee, along with
consultants, would present the committee's report as their last official
act. Ms. Decker said copies of the draft report were available at the
information table, and the City Council had received a more detailed
report earlier this month. She noted that the committee had held a
public hearing, and those comments would be incorporated in the final
report for the council's February 10 work session on consideration of the
library project. She added that the council would decide on acceptance
of the report after February 10.
Jim Saul, 2780 Eleanor, noted that two years of study had gone into the
preliminary report delivered to the council about one year ago. He said
the committee was pleased to hand over to the council the lead role in
planning for the library. He highlighted two of the key recommendations
from the committee: 1) that the City should proceed with planning for
and construction of a central library facility of about 115,000 square
feet to meet the future needs of the community for the next 15 to 20
years; and 2) that the expanded library be located on the two half-blocks
on either side of Broadway between Lincoln and Charnel ton streets.
Mr. Saul said the committee had met again following the January 13
meeting with the City Council, and in response to City Council and public
comments, it had recommended five changes to the draft report, which he
summarized: 1) additional information in the introductory section of the
report about the role of the library in a regional center such as Eugene;
2) additional data about past, present, and anticipated roles of the
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Bookmobile in providing library services; 3) additional information about
the relationship between services at the Eugene public library and those
at the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and Northwest
Christian College libraries; 4) inclusion of information concerning the
function and role of branch libraries and the relationship to a strong
central library (found in an appendix to the report); and 5)
recommendations concerning the site, including a) to attempt to separate
parking from the library site, and b) to strengthen the committee's
recommendations about the need to give serious consideration to the
possible vacation of Broadway between Lincoln and Charnel ton streets.
Mr. Saul introduced the next three speakers.
Jim Robertson, Robertson/Sherwood Architects, reported that Site 3, at
Broadway and Charnel ton, had received the highest score on the matrix
that had been used, at 76.5 out of 100 possible points. He said that was
15 percent higher than the score received by the existing library site,
and he reviewed nine reasons for the Site 3 score:
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1) sufficient size for library and parking;
2) location near the downtown commercial and civic center;
3) close to downtown employment centers;
4) good access by car, bus, bikes, and foot, with Charnel ton and
Lincoln streets constructed for higher than current use;
5) good potential to enhance adjacent downtown uses;
6) more pooling of trips to commercial activity and increased
visits to the library;
7) public ownership of site;
8) minimal impact on existing traffic and parking patterns;
9) a multi-story facility would fit with the existing scale of
downtown.
Julie Aspinwall-Lamberts, 1286 Piper Lane, of the Library Committee, said
she expected parking to be a difficult issue. She said she wanted the
council and the public to know that the issue had been difficult for the
committee to deal with, but parking would need to be addressed. She said
the committee had considered whether to recommend a multi-level parking
facility or surface parking, and for the size and spaces needed to serve
the library, surface parking would require at least two square city
blocks. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said it was a City goal to intensify the
density of land use in the downtown area, and surface parking therefore
had not seemed a reasonable approach. She added that both the adopted
Parking and Circulation Plan and the draft Urban Renewal Plan called for
the siting at the Broadway and Charnel ton location of a multi-story
parking structure of approximately the same size being recommended in the
draft report.
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Dick Waters, HPW Associates program consultants, said per capita use
showed that the Eugene library was one of the busiest libraries on the
West Coast and in the country. Mr. Waters said that in looking at the
type of building needed for the future, consultants had looked at the
type of future they thought would exist. That future, he said, would
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stress information, education, and technology, all of which was embodied
in books--either printed, video, electronic, or micrographic. Mr. Waters
said the future Eugene library would be, "first and foremost, a people
place; it'll be a place where ideas will come together and people will
come together to talk about those ideas and to access the information and
the knowledge that the library will have--where they will refine their
existing skills and where they'll refocus on new needs to deal with the
future that is before them."
Mr. Waters said the library would be a public project, and it had been
his experience with libraries allover the country that citizens would
pay for services rendered. He said an average of 2,000 people visited
the Eugene library daily, which indicated strongly that the library was
rendering a service. He said 249 new libraries had been built across the
country in the past year, including five in Oregon, and many more were
being planned by cities and citizens who were making a statement for
information, education, and technology.
