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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/24/1989 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall May 24, 1989 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue. The adjourned meeting of May 22, 1989, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER A. Clean Air During the World Veterans Championships Ms. Schue said the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) has been negotiating with Lane Transit District (LTD) to provide free transportation during the World Veterans Championships as a way to help reduce air pollution. LRAPA feels that free transportation will not be financially feasible. As an alternative, Ms. Schue said LTD has suggested free passes for employees of Lane County and the City in an arrangement similar to the one LTD has with the University. Ms. Schue encouraged the City to enter into this agreement with LTD during the World Veterans Championships. Mr. Bennett also voiced support for the arrangement and urged the City to consider a permanent arrangement of this type. B. University Parking Structure Ms. Ehrman requested that staff continue to follow the progress on the University's proposed parking structure. She said the new president may be willing to reconsider the structurels location. Mr. Boles said Mike Ellis is chair of the committee which is overseeing planning for the structure. He said councilors who have an opinion about the parking structure should contact Mr. Ellis. Mr. Boles said he is urging the University to delay construction of the structure until the effect that free LTD passes will have on the need for parking has been assessed. C. National Safety Council Award Mayor Miller announced that the City's Public Works Maintenance Division placed second in a safety contest sponsored by the National Safety Council. The award was for the divisionis outstanding safety record. Gene Apple, President of the Oregon American Public Works Association, made an award presentation. He emphasized that a safe work environment is not easily MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 24, 1989 Page 1 e achieved and said the Maintenance Divisionis outstanding record reflects the care the City has for its employees and the public. II. INTRODUCTION OF SISTER CITY DELEGATION TO USSR Ms. Bascom introduced members of the Sister City delegation to Tashkent and Irkutsk, USSR. Tashkent is the site for the May 28-May 31 US/USSR International Sister Cities Conference which is expected to draw over 150 American delegates to meet with their Soviet counterparts, including local government officials and private citizens. Following the conference, the delegation will travel to Irkutsk from June 1-6. Delegate members are Kate Rogers Gessert, founding president of the Eugene-Irkutsk Sister City Committee; Gail Arcady Groza, a Russian language/culture teacher from South Eugene High School and Roosevelt Middle School; Dean Owens, President of the Eugene-area Chamber of Commerce, and Jerry Rust, Lane County Commissioner. Ms. Bascom is leading the delegation as City Council President. Each of the delegates described the gifts they would take with them to Russia. Ms. Bascom unveiled the official gift from the City of Eugene to Irkutsk and displayed a banner which the delegation will leave in Irkutsk. III. ORDINANCE CONCERNING LOCAL AND REGIONAL SEWER USER FEES e' CB 4137--An ordinance establishing sanitary and storm sewer rates; amending Sections 7.020, 7.023, and 7.025 of the Eugene Code, 1971; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Council Bill 4137 was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Ordinance # 19613 IV. RATIFICATION OF FY90 METROPOLITAN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT COMMISSION BUDGET Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to ratify the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Budget for FY90. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 24, 1989 Page 2 ~ V. FREEZE ON ELIGIBILITY APPLICATIONS TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND ~. - Mike Sullivan, Planning and Development Department, said the councilors had received memorandums from the Community Development Committee (CDC) and the Council Committee on Economic Diversification (CCED) recommending a freeze on lending activity from the Business Development Fund (BDF). A freeze would constitute a halt to all the new eligibility application processing. Mr. Sullivan said the BDF operates in two stages--first eligibility is determined, and then a loan application is received and processed. As the freeze is proposed, those businesses which were previously deemed eligible could be processed for a loan during the freeze. Mr. Sullivan said the CDC has been reviewing options to address legal constraints to the Targeted Business Assistance Program (TBAP) that were imposed by recent Supreme Court actions. The CDC focused on revisions to the BDF itself as the most viable method of addressing the need of borrowers eligible for TBAP. Mr. Sullivan said the CDC is recommending that CCED consider a number of revisions to the BDF and has recommended that the BDF be frozen until the revisions are complete to ensure the availability of funding for businesses which would have been eligible for TBAP loans if the program had continued to be viable. Mr. Sullivan said CCED voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the BDF be frozen temporarily; the proposed freeze would remain in place until the council reviews proposals for amending the BDF and acts on these proposals. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to approve a temporary freeze on accepting new applications requesting eligibility to the Business Development Fund. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. VI. WORK SESSION: URBAN RENEWAL PLAN UPDATE--DISTRICT EXPANSION Bob Hibschman, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff report. He said that at its meeting on April 12, the council reviewed four options for updating the renewal plan. These options included the creation of a new renewal district, expansion of the existing renewal district within the 20 percent limitation, creation of an assessment district to address parking and other needs in the area, and no expansion at the present time. Mr. Hibschman said that at the April 12 meeting, the council requested that staff provide financial forecasts for these four options. He said the purpose of this discussion was to present these financial forecasts and to get direction from council on how to proceed with the renewal plan update. Mr. Hibschman said that at the council's April 12 meeting, staff presented a proposal for a 20 percent expansion of the urban renewal district (option A); staff was not completely comfortable with this proposal because several properties in the middle of the proposed district had been left out of the MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 24, 1989 Page 3 e e' . expansion. To answer this concern, staff has created a new proposal (Option B) which includes the middle properties which were previously not included, and excludes the Oregon Electric Station property which is under a IS-year historic property tax exemption. Mr. Rutan asked if staff has heard from any property owners who wish to be included in the expansion but