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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/08/1988 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall June 8, 1988 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Debra Ehrman, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue. The adjourned meeting of June 6, 1988, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Mayor Brian Obie. I. ITEMS FROM THE COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER Ms. Schue said the Sunset Hills Cemetery is facing and it is possible that the cemetery's 2,000 grave moved. She said this issue should not be ignored. this is an area of concern. major financial problems sites might have to be Mr. Bennett agreed that Mr. Rutan said that at a minimum, the City did not handle the situation with the Body Shoppe, a former tenant of the Parcade, very well. He raised the possibility that all of the possible alternatives or compromises have not been explored. Ms. Ehrman disagreed somewhat, saying that relative to what a private sector landlord would have done in a similar situation, the City was quite sensitive and accommodating to the Body Shoppe. Referring to the decision to locate Reprographics in the space formerly occupied by the Body Shoppe, Mayor Obie expressed a concern about an industrial use (a print shop) being located in a high-rent building such as the Parcade. Mr. Whitlow said staff would provide the council with more information on the rationale behind the decision to locate Reprographics in the Parcade. Ms. Bascom referred to an article on the use of bicycles by downtown Seattle police officers. She asked staff to investigate how well this has worked for Seattle law enforcement. Ms. Bascom also mentioned that Food for Lane County is facing a shortfall of about $14,000. Ms. Bascom moved to use $2,000 of the City's Civic Emergency Fund to help Food for Lane County overcome its financial shortfall. Ms. Ehrman seconded the motion. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1988 Page 1 e Ms. Ehrman said the City Council has discussed a concern about Eugene being perceived as always willing to bridge financial shortfalls for social service groups. She said this motion would send the right message: Eugene is willing to contribute a small amount, but the other jurisdictions will have to lend assistance as well. The motion passed 6:0. II. WORK SESSION: FUTURE LIBRARY PROJECT--PHASES e Pat Decker, Planning Department staff, said the council was scheduled to discuss library phasing options at this meeting. Another meeting is scheduled for June 15, during which the council will try to reach enough closure in its discussion of the library so that a committee of three or four councilors can begin discussing financing options for a new library. Ms. Decker said scenarios would be presented for phasing construction of a new library (constructing an initial phase of about 75,000 square feet and then adding 25,000 square feet later) on several sites still under consideration. , Jim Robertson, Robertson Sherwood Architects, reviewed three library phasing scenarios for the Broadway/Charnelton site. The parking requirements for the three scenarios would be the same: about 450 spaces for the initial phase and about 500 for the completed 100,000-square-foot library. These spaces would serve the library and replace displaced parking but would not support any of the retail and office development that might be part of the project. All three s~enarios would meet these parking requirements by constructing a level of underground parking (about 380 spaces) below the two half-blocks on each side of Broadway. The remaining parking would be provided through an on-site surface lot. The three scenarios also followed a similar phasing: a first story of about 50,000 square feet and a second story of about 25,000 square feet during the first phase, and an addition of 25,000 square feet to the second story during the second phase of construction. The first scenario would construct the library on the half-block south of Broadway; the other half-block would be devoted to surface parking and a retail/office development fronting Charnel ton Street. The second scenario would involve the closure of Broadway between Charnel ton and Lincoln. The library would be built on the eastern half of the site and would act as a terminus to the mall. The rest of the site would be used for parking. This scenario probably would not accommodate a mixed-use development of the site. The third scenario would also involve the vacation of Broadway. The library would be built on the southern half-blrck, surface parking would be built on the northwest corner of the site, and the northeast corner could be devoted to a retail/office development. This scenario would allow some sort of structural connection between the library building and the retail/office development. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1988 Page 2 e - e Mr. Robertson reviewed a phased construction scenario for the 8th and Willamette site. He said an effort was made to develop a scenario using only the half-block on 8th between Willamette and Olive; however, this area would not accommodate all of the development's parking and access needs. So a scenario was developed using the two half-blocks on 8th between Willamette and Charnelton. In order for this scenario to occur, the existing buildings on 8th between Olive and Charnel ton would have to be demolished. A level of underground parking would be built below both half-blocks, a two-story library would be built (in two phases) on the half-block between Olive and Charnelton, the quarter-block at the corner of 8th and Olive would be devoted to surface-level parking, and the quarter-block at the corner of 8th and Willamette would be devoted to a retail/office development. Mr. Robertson noted that under this scenario, there might not be adequate access to the library, given the current street directions. Mayor Obie said it would be good if the library development could take advantage of the City's under-utilized parking facilities, the Parcade and the EPAC garage. He raised the possibility of elevated pedestrian walkways connecting the two parking garages and the library. Mr. Rutan questioned the claim that a library's parking needs could not be met if it were constructed solely on the half-block between Willamette and Olive. He said the Parcade would be right across the street and the EPAC garage would be about a block away. He did not think it would be unrealistic for library users to park a block away. He also said it would be a poor use of land to dedicate a quarter-block to surface-level parking, as the scenario for the 8th and Willamette development would do. Ms. Bascom expressed some doubts about library patrons parking a block away in the EPAC garage. Ms. Schue mentioned that elevated pedestrian walkways