Mr. Waters said the committee had presented a plan and a vision of the
next century. He said that plan was ambitious and would need the support
of the community. He read a quote from Barbara Tuchman, "Without books,
history is silent, literature dumb, thought and speculation at a
standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have
been impossible. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of
the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print." .
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Mr. Waters said he was committed to helping libraries everywhere, and he
endorsed the report, adding that the sizing recommended was right and
would take the community well into the next century.
Mayor Obie opened the public hearing.
Sam Frear, 4734 Brookwood Street, president of Friends of the Eugene
Library and a member of the Library Committee, spoke in support.
Mr. Frear said it was no surprise that a new library was wanted. He said
evidence of the inadequacy of the existing facility and the need for a
new library to take the community into the next century were abundantly
clear for reasons such as attracting new business to Eugene and
symbolizing and demonstrating proudly the commitment to quality of life
in Eugene. He said he envisioned the new library as part of future tours
of Eugene, and he asked the community to be bold and imaginative on the
subject.
William Sweetland, 1251 Courtney Place, said he realized that siting was
the first important issue, but he felt a responsibility to another factor
that seemed almost overlooked in new construction of public buildings,
and that was the architecture itself. He said he could cite several
examples of architectural designs in the area that had wasted money, and
he hoped the community would question the efficiency of the architect's
design.
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Mr. Sweetland asked why the current library had been built without
allowing for additional floors with enough strength to hold stacks of
books. He asked why City Hall had been built with no provision for
additional floors. He said costs of leasing office space for City
offices now amounted to $500,000 per year because the building had not
been designed and built properly. He asked why "such a monstrosity of
inefficient design" as the new County engineering offices on Delta
Highway had been allowed, and why the halls in the County annex building
were so wide, while office space was crowded.
Mr. Sweetland said he believed problems resulted because architects were
paid based on a percentage of the project cost, which was not tied to
efficiency of use or long-term benefits. He said he thought it was a
"crime" that the library should become obsolete in only 28 years, and he
believed that no public building should have a useful life of less than
50 years, or much longer with proper design and planning, as was the case
with buildings on the East Coast and in Europe.
Mr. Sweetland suggested the community avoid those types of "architectural
blunders" by 1) having the library board appoint an architectural control
committee composed of five to eight citizens with backgrounds in civil
and structural engineering, construction, and design, people who would
actively work on the problem so that the community would get a beautiful
yet functional library at a reasonable cost, and 2) appointing an
architectural firm only on the basis of competitive preliminary design
when the site had been selected, which he hoped would be soon.
Louis Frank Bonson, Box 944, spoke in opposition. He said he had
submitted a letter to councilors and had read the report, and he found
much of the information offered in support to be IIfalse rhetoric." He
read from a letter he had written to the local newspaper, in which he
asked whether taxpayers favored a $25 million library that would increase
property taxes and that was not needed. Mr. Bonson said he saw no need
for a new library, except for additional storage that could be added for
only a few thousand dollars.
Mr. Bonson said Eugene already had the biggest and best library in the
state at the University of Oregon library and its five specialty
libraries.
Mr. Bonson said he did not believe subcommittees had questioned the need
for the library expansion. He expressed concern about operating costs,
which would not be needed if only storage were expanded. He also asked
about the reasons for library construction costs of more than $200 per
square foot.
Mr. Bonson said taxpayers and businesses could not afford additional
taxes, and he asked the council to "quit steal i ng from the poor to
support the rich." He said a $25 million addition to the U of 0 Library
was being proposed, and school libraries already existed throughout the
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January 25, 1988
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city. He suggested allowing 60 days for him to perform a free
feasibility report on expanding storage. Mr. Bonson said a new library
was not needed and did not justify the added tax burden.
Martha Rice, 2610 Highland Oaks Drive, chair of the Eugene Public Library
Board of Trustees, spoke in support. She commended the committee for its
report, characterizing it as "careful, comprehensive, and long overdue."
Ms. Rice urged the council to accept the recommendations. She said the
board also was concerned about costs, but she thought the new library was
needed, and she asked whether the community could afford NOT to expand
the facility.