have not been. Mr. Hibschman said staff had not heard from anyone who was being excluded against their wishes, but has had communication from at least two property owners who are being included against their wishes. Mr. Green asked how businesses on the mall will benefit from the expansion. Mr. Hibschman said the benefit that will accrue to the existing renewal area will be realized in the long term. He said that with the expansion, the district will function better because the increment flow from projects in the expanded area could leverage projects in the downtown area. In addition, Mr. Hibschman felt the expansion will help accomplish the goals in the downtown plan by promoting more intensive development. Ms. Schue asked whether staff had discussed the exclusion of the Oregon Electric Station property with the business owner. Mr. Hibschman said staff had not discussed this with the Oregon Electric Station because staff did not think that there was much potential for development on the site given the historic nature of the building. Ms. Ehrman asked whether the restaurant's entire parking lot has been included in the expansion boundaries. She felt that this vacant area is a prime candidate for development and should be included. Other councilors agreed with this position. Mr. Hibschman said as much of the parking lot as possible has been included without exceeding the 20 percent limitation. Mr. Rutan voiced his support for the 20 percent expansion of the district, although he had one reservation. Mr. Rutan said the downtown mall is currently plagued with vacancies and underdevelopment; he felt expansion of the urban renewal district could contribute to this problem. Mr. Rutan did not feel this would occur, however. He said he hopes that over a period of time, healthy development in the expanded area will have a positive impact on the mall. Mr. Boles noted that urban renewal districts were created as a tool for dealing with urban blight and he did not feel that the proposed area for expansion meets the definition of blight. He added that the proposed expansion appears to be a quid pro quo of using tax increment funding to support parking garages in return for new construction. Mr. Boles said he is supportive of helping developers in the area solve parking problems, but feels there are options other than urban renewal districts for solving these problems. Finally, Mr. Boles voiced concern that the plan inside the existing urban renewal district has not been completed; he felt expansion of the district would divert needed funds from the downtown core. Mr. Hibschman reviewed urban renewal pro formas for the existing urban renewal district, the existing urban renewal area plus an expansion of one MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 24, 1989 Page 4 e block, and the existing urban renewal area plus a full 20 percent expansion. He said a summary of this information would be sent to each councilor following the meeting. Mr. Hibschman explained that staff has not prepared a pro forma for the creation of a new district because of the problem of seed money. Mr. Hibschman reviewed the assumptions that staff used in determining the financial impact of a parking assessment district. Staff anticipates that the financial impact on property owners would be approximately $20 per $1,000 per year of assessed valuation. Mr. Holmer said he is bothered that the council is accepting the 20 percent expansion option based on very specific assumptions about when certain projects will occur. He felt that if development does not occur in the manner predicted by staff, the City will look foolish. Ms. Ehrman disagreed. She said that funds will not be lost in expansion of the district because they will not be expended until there is developement. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, that the City Council direct staff to prepare a modified renewal plan and report on the plan along the lines of Option 8, with a possible modification to take advantage of opportunities in the parking area beside the Oregon Electric Station. e Mr. Boles reiterated his position that while it is important to support the development activity currently occurring in the area of proposed expansion, the council should explore methods other than urban renewal to do this. He added that the area of proposed expansion does not meet the conditions of blight, and felt that if anything, the expansion would suck resources out of the downtown area and exacerbate the existing problems in that area. Mr. Bennett stated that the definition of blight is very broad. He said that on the basis of improvement-to-land ratios, the area of proposed expansion meets the test of blight. Mr. Bennett emphasized that the expansion would be revenue-neutral at the very least. He added that expansion is in the best interests of the community because it will promote compact urban growth. Mr. Bennett said he is sorry that this growth is not occurring in the existing urban renewal area. Ms. Schue agreed with Mr. Bennett. The motion carried 5:3, with Ms. Bascom, Mr. Rutan, Mr. Bennett, Ms. Schue, and Ms. Ehrman voting in favor, and Mr. Holmer, Mr. Boles, and Mr. Green voting against the motion. Mr. Rutan noted that councilors had received correspondence from Centennial Bank which wants to develop on a short time frame. He asked the council to respond positively to this request. Mr. Rutan said one avenue for helping this business is to expand the parking-exempt district. Ms. Ehrman said she does not favor expanding the parking-exempt district. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 24, 1989 Page 5 e e' e She did not think that businesses have been led to believe that the council would expand the parking district and said she would not be comfortable with this direction. Mr. Holmer said he would like a staff presentation on the feasibility of disencumbering the present district so that the parking exemption would not be available to new developments in the urban renewal district. Mr. Bennett said he questions whether the council can encourage high intensity development without encouraging compact parking. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that the City Council direct the City Manager to develop parking options for the proposed development at 7th Avenue and Oak Street. Mr. Boles said it is not clear to him that the real issue is parking; rather, it is the opportunity to utilize the downtown area in an easy and effective fashion. He said there are other ways to do this than the use of the personal automobile which exacerbates the need for parking, Free bus passes for downtown employees is an example of this. Mr. Boles said that if the urban renewal district could be used to support this alternate mode of transportation, the need for parking structures could be reduced. Ms. Bascom said creation of the parking-exempt zone in the 1970s generated a greater use of bicycles and LTD as a means of getting to the downtown area. She felt that the parking-exempt zone could be used as a tool to facilitate alternate modes of transportation as suggested by Mr. Boles. The motion carried 7:1, with Mr. Boles voting opposed. The meeting adjourned to May 31, 1989. Respe~~~. Mic al G e , Cit Manager (Recorded by Tanya Northman) MNCC 052489 MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 24, 1989 Page 6