have been security problems in some cities. Ms. Ehrman emphasized that a library needs to allow parents to drop off and pick up their children easily and safely. She added that bicycle access is not very good on 8th Avenue. She also raised the possibility of displacing current Parcade users to the EPAC garage and allowing library users to park in the Parcade. She said downtown employees currently using the Parcade might be willing to use the EPAC garage, if pedestrian access to it were improved. The council directed staff to prepare a scenario for a library being developed solely on the half-block between Willamette and Olive. Mr. Robertson reviewed a phased construction scenario for the existing library site. The existing library building (37,000 square feet) would be renovated and 38,000 square feet would be added to it on the ground level; then, during the second construction phase, a 25,000-square-foot second floor would be added. Parking would be provided on an underground lot with 115 MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1988 Page 3 e spaces and on an expanded surface lot across Olive Street. The property for expanding surface parking across Olive Street would have to be acquired. In response to a question, Carol Hildebrand, Library staff, said that removing the asbestos from the existing library would cost about $1.2 million. Mayor Obie and several other councilors expressed opposition to the idea of phasing construction. They did, however, raise the possibility of phasing occupancy. For example, part of the 100,000-square-foot building could be leased to other tenants until the library needs additional space. Or, the shell for the entire building could be constructed and about 75,000 square feet of the interior could be finished; the remaining interior could be finished when the additional space is needed. Mr. Miller said he liked the idea of a library being developed on the half-block on 8th between Willamette and Olive. He expressed opposition to developing a library on the Broadway/Charnelton site, saying that this would not be consistent with good downtown management and development. He also asked that information be provided on the possibility of using the Bon building for a library. Ms. Schue said councilors should keep in mind the City's efforts to recruit private developers for the 8th andlWillamette site. She also expressed opposition to developing a library on the half-block on 8th between Olive and Charnelton. e Ms. Bascom recommended against trying to develop a new library on the existing library site. She said the new library should be part of a vital downtown and, therefore, needs to be closer to the core. Ms. Ehrman said she was still willing to consider all three sites. She expressed doubts about the feasibility of using the Bon building for a library. She also said the idea of pedestrian skybridges for the library, and for downtown in general, is intriguing. Mr. Bennett said he was concerned about the cost of a new library and was, therefore, not willing to abandon the possibility of using an existing building for the library. He said that if a new building is built, he probably would favor the 8th and Willamette half-block, because this site would take advantage of existing parking facilities. Mr. Rutan mentioned two ways to reduce the cost of developing a new library: (1) use existing parking facilities, and (2) find other parties to help bear the construction costs (i .e., build a library as part of a mixed-use development). He said the 8th 3nd Willamette site has both of these in its favor. The council directed staff to provide cost estimates for all of the potential library sites: existing, 8th and Willamette, Broadway/Charnelton, and the Bon building. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1988 Page 4 e III. WORK SESSION: AMENDMENTS TO SOLAR ACCESS REGULATIONS Jim Croteau, Planning staff, said the City Council adopted solar access regulations several months ago and directed staff to study the impact of these regulations after a year. The council also directed staff to consider some special exemptions to the solar access regulations. He said he would review the two exemptions and, if the council wished, staff would develop detailed proposals for the Planning Commission and City Council to consider. Mr. Croteau reviewed the first exemption, which would allow the construction of two-story residential buildings not meeting the solar access setback requirements if the property is surrounded by other two-story buildings (i.e., to the north and south). Ms. Ehrman asked whether allowing such an exemption would impair the solar access of property to the east and west. Mr. Croteau said it would not. The council directed staff to prepare a specific proposal for this exemption to the solar access regulations. e Mr. Croteau reviewed the second exemption. Suppose there are two vacant lots, A and B. Lot A is directly south of Lot B, and the owner of Lot A wishes to build a house that would infringe upon the solar access of Lot B. This exemption would allow the two property owners to enter into an agreement allowing the construction of the house, provided that this house and any house built on Lot B are constructed according to certain energy-saving standards. Mr. Bennett said it is hard to argue against this exemption if the two houses have to be developed in a way that will save energy; however, he did not think that this exemption would send the right message about the community's commitment to solar access. Mr. Miller disagreed, saying that the exemption would require energy efficiency without precluding the development of certain lots. He did not think this exemption would be applied on a wholesale level; rather, it would be an exception intended to allow development where it might not otherwise occur because of an inability to comply with solar access regulations. Ms. Ehrman asked if any evidence exists that development of certain lots has been precluded because of the solar access regulations. Mr. Croteau said staff had no such evidence; however, developers have had to make certain design modifications in order to comply with the regulations. Ms. Schue expressed some concern that the exemption might be used to circumvent the Solar Access Ordinance. Sha also said the purpose of the ordinance was not just to save energy. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1988 Page 5 e e e Mr. Bennett suggested that consideration of this exemption be postponed until more is known about the impacts of Eugene's and Portland's solar access regulations. Others supported this suggestion. At 1:15 p.m., Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting to June 13, 1988. Respectfully submitted, '~~')~~'V1 Michael Gleason, City Manager (Recorded by Leslie Scales and Monty Hindman) MNCC 060888 MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1988 Page 6