Ms. Rice said the board had been seeking an improved library since 1977.
She offered its help and encouraged the council to use the board as a
resource for the project.
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Ann Carter, 2901 Baker, spoke in support. She noted that she was a
member of the Friends of the Library and of the Eugene Public Library
Foundation but she spoke on her own behalf. She commended the committee
for its report, adding that she thought the committee had worked hard,
made some difficult decisions, and used a lot of expert advice. She also
commended the assistance from the City. Ms. Carter said she thought the
City had had vision in the past and constantly did look toward the
future, for example in projects such as the Hult Center, the airport
renovation, and now it was the library's turn. She said she thought
library expansion should be placed on the ballot, and she thought the
committee's recommendations had to be accepted because the work had been
done well.
Ms. Carter said the library probably was one of the most used City
services, with cards issued to close to 40 percent of the community, and
with many non-cardholders using the library for information purposes, not
just for recreational reading or school assignments. She said she
thought the community needed and deserved a new library, which should be
included in the City beautification program now underway.
Molly Stafford, 1060 Madison Street, spoke in support of accepting the
committee recommendation. Ms. Stafford said that when the City had
proceeded on the airport, it had been her understanding that it would not
jeopardize the possibility of a new library, and she believed Eugene
needed and wanted a new library. She urged the council to proceed with
plans to construct the library and to allow citizens to vote on the
library as they had done on the airport.
Mary Bentsen, 950 West 16th Avenue, spoke under Other Comments. She said
she was a member of the Friends of the Library but spoke on her own
behalf. Ms. Bentsen said she believed the need for restoration and
enlargement of the library was not an issue and had been demonstrated as
long overdue. She said she had been dismayed in recent years by the
deteriorating condition of the library.
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Ms. Bentsen said she felt that the library represented the heart of the
city, and when the heart began to deteriorate, she wondered about the
priorities of those who were making decisions with regard to the library.
Ms. Bentsen said she was very much in support of a new library, she
thought the need was evident, and she was happy to hear Mr. Waters.
comments illustrating the need for a larger, better equipped library.
But, she added, she disagreed with the report.s recommendations about
location and how to pay for the project.
Ms. Bentsen said she had noted at previous meetings that the suggested
location downtown gave her a sense of "deja vu." She said Eugene, 30
years ago, had faced the same decision about where to locate the library,
and the City Council had proposed a site at 8th and Oak, for the same
reasons cited now. She said she was not sure that economic benefits to
downtown should be the foremost reason for site selection. Ms. Bentsen
said a large number of people had disagreed with that suggested location,
and the City had been faced with an initiative petition. As a result,
she said, voters had decided on the location at 13th and Olive. She said
many of the same concerns had been expressed then and at hearings this
summer--that people did not want the library located in the commercial
heart of the city and that benefits of a more peripheral location
included better access and safety for children and teenagers. She said a
location downtown would result in added problems.
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Ms. Bentsen also said she was concerned about price. She noted that the
report recommended a $24 million facility, including the multi-level
parking garage and funds to staff and operate it. She said she believed
that package was doomed to fail if presented to voters in a bond
election, because the price was out of reason with the area economy.
Ms. Bentsen said she was concerned about inclusion in the report of such
an amount, which appeared to be a "straw manu that would be easily
knocked down by voters if presented in that way.
Ms. Bentsen suggested using surface parking and enlarging the present
site, purchasing vacant lots nearby, and presenting the project to voters
as an economically priced library.
Ms. Bentsen also said she feared for the success of the project if an
attempt was made to include operating costs in the bond issue. She noted
that operating costs had not been included in bond issues for the Hult
Center or the airport and said she did not think it would be fair to
include them for the library. She concluded that two roadblocks to a
successfully expanded Eugene library would be 1) to include operating
costs in the bond issue; and 2) to site it in such a way that the expense
was too great for the citizens to bear.
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John D. Moore, 2090 West 17th Avenue, spoke under Other Comments.
Mr. Moore said he thought the library was a very good investment for the
city and would not cost, but would pay, even though he found the pricetag
a little high. He said he felt $15 million was a more reasonable cost
than the $26 million cited in the report.
