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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/09/1988 Meeting e e - M I NUT E S Joint City Council/Planning Commission Dinner/Work Session Bloch Room--Eugene Community Conference Center May 9, 1988 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Brian Obie; Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Robert Bennett, Roger Rutan (after 6:14 p.m.), City Councilors; Ken Tollenaar, Gerry Gaydos, Dorothy Anderson, Lloyd Billingsly (for Alan Yordy), Nancy Nathanson, John VanLandingham, Planning Commissioners. Mayor Obie opened the meeting. He said he was unaware of any plans described in press reports indicating that he would visit Eugene's Soviet sister city in July. I. PLANNING COMMISSION FY89 WORK PROGRAM Planning Director Susan Brody reviewed the agenda and distributed copies of a memo and of the FY89 Planning Commission Work Program. She described work program items in the agenda item summary, including continuing work on the Metro Plan economic and natural resource working papers update; work with a citizens group on Phase II of the Glenwood Refinement Plan; work with a citizens group on a special area study to address inadequate commercial parking in the 19th and Agate area; task team recommendations on the Historic Preservation Ordinance; and staff work on a Willakenzie Refinement Plan, which currently did not exist. She said a recommendation from the Metropolitan Policy Committee to elected officials suggested it would be more efficient and less confusing to combine the Metro Plan and the Transplan into one document. She also noted that new work program items 2, Ferry Street Bridge; 3, Storm Sewer Master Plan; and 4, Sign Code Update, in addition to the 19th and Agate area, would involve both the Planning Commission and City Counci 1. Ms. Brody said the transfer of urban building permit and land use application services from Lane County to cities had been very successful, and Lane County officials now were interested in a similar transfer of legislative planning responsibility. with a proposed intergovernmental agreement expected in the next six to eight months. She added that the transfer might involve a code change to allow citizens from outside the city to rppresent the River Road/Santa Clara area on the Eugene Planning Commission. Mr. Vanlandingham reported that the Planning Commission had met with the River Road/Santa Clara Citizens Advisory Team about urban facilities planning and annexation. He said the session had been constructive and rewarding, and MINUTES--Joint City Council/Planning Commission Work Session May 9, 1988 Page 1 e e e citizens had seemed to understand the need for actions by the City. Mr. Vanlandingham also reported on housing issues. He said the commission had heard from a number of speakers, including representatives of developers, bankers, landlords, and the regional office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He said five tasks had been identified, and two priority items then had been chosen. Top concerns included mobile home displacement and the low-income housing supply, and a third item was multi-family rental housing, he said. He added that development of a housing code (lacking since 1983) and new mobile home spaces had been the fourth and fifth items that were dropped. Mr. Vanlandingham said a housing group met monthly. He said the 1987 legislature had required a survey on mobile home displacement to identify parks at-risk and inappropriate zoning. He said FEMA regulations were unclear about mobile home parks in floodplains, such as those in the Ferry Street Bridge, Delta, and Valley River Center floodplain areas. Inappropriate zoning could mean displacement of mobile home residents. Mr. Vanlandingham said studies had identified 18 mobile home parks at-risk in Eugene, usually involving older parks and homes that were difficult to move. He said a report had been sent to residents and owners of parks and suggested possible solutions. A public hearing would be held on Wednesday, with a proposal identified as the next step, he added. Terry Smith of the Public Works Department reported on the Sign Code update. He said minor changes had been made to the Sign Code in 1986, and discussion had mentioned additional changes to be required as a result of expected court rulings. Mr. Smith said those court cases had been settled out-of-court, and the guidance from those rulings would not be available. He said staff recommended proceeding with revision of the Sign Code to ensure that it met the highest standards of legality, and that revision was expected take six to nine months. In the interim, he said staff would recommend adoption of an interim sign code, to be based on the existing code and attempting to retain all of its intent and policies. Mr. Smith said policies could be addressed when the final code was adopted. Ms. Anderson expressed concern about cutting funds for long-range implementation items. She noted a lack of Federal funds and impacts on local responsibilities and said her concern was that economizing and short-range "crisis managementll