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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/11/1989 Meeting . M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Dinner/Work Session Wilder Room--Community Conference Center September 11, 1989 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Emily Schue, Freeman Holmer, Rob Bennett, Roger Rutan. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Nancy Nathanson, Dorothy Anderson, Lloyd Billingsley, Jim Ellison, Jerry Gaydos, Ken Tollenaar. COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: John Van Landingham. The regular meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Mayor Jeff Mi 11 er. Ms. Nathanson called this meeting of the Eugene Planning Commission to order. e 1. REPLACEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL LAND IMPACTED BY WETLANDS Ms. Nathanson said that in its past discussions about wetlands, the commission has been left with reservations about the best way to address the problem. She said the commission wants to be as helpful as possible in processing wetlands issues--it wants to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. In the spirit of trying to help the council replace industrial lands impacted by wetlands, the commission prepared a proposal that the council could use to rebuild the industrial lands inventory. Ms. Nathanson said, however, that the commission would like the council to consider whether it really wants to replace industrial lands at this time. Ms. Nathanson said the Planning Commission's proposal is a conservative course of action, but the commission feels the proposal has the best chance of success in the short term. The commission believes that the fewer number of acres the better, because the proposal will be more defensible and less antagonistic. The commission also feels that the solution should be found within the existing urban growth boundary; an attempt to expand the urban growth boundary at this time would generate a host of political and legal problems that would be contrary to the council IS desire for a quick solution to the shortage of industrial land. Ms. Nathanson said the commission wants to caution the council that although this proposal has a better chance of success than other possible solutions, success and timeliness are not guaranteed. She said the commission cannot guarantee how the other e MINUTES--City Council-- September 11, 1989 Page 1 Dinner/Work Session jurisdictions will react to the proposal. Springfield, for example, may feel e competitive with Eugene if Eugene tries to increase its inventory of industrial land. It is also conceivable that Lane County may oppose the proposal because of its effect on citizens that are under the County's jurisdiction. Ms. Nathanson said that the commission also urges the council to reconsider its decision to replace industrial lands at this time because such an action is not in the interests of long-range planning. She noted that one of the problems with making short-term changes is that the parcels that are converted to industrial use at this time may not be the ones that would be chosen during a longer-term process. Ms. Nathanson added that the commission remains unconvinced that quick action with regard to the shortage of industrial lands is essential. The commission understands that wetlands will eventually cause a shortage of industrial lands but has not seen evidence that the time savings represented by undertaking this project immediately is critical. Ms. Nathanson emphasized that initiating the replacement of industrial lands at this time will take a lot of staff time and will make it necessary for the commission to postpone other items on its agenda. Mr. Tollenaar stated that planning is supposed to be a rational process; accurate information is an essential component of this rational process. The commission does not feel it has sufficient information about the quality and quantity that is required to support immediate action to replace industrial e lands. He added that the commission has requested information about the demand for industrial land from the Eugene-Springfield Metro Partnership but has received no response. Ms. Nathanson reiterated that the commission does want to be helpful and would like to be involved in whatever course of action the council chooses to follow. Ms. Ehrman said that although the council does not know the exact number of acres that will be impacted by wetlands, the council feels confident that it will be a significant number and will warrant the replacement of some of the industrial land lost. She said the consensus on the council was that this problem will not go away, so the council may as well start addressing the problem immediately. Mr. Boles stated that he shares the concerns of the Planning Commission. He urged the council to heed the commission's warning that the timeliness and success of this proposal are not guaranteed. Mr. Boles said that attempts to speed the replacement of industrial lands may well take away the increasingly scarce resources that are available for the planning effort already. He voiced concern that addressing issues in a quick-fix manner will be more costly than if the council took time to address them in a collective, comprehensive manner and that the final product would be lower in quality. e MINUTES--City Council-- September II, 1989 Page 2 Dinner/Work Session Mr. Holmer said he is concerned because mitigation and rezoning will not e occur until after adoption of the wetlands study in 1991. He said that while he agrees with the Planning Commission's emphasis on comprehensive planning, flexible planning that allows the council to respond to major problems in a short time period is also essential. Ms. Anderson said she would be more sympathetic to Mr. Holmerls position if Eugene was experiencing a crying demand for industrial land. However, there is still available industrial land and the commission has seen no indication that the demand for industrial land is immediate. Ms. Anderson stated that several years ago, the Planning Commission wanted to do a commercial lands study because it foresaw problems with the changing character of commercial development. She said the commission did not complete the commercial lands study because the council insisted that it work on an industrial lands study for the Awbrey-Meadowview proposal instead. Ms. Anderson said that as a result, Eugene has had some less than desirable commercial developments on very valuable land. The commission did not have the information it needed to prepare it for these commercial developments. Mr. Rutan noted that the Council Committee on Economic Development (CCED) has discussed the wetlands issue at length and in-depth. He stated that the determination of the demand for industrial land is an inexact science. Mr. Rutan said that his association with the Eugene-Springfield Metro Partnership has convinced him of the need