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Mr. Moore said he thought the University library was an adequate research
facility, but he did not think it was an outstanding research facility.
And, he added, the library as well as parking was getting crowded and
badly needed expansion. Mr. Moore said he also believed the University
library could not adequately serve the needs of grade school and middle
school children, and he thought the City library had to supplement school
libraries with a central facility to make efficient use of funds.
Mr. Moore said he thought an educated public, which the library helped to
strengthen, was important to maintaining the strength of democracy, as
had been stated by Horace Mann about 150 years ago when he helped to
start comprehensive public education.
Mr. Moore noted that the City library also carried popular literature,
which he did not believe was the function of an academic research library
and its funds.
Of all the recommendations to improve the image of the City, Mr. Moore
said he believed the library was one project that would give substance to
the image, and that would help bring badly needed capital into the city.
Elizabeth F. Fox, 340 North Adams Street, spoke under Other Comments.
Ms. Fox said she agreed with many of Ms. Bentsen's comments, she favored
a good public library, but she thought some of the recommendations in the
report should be reconsidered.
Ms. Fox said she did not think the site should be changed because the
current site had no congestion. She said she thought the nine reasons
cited by Mr. Robertson were all reasons NOT to locate the library
downtown. She said a good library certainly would help business, but
commercial interests should not be the main factor in the decision.
Ms. Fox said young children would be better served by a location outside
the downtown center, which allowed them more freedom, and the elderly
also preferred the convenience of a peripheral location.
Ms. Fox said one portion of Willamette Street just had been opened to
traffic at great cost, and she thought it was a good thing, so she did
not favor closing another street. She expressed frustration at the
downtown traffic patterns and said that if parking were provided across
the street, a bridge should be included for pedestrians, so that the
street did not have to be closed and later reopened.
Ms. Fox said she also agreed with Ms. Bentsen that the project as
presented was likely to fail, and she did not want opposition to this
particular proposal to jeopardize updating of the library. She suggested
updating the library at its current site, adding that she opposed the
expense of a vote that would fail and would result in contention for the
community.
Sue Girardeau, 2398 Douglas Drive, representing the League of Women
Voters of Lane County, spoke in support of a new or expanded library for
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the city. She said the league, after research and study, recently had
adopted its position through a process of neighborhood meetings and
consensus. She said all nine neighborhood units had agreed that Eugene
needed an improved library as soon as possible, that the library should
be large enough to meet the community's needs for at least 20 years, and
that it should be designed for further expansion when needed. Other
criteria for a new library should be as follows, she said: 1) easy and
convenient access for everyone; 2) flexibility to accommodate service and
societal changes; 3) design for efficient and effective operation; 4) an
attractive and welcoming design; 5) a central location with sufficient,
convenient parking, and 6) an operating budget adequate to provide
effective staffing, current materials, and ongoing services.
Ms. Girardeau said the league felt the committee had done an excellent
job and the report had met all criteria. She said library improvements
already were overdue and completion now would be more efficient than a
phased approach. She said the league believed the community was ready
and willing to support the project and strongly urged the council to
adopt the report and to place the issue on the ballot by September 20,
1988. She said the League of Women Voters pledged its full support to a
successful outcome.
Jessie I. Gustafson, 1795 West 17th, spoke under Other Comments. She
said she and her children regularly used the library, and she had been in
favor of library expansion, but in recent weeks events had changed her
mind. Ms. Gustafson said a news report yesterday had included a
statement from a representative of the City library that the facility
needed new wiring, so the building would be torn down and replaced. She
said she did not appreciate the unsympathetic attitude she had
encountered with regard to restoring the reduced hours, and her
occupation allowed her only six hours per week to visit the library,
which she viewed as a necessity, not a luxury.
Ms. Gustafson said she was not certain about the expense of a satellite
library system, but she had seen branches used in many other communities,
and she thought many people would use them here. She suggested that
Lincoln School be converted to a branch library.
Ms. Gustafson said she felt that the $101,000 budget item for restoration
of hours was a valid line item, because library representatives saw no
need to restore the hours. She said the Eugene library had been
established with help from Andrew Cornelius, a "frugal Scot" who also
established a scholarship fund, and she would like to have his input on
spending $25 million on a public library.
