HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/09/1989 Meeting
-
e M I NUT E S
Eugene City Council/Eugene Downtown Commission
Dinner/Work Session
BJ's Restaurant--44 East 7th Avenue
October 9, 1989
5:30 p.m.
COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green,
Emily Schue, Freeman Holmer, Rob Bennett.
COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Julie Aspinwall-Lamberts, Michael Schwartz, Cordy
Jensen, Mary Young, John Brown, Peter Bartels.
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Bjorn Olson.
The regular meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Council
President Ruth Bascom.
e Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts called the meeting of the Eugene Downtown Commission
to order. Introductions were made.
I. PRESENTATION OF DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WORK PROGRAM
Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the meeting had been scheduled for three primary
purposes: first, to follow-up on two specific requests from the City
Council. The council requested that the commission bring its work plan back
to the meeting, and had asked the commission to develop a plan to open up
Olive Street to vehicular traffic. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts noted that this
request had been made some time previous so it might not still be fresh in
councilors' minds. The second purpose of the meeting was to reinforce the
linkage the commission's work plan has with the current goals of the City
Council, specifically: implementation of the Downtown Plan and accompanying
strategies, the goal relating to encouraging commercial, cultural, and
housing development in the core; and the goal of economic development,
particularly in terms of strengthening local businesses. Ms. Aspinwall-
Lamberts said the commission's work plan ties in with these goals. The third
purpose of the meeting was to enable the commission to provide input to the
council about downtown issues prior to the council's upcoming goals session.
Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the commission was looking for two specific
outcomes from the meeting: first, an acceptance or acknowledgement of the
work program as presented, and second, a reaffirmation of the council's
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 1
Dinner/Work Session
e previously stated commitment to open Olive Street to vehicular traffic. She
referred those in attendance to the agenda posted in the meeting room, and
said the bulk of the meeting time would be spent in discussion.
Ms. Ehrman said Olive Street had come up in conjunction with the Library
project, and she did not remember the council directing the commission to
pursue the opening of Olive Street. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the original
discussion had occurred around the Library project or any development on the
8th Avenue and Willamette Street site. This had occurred not in a joint
meeting, but in a council meeting. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the council
had directed Mr. Gleason and Mr. Farkas to meet with the Downtown Commission
and have the commission return with a process to address the opening of Olive
Street. Ms. Bascom recalled asking the staff not to discuss the problems
attached to opening Olive Street, but possible approaches and designs that
would make the street work. Ms. Bascom believed that this had occurred prior
to the Library project and the request had been supported by the council.
Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the commission would not walk through the entire
work program, but rather present the background and rationale for the areas
included in the plan. There are two primary areas: access and circulation,
and downtown management. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the commission's
critical focus continues to be that of access. The commission has not
changed its position regarding the opening of Willamette Street and will not
discuss this issue tonight due to the ongoing work of the Retail Task Force,
a group which is addressing circulation and access as well.
Mr. Brown briefly discussed the status of downtown. He noted assessed values
e in the downtown from 1986-87 to the current year have declined approximately
13 percent; retail vacancy rates have remained stable, while office vacancy
rates have declined. Mr. Brown said Development staff conducted a
preliminary survey of the owners and tenants on Olive Street. Twelve favored
and twelve opposed the opening of Olive Street. Three opposed already have
vehicular access to their property. Rental rates in the area of Broadway and
Pearl have shown increases, and demand has risen. Access is a critical issue
in the market acceptance enjoyed by these retailers. Mr. Brown noted that
redevelopment occurred at 10th Avenue and Willamette Street after the
reopening of Willamette Street to vehicular traffic. Mr. Brown said access
is extremely critical.
Mr. Schwartz discussed the objectives and rationales for opening Dlive
Street. These included improvement of access and circulation, triggering of
private investment, use of Olive Street as a conduit for vehicular traffic in
access downtown, strengthening of the pedestrian environment, establishment
of a safe and secure shopping and business environment, and creation of
additional opportunities for businesses requiring automobile access.
Currently, the City has inadequate private investment, poor and inaccurate
perceptions of public security downtown, confusion in accessing downtown
locations, stagnant and declining property values (4J district assessed
values went up 13 percent while downtown values decreased by 13 percent),
declining retail market share, inadequate growth in gross retail sales, a
lack of Class "A" office space, and undeveloped sites in downtown locations.
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 2
Dinner/Work Session
e Mr. Schwartz noted that the downtown has lost its major retail anchors with a
single exception. He noted that any figures quoted tonight for total retail
sales would include Sears Roebuck Company, an anchor that has left the
downtown.
Mr. Schwartz said that cities with nonlinear malls have experienced
consistent problems and linear malls have a higher rate of success. Mr.