for industrial land. He added that for all intents and purposes, unless industrial land is ready for development (e.g., all the infrastructure is in place), it is not attractive for development. e Mr. Rutan said the council IS request to the Planning Commission was a carefully planned approach to a very pressing need in the community. He also requested that staff give the commission more information about the demand for industrial lands. Mr. Boles said he appreciates the fact that the availability of industrial lands is diminishing and that the council will eventually need to address this shortage. He did not feel that the council should address the shortage in the absence of information that is forthcoming. Mr. Boles stressed that the council should lengthen its planning horizon and wait until it has hard data about the impact that wetlands will have on industrial lands and what the best solutions are. Mr. Gaydos said the Planning Commission will always be raising concerns about pursuing quick-fix solutions such as this one because, by definition, the commission's job is to look to the future and to make decisions over a longer time frame. He said the commission's position is not so much that the council should not pursue a short-term solution, but that the council should choose a short-term solution that has the least long-term impact. Mr. Gaydos said the commission is mainly encouraging the council to be cautious as it works to replace industrial lands. Mr. Holmer reaffirmed his commitment to replacing industrial lands impacted by wetlands immediately. He expressed reservations about the three elements of the commission's proposal. Mr. Holmer pointed out that redesignation e MINUTES--City Council-- September 11, 1989 Page 3 Dinner/Work Session e would require the council to give up valuable residential and commercial lands. He was also not in agreement with the commission's position that the council should try to avoid an expansion of the UGB; he thought that the council could probably get approval for such an expansion from the other jurisdictions. Finally, Mr. Holmer did not feel much would be accomplished by identifying improvements in the Central Eugene Industrial Area. In spite of these reservations, Mr. Holmer was willing to support the commission's proposal in light of the need to take immediate action to replace industrial land. Answering a question from Ms. Ehrman, Gary Chenkin, staff person for the Planning and Development Department, said the City Manager had sent a letter to other jurisdictions soliciting feedback on the council's desire to begin rebuilding its industrial lands inventory. As of yet, no formal responses have been received. City Manager Mike Gleason said there is no reason to expect that this issue will be free of concerns similar to those that have been raised in conjunction with other recent land use decisions. Mr. Bennett said Steve Gordon, Lane Council of Governments, has estimated that Eugene will lose at least 200 acres of industrial land because of wetlands. The Metro Plan was based on the fact that those 200 acres of industrial land are necessary, and this premise has not changed. For this reason, Mr. Bennett said he strongly believes that the council should begin replacing the industrial lands that will be lost. He added that both the commission and council should begin pressing for a major update to the Metro Plan. e Mr. Bennett said he would not favor expanding the UGB at this time and requested that this element of the commission's proposal be eliminated. Ms. Schue, Mr. Boles, and Ms. Ehrman all agreed with him. Ms. Nathanson explained that the commission included this element to keep the proposal flexible. She described a scenario in which a very minor expansion of the UGB might make a parcel more attractive for development. Mr. Bennett said that any expansion of the UGB is serious and he would be unwilling to consider an expansion until the Industrial Lands Study has been completed. Mr. Holmer agreed with Ms. Nathanson that the council should not rule out the possibility of a UGB expansion. Mr. Rutan mentioned several additions to the criteria used to evaluate the relative merits of each location--specifically, parcel size, the nature of the transportation systems, the nature of the general surroundings, and a general idea of acreage costs. Mr. Holmer encouraged the council to delete the element to explore development and redevelopment of the Central Eugene Industrial Area. He did not believe that this element would add anything to the industrial lands inventory and thought that it would divert staff's attention from the goal of quickly securing additional industrially zoned land. Mr. Boles said this element is the only portion of the commission's proposal that he finds attractive. e MINUTES--City Council-- September II, 1989 Page 4 Dinner/Work Session e Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Planning Division Manager Jan Childs said that the commission's review of solar access regulations will have to be delayed and its work on historic preservation will have to be reduced if the council decides to proceed with immediate replacement of industrial lands. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, to adopt strategies A and B of the Planning Commission's proposal for replacing 100-200 acres of industrial lands impacted by wetlands. Mr. Boles suggested that Ms. Bascom's motion be proceeded by the following clause: "In light of the Planning Commission1s unanimous recommendation not to proceed, the Eugene City Council instructs staff to . II The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Ellison encouraged the City Council to take any steps that it can to help heal the wounds with the Springfield and Lane County planning commissions that resulted from the Awbrey-Meadowview proposal. He said these planning commissions have been difficult to deal with since Eugene initiated the Awbrey-Meadowview proposal. Mr. Bennett asked if there is any hope for undertaking a comprehensive update of the Metro Plan. Mr. Gleason said that the issue is more serious than a lack of financial resources. He said the other jurisdictions have exhibited a genuine lack of interest in pursuing an update at this time. Mr. Gleason said this factor would have to change before a comprehensive update could be . successful. Mr. Boles emphasized that there are costs associated with not updating the Metro Plan and suggested that the other jurisdictions be reminded of this. Mr. Tollenaar said Lane County has suggested that a single area-wide planning commission be formed as a way of reducing time and effort expended on bureaucratic procedures and decisions. He encouraged those present to consider this idea. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. ~~ ~ d_ Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Tanya Northman) MNCC 091189-530 e MINUTES--City Council-- September 11, 1989 Page 5 Dinner/Work Session