Michael Coffey, 971 West 1st Avenue, spoke in favor of expanded library
services. He said he represented his children, who were in attendance
tonight, and he supported an expanded library system, whether it be a
satellite system, expansion of the existing building, or some other way
of expanding current services, which in his experience were inadequate,
with insufficient space even to shelve existing books.
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January 25, 1988
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Mr. Coffey said history showed that it was a sign of a deteriorating
culture or community when people began to disregard heritage, wisdom, and
access to those, which was what a library was all about. "Itls also said
that knowledge is that which is taken in by the sensory mechanisms of the
body; wisdom is what is learned by applying that knowledge, and through
the application of knowledge comes power--to people and power to a
community as well. The collection and preservation of the knowledge that
yields an expanding community is a library--that is where the treasure is
held. As application of knowledge is to power, I believe that access to
knowledge is to the potential of a community." Mr. Coffey said he viewed
planning for the library as a model of the condition of the Eugene
community, and he did not think the community could afford not to expand
services.
"Without access to the wealth of information that a library houses--in
particular that this Eugene public library houses--what happens is that
people canlt find answers to questions for themselves, and they lose that
sense of empowerment in their own community. What happens worse is that,
sooner or later, people begin to cease to ask questions," Mr. Coffey
said, and he wanted to encourage the council and the constituents of the
community to dwell on the abundance of this community, as represented in
the library. He said a possibility existed for lithe entrepreneurs, the
business leaders, the community leaders, the students, the children of
this community to create a synergistic effect by meshing with the
knowledge, the wisdom of people who in the past have made mistakes,
learned great, profound lessons, and passed that information on for us to
use and to hold in our library system."
Mr. Coffey said he would not address economics, which was beyond his
expertise. He was present, he said, "to feather the edges of acceptance
of the fact that a library system is a huge resource. It should be
considered as wealth in the community. Itls an intangible wealth. A
library, done successfully, is not unlike a sunset or wilderness area--
it1s something a lot of people take for granted. But exposure to a
sunset at the right time in your life--exposure to a wild area of beach
at the right time in your life--can save your life. It can restore your
faith in your fellow man, restore your faith in your community, restore
your faith in what your calling is. Exposure to a sunset has been known
to inspire people to greatness.1I
Mr. Coffey closed by citing a quote from Gilbert Hyatt, who, sitting in
the midst of an archeological library, had written, "Most of you have
been in a library, and you1ve sat there amongst these shelves of books,
some of them silly, some of them profound. These are not books, lumps of
lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes
out its own voices, inaudible as the streams of sound conveyed day and
night by electric waves beyond the range of our phYSical hearing. And
just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music,
so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into
range the far, distant voice in time and space and hear it speaking to
us--mind to mind, heart to heart." He said he believed it was the right
of the citizens of Eugene to have expanded access to the wisdom and the
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heritage of this community and of our civilization. He also said he
believed it was the responsibility of the leadership of the council to
bring that to pass in a way that was in pious service to the community,
which he trusted would occur.
Mayor Obie closed the public hearing.
Mayor Obie asked about the consideration given to use of existing parking
garages, such as those at the Hult Center or the Parcade. Ms. Decker
said the committee had considered the amount of parking currently used in
the two surface parking lots at the recommended site, and it had assumed
that spaces currently leased could be moved to other parking garages.
The committee had not assumed that the day-to-day parking currently using
those two surface parking lots would move to the Hult Center or the
Parcade.
Mr. Miller requested information for the work session about using surface
level parking as a means of facilitating the library and whether that
would preclude other types of parking structures if needed in the future,
and the relative costs of having interim parking on the surface level.
Ms. Schue posed a question for the public. She said the report assumed
funding through the property tax, which was a standard and understandable
approach, but other communities used other sources of funding. She asked
about other forms of taxation that might be used and suggested a
restaurant tax of about 4 percent. She said the community needed to get
e creative and not talk just about property taxes.
Ms. Ehrman requested information for the work session. She said she had
recently talked with a librarian in Portland who had mentioned the strong
fine system used in Beaverton, Oregon. Ms. Ehrman said she did not mean
to suggest that library fines would fund the library expansion, but she
did favor looking at all possible revenue issues.