approaches not overlook the need for a long-range view. Ms. Anderson also reported that Ms. Nathanson and she had attended the American Planning Association Conference in San Antonio, and had heard from others who had been impressed with the Eugene Planning Program's long-range po 1 icy ma king. Mayor Obie asked about property tax exemptions to encourage redevelopment and greater density and more low-income housing in the west side of the city. Mr. Vanlandingham said Development Department staff now was exploring that and it would have to be approved by School District 4J. He also said the 1985 legislature had adopted a property tax exemption for low-income housing in Portland, and the housing group could examine that. Ms. Brody said MINUTES--Joint City Council/Planning Commission Work Session May 9, 1988 Page 2 e e e Planning and Development department staffs had met and anticipated a recommendation to the Downtown Commission, the Planning Commission, and the City Council in about six months. Responding to a question from Mr. Bennett, the Mayor said the exemption would require some public benefit, such as multiple-family housing. Mr. Bennett expressed concern about achieving targets by providing benefits to single parents and to low-income families with children. Ms. Decker said projects at Broadway Center and Washington Abbey had not been subsidized, while that at Lincoln Center did receive a subsidy, but projects generally had not provided many benefits for families. Ms. Brody noted that Portland allowed exemptions for non-profits. Mr. Holmer asked about annual cost of exemptions, both current and projected. Ms. Nathanson reported that Mr. Vanlandingham and she had attended a presentation on a HUD affordable housing program that did not involve exchange of funds, but rather facilitation between local governments and developers to explore innovative building and land-use techniques to increase density. Mr. Smith added that homebuilders had been contacted. Mayor Obie predicted that if economic trends continued, he expected a housing crisis across all income levels. Ms. Anderson reported recent conference sessions and information available on trust funds and interest-bearing funds as sources for housing projects. Mr. Bennett said the housing crisis would hit lowest incomes hardest and he noted that lead time was required to affect housing supply. He also said the initial supply usually was at the upper end of the market. He said he thought the least expensive way for the public sector to contribute to solutions was by providing incentives to the private sector. Mr. Bennett said he thought private efforts were more efficient than those in the non-profit sector. He hoped that incentives would begin at the national level or would occur in some type of public/private venture with a chance to succeed. He said that even in a Ilnormalll market with vacancy rates of five or six percent, single parents with children often were the last to receive rentals and it was difficult for children to live in a dense setting. He said he was concerned about the problem and anxious to follow the dialogue. Mr. Gaydos said he thought the Planning Commission agreed with those concerns and therefore had chosen priorities of mobile home displacement and other areas. He said he hoped for creative efforts and he sensed from other commissioners a hope for continued work on the economic development plan, which did not now address housing issues. He said the plan included provisions for quality jobs, but no provisions for quality housing, and he agreed that the issue was important. Responding to Mr. Holmer's question, Ms. Brody said a public hearing before the Planning Commission and a City Council work session on amendments to the solar access ordinance were planned for June. MINUTES--Joint City Council/Planning Commission Work Session May 9, 1988 Page 3 e Mayor Obie said public participation and sensitivity to all were needed in the process regarding Ferry Street Bridge. Mr. Smith said formation of a design review committee was the first step. Mr. Holmer said a technical advisory committee and a citizen advisory committee were to be appointed. Mayor Obie asked to receive a report. The Mayor also noted that floodplain problems throughout the city were critical. Ms. Brody said staff now was focusing on West Eugene wetlands as part of the Metro Plan update and would issue a contract this spring if sufficient resources were available. She said recent court rulings regarding rural comprehensive plans might affect funding for metro planning, and local Planning Directors were meeting to discuss the issue. Ms. Brody said in early fall Lane County and Springfield might cut funds for metro planning, and staff was attempting to restructure the update to focus on important issues such as wetlands. e Responding to Mr. Rutan's question, Mayor Obie said the floodplain requirements affected construction, and Ms. Brody said wetlands were a related issue. Mr. Rutan asked about the definition of floodplain and wetland areas. Mr. Smith said boundaries were well-defined from an administrative legal point