Mr. Holmer said that when the council had reached consensus about the
nature and size of the library, he would be interested in staff advice
about the practicality and feasibility of a competitive design process.
The council recessed for five minutes at 8:35 p.m.
II. PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE AMENDMENT CONCERNING PROJECTING SIGNS,
MARQUEE SIGNS, AND UNDER-MARQUEE SIGNS
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City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Jan Bohman of the
Development Department presented the staff report. She said the proposed
amendment had been initiated by the department at the request of downtown
businesses whose owners had expressed interest in installing awnings
through the department's awning program. Ms. Bohman said the amendment
would allow signs to project a maximum of seven feet from the wall of
buildings when in conjunction with awnings or marquees that provided
pedestrian cover. She said the State Building Code currently allowed
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January 25, 1988
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awnings to extend up to seven feet, but City code limited projecting
signs to four and one-half feet. She said the amendment would eliminate
the need to choose between a four-and-one-half-foot awning with the store
name on it or a seven-foot awning without the name; it would apply to the
area of the Pedestrian Auto District, from Lincoln to High streets and
from 7th to 13th avenues and extending to 18th Avenue on Willamette
Street, to the 5th Avenue Special District, and to the West University
Business District in the 13th and Alder area. She said the amendment
also contained clarifications and non-substantive language changes,
adding that both the Downtown Commission and the Planning Commission
recommended approval of the amendment.
Mayor Obie opened the public hearing.
Larry Chamberlain, 1535 West 26th Avenue, said he supported the
amendment, but in the future, he thought it would be nice if
representatives of the sign industry could review the changes prior to
the meeting.
Mayor Obie closed the public hearing.
Ms. Ehrman said she was glad to see a problem being corrected quickly.
She said the change was a noticeable improvement and she favored doing
everything possible to encourage the awning program, adding that she
considered it part of the City.s beautification projects.
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CB 3016--An ordinance concerning Sign Code regulations; amend-
ing Sections 8.620, 8.630, 8.635, and 8.640 of the
Eugene Code, 1971; repealing Section 8.680 of that
code; and declaring an emergency.
Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that the bill be
read the second time by council bill number only, with
unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be
considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion carried
unanimously, 7:0.
Council Bill 3016 was read the second time by council bill number only.
Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that the bill be
approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all
councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed
(and became Ordinance No. 19530).
III. PUBLIC HEARING: ZONING REQUEST (CITY OF EUGENE: WILLOW CREEK
ISLANDS) (AZ 87-14)
City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Gary Chenkin of the
Planning Department presented the staff report. He said the zoning
request would constitute final zoning action on the annexation considered
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by the council on January 11. He said renotification for tonight's
public hearing had been issued.
Mr. Chenkin said zoning being recommended for the area was mostly
holding zones that would allow uses of a less intensive nature than
allowed by the Willow Creek Special Area Study, but when more intensive
zoning was desired, owners could apply for rezoning, which would be
supported by staff if it was consistent with the study. At the present,
he said, all minimum level urban services were not available, and
property in the island annexation could not be developed, which was one
reason for the annexation.
Mr. Chenkin said an exception to applying the City equivalent of current
County zoning was the small area in the northwest corner, zoned R-2 and
C-2 by the County. He said those zones would allow uses that were more
intensive and of different character than envisioned in the study, which
designated the area industrial, so the Planning Commission recommended
the 1-2 zone. He said the owners had been notified of that, and no
objection had been received.
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Mr. Chenkin said he had held a discussion this afternoon with Grant Rich,
who represented the Cuddebacks, major area property owners. He said they
wanted to ensure that the zoning being recommended tonight (basically AG
and RA) would be a holding zone and that once the property was annexed
and services were available, development could occur based on the study
designations (mainly medium- and high-density residential, with some
commercial). Mr. Chenkin said he had ensured owners that staff would
support those designations before the Hearings Official, and owners had
requested him to relate that their absence tonight did not mean that they
were permanently in favor of AG and RA zoning, which he believed was
understood.
Mr. Chenkin apologized for the extra paperwork provided to the council
and said it provided background reflecting normal action.
Mr. Rutan asked about the legal foundation for future zoning requests by
owners. Mr. Chenkin said much property within the urban growth boundary
was zoned for less intensive uses than allowed by applicable plans and
studies. He said the zoning in the Willow Creek Special Area Study that
precisely designated various zones for properties would be appropriate
when they were annexed and services were available. He said no problem
was anticipated as long as the requested zoning was designated in the
study.
Mr. Holmer said he hoped the administrative intent would be reflected in
the minutes. Mr. Chenkin said he thought that would be proper and had
assured the owner that it would be the intent of staff to support that
zoning, at least with the information available today and based on the
special area study.
No ex parte contacts or conflicts of interest were declared.
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MINUTES--Eugene City Council
January 25, 1988
Page 12
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Mayor Obie entered the staff notes and minutes into the record and opened
the public hearing.
There being no requests to speak, Mayor Obie closed the public hearing.
Final Order AZ 87-14--A final order rezoning property located
south of West 11th Avenue, between
Bertelsen Road and Terry Street as listed
on page I-B-9 of the December 1, 1987,
Planning Commission staff notes.
Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to adopt Final Order
AZ 87-14, including application of the sign district.
Mr. Rutan suggested including in the motion the intent that the property,
when serviced and ready for development, be considered for rezoning based
upon the special area study. He expressed concern that items could be
passed and forgotten. Mr. Holmer said he felt the issue should be
handled as a separate motion.
Ms. Ehrman indicated that although she had not voted for annexation, she
would vote on zoning.
Roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously, 7:0.
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Mayor Obie said he thought staff intentions had been made clear, and
plans were available with designated zoning. He expressed concern about
the council committing itself on a quasi-judicial matter before action
was taken. Ms. Ehrman said she thought the legislative intent in the
minutes was sufficient.
Mr. Holmer suggested adopting a motion declaring the council's intent to
follow the declaration of administrative intent stated by Mr. Chenkin, if
and when the proposal for rezoning came before the council.
Mr. Bennett said he agreed with Mr. Rutan's concerns, and he asked about
the history of holding zones. Mr. Gleason said holding zones were common
in dealing with special studies conducted, adopted, and modified by the
City Council, and a motion would reaffirm the special area study.
Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to affirm the
special area study. Roll call vote; the motion carried
unanimously, 7:0.
IV. FINDINGS OF HEARINGS OFFICIAL AND APPROVAL OF IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
(AIRPORT ROAD)
City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item.
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MINUTES--Eugene City Council
January 25, 1988
Page 13
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Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to approve the
Hearings Official findings of January 14, 1988, and to approve
improvements to construct sanitary sewers in a portion of
Airport Road, beginning approximately 500 feet west of Highway
99 and proceeding west to the existing sanitary sewer.
Ms. Bascom asked what businesses were being served by the improvements.
Les Lyle of the Public Works Department said a new business was being
constructed at the intersection of Airport Road and Highway 99, and
existing properties on the south side would be developing in connection
to the sewer. Ms. Bascom asked whether those properties had been
included in the previous annexation in the area. Mr. Lyle said they had
not been included in that annexation but had been annexed through the
Boundary Commission's expedited process, which did not require approval
by the City Council.
Roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously, 7:0.
v. FINDINGS OF HEARINGS OFFICIAL AND AMENDMENT TO ASSESSMENT
ORDINANCE (ROYAL AVENUE)
City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item.
CB 3017--An ordinance levying assessments for paving of Royal
Avenue from 600 feet west of Candlelight Drive to
Terry Street; Amending the assessment roll attached
to Ordinance No. 19521; and declaring an emergency.
Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to adopt the
Hearings Official findings of January 14, 1988, and that the
bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with
unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be
considered at this time.
Council Bill 3017 was read the second time by council bill number only.
Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that the bill be
approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all
councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed
(and became Ordinance No. 19531).
Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 9 p.m. to January 27, 1988.
R~spectfu?lY ~R1j\~c
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Micneal D. Gleason
City Manager
MINUTES--Eugene City Council
January 25, 1988
Page 14
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(Recorded by Leslie Scales)
mncc012588
MINUTES--Eugene City Council
January 25, 1988
Page 15