of view and also were determined by engineering judgments by the Army Corps of Engineers. Mayor Obie said ways to mitigate problems were being considered. Mr. Gleason added that changes in floodplain or wetlands boundaries would require substantial revisions at the Federal level, and processes would be similar to those for the clean air and water acts. Jim Croteau of the Planning Department said Public Works staff was studying drainage systems in the west Eugene area, and Planning staff was attempting to help area businesses deal with Federal floodplain and wetland regulations. Mr. Smith said methods to be considered included larger and faster drainage systems in order to modify floodplain boundaries, but that would not address the wetlands issue, which he said was hampered by the lack of a wetlands inventory. Ms. Brody said a preview was possible by the end of summer, and she agreed to arrange another jOint meeting. Ms. Bascom suggested starting work on legislation pertaining to Federal solutions for housing. Mr. Bennett agreed and said a social goals subcommittee might address that role, and Mr. Vanlandingham would be meeting with that group. Mr. Holmer asked about combining planning, public works, economic development, and other functions under department mergers. Mr. Tollenaar said he thought the ex-officio membership of Development and Public Works department directors on the Planning Commission seemed to work well. Mr. Rutan asked about the airport area refinement plan. Ms. Brody said that was not on next year's schedule. She added that an economic working paper in the Metro Plan update might affect that area, and she suggested considering that item for future years. e MINUTES--Joint City Council/Planning Commission Work Session May 9, 1988 Page 4 e e e Mr. Bennett asked whether economic working papers concerning industrial/commercial lands would address competitive marketing. Ms. Brody said that would be addressed. Mr. Holmer asked about recent comments from Lane County Commissioner Jerry Rust. Ms. Brody said Mr. Rust had expressed concern about unbalanced representation on the natural resource committee, in favor of economic development interests. She said reappointments would slow the process, and she understood Mr. Rust's concern, but she did not think it was serious enough to halt the process. Mr. Holmer said the issue had been referred to the Metropolitan Policy Committee and might come up again. Ms. Bascom suggested coordinating with Springfield and Eugene for exploration of a restaurant tax and a real estate transfer tax. Mr. Gleason said a finance coordinating committee operated through the Metropolitan Policy Committee, and MPC had decided to continue sharing information but not to coordinate policy decisions. Ms. Bascom suggested having a design committee address the EWEB plaza project. Ms. Brody said the Planning and PARCS departments were coordinating that, and Mr. Croteau said a final proposal was expected soon. Mayor Obie expressed concern about safety around shrubbery and plantings along jogging paths. He suggested considering the idea of a plaque with a map of jogging paths and directions to the river from 5th Avenue. Ms. Brody said the Historic Review Board was working on a commemorative plaque for the Mill and Elevator Building, and Mr. Croteau said a briefing would be provided. Mr. Vanlandingham said he had voted with the majority of the Planning Commission to recommend opening Willamette Street to traffic. He said both the minority and the majority had felt the necessity of forming a design review committee and of presenting a specific design to the public if the proposal was to succeed. He added that the delay was felt to be essential to the success of the project. Mr. Rutan said the council had wanted to avoid a debate over design, but he also thought it may have erred in being too vague. He said the ballot measure had been intended as a short, non-specific description, but later discussions had suggested adding more definition. Mr. Gleason said the council would address the issue next week. Ms. Bascom asked about 19th and Agate. Ms. Brody said the Planning Commission would be acting on the report. Mr. Bennett said he continued to receive calls about traffic around Condon School. Ms. Decker said the alley might be paved or barricaded except for service deliveries. She said the University of Oregon scheduled events and managed the building, and she recommended that complaints be directed to the Center for Advanced Technology and Education. Mayor Obie expressed agreement with Ms. Anderson's concern about the importance of long-range planning. He also said he was depending on the MINUTES--Joint City Council/Planning Commission Work Session May 9, 1988 Page 5 e It e Planning Commission to stay close to citizens on issues such as zoning, variances, etc. He thanked commissioners for their efforts. The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ..; -.., ~i9/~.171 Micheal D. Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Leslie Scales) mncc 0509088 MINUTES--Joint City Council/Planning Commission Work Session May 9, 1988 Page 6