Schwartz said Eugene's experience shows that the redevelopment of Willamette
Street to two-way traffic between 10th and 11th avenues was a catalyst for
the restoration of the Schaefer's Building and McDonald Theater Building.
About $1 million has been invested in building improvements in the one-block
area; retail sales in the one-block area since reopening are up 40 percent.
Retail appraisers report that the mall inhibits property values and -
investments and believe traffic on Olive Street will improve values. Urban
designers who have served as consultants to the City, such as Don Miles,
believe in the concept of a successful pedestrian/automobile mix in public
spaces downtown. Mr. Miles recommended, after study, that Olive Street be
converted to a combination pedestrian-vehicle street. He believed that
traffic will concentrate and intensify pedestrian activity, increase
accessibility to businesses, and increase pedestrian visibility.
Mr. Schwartz said a recent survey in the Eugene-Springfield area showed that
improving downtown access was second only to recently completed airport
improvements and other projects to improve the area's general economic
health. Mr. Schwartz said air quality concerns have been addressed by better
technology and air quality downtown has improved. It has become more
e acceptable in urban design for pedestrians and vehicles to share space, and
in many cases this has improved the vitality of urban spaces.
Mr. Schwartz presented a slide show illustrating downtown's evolution from
the early 1950s to the present time.
Mr. Schwartz briefly discussed gross receipts. In 1974 gross receipts
downtown were $52 million in retail sales. In today's dollars that would be
about $132 million. In 1989, gross receipts are projected to be about $86
million. Without Sears in the picture, the gross receipts would be about $76
million. Mr. Schwartz said the commission was concerned about the growing
number of retail centers being built north and south of the Beltline. Mr.
Schwartz did not think that the downtown would have lost Sears had it been
stronger. One-half million square feet of retail space is being added to the
fringes of Eugene and this has impacted downtown considerably. Mr. Schwartz
maintained that the mall was not working and the situation must be fixed. He
believed opening Olive Street was a start in this direction. He could not
assure the council that there would be an increase in gross receipts and
sales, but historically this has occurred.
Ms. Prichard discussed downtown management issues. She said over the last
three years many studies have been done and all have made generally the same
recommendations. The same issues of access and visibility were brought up
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 3
Dinner/Work Session
e over and over again. Ms. Prichard said the reports indicated that unless
something is done soon, the downtown will continue to lose market share.
Ms. Prichard discussed recommendations made by various experts regarding
downtown. These included development of a management plan, continuing
promotion of future office-related commercial developments, location of
housing in the downtown, recognition of downtown as a primary destination
point, creation of a market-driven merchandising plan, development of
centralized retail management downtown, and creation of north-south access
downtown. Ms. Prichard referred to the work being done by the Retail Task
Force, and said this work dovetailed very well with the work being done by
that group. Ms. Prichard said while access is essential, it has to be done
in conjunction with a good management program. She said during the last task
force meeting, the group was stymied in its progress because members realized
that they could not work on a retail management plan without discussing
access. Ms. Prichard believed that increased access and a downtown
management plan would ensure security and good maintenance.
Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the commission is seeking reaffirmation from the
council to proceed with the process of opening Olive Street in an expeditious
fashion. She said the commission recognizes the key players that must be
involved in the discussion, such as Lane Transit District, the Citizen
Involvement Committee, Downtown Eugene, Inc., and the Planning Commission,
among others. The commission intended to bring these players into the
process. She said the commission does not want to lose time getting these
groups together, and would like to focus on its vision of how the area should
e look and how vehicular traffic would operate on the street. Mr. Schwartz
discussed the approach to the street opening. He said the commission must,
within its short time line, bring the involved groups together. Public
hearings can be held on the redesigned street, with the goal of opening the
street after January 1, 1990. Mr. Schwartz said the commission was eager to
begin this work, and felt accountability demanded that the commission come to
the council with this project. He said in 1978-79 the downtown realized, in
present day dollars, $167 million in retail sales. In the current year this
figure will be half of that amount, and Mr. Schwartz did not see the
situation improving under the status quo.
Mr. Holmer referred to goal 1, objective one of the work program, to improve
accessibility to downtown businesses. He asked why opening Olive Street was
a higher priority now for the commission than the opening of Willamette
Street. Ms. Prichard said that the opening was timely due to the development
of the Pankow bUilding adjacent to the street. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said
if the commission was to present the council with a list of its priorities,
opening Willamette Street would be at the top of the list. The commission
was attempting to work with the political realities under which the council
must operate. Mr. Holmer said he would like a recommendation from the
commission about which was the more critical opening. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts
polled the commissioners, and they all said opening Willamette Street would
be their top priority. Mr. Schwartz said the commission's objective had been
to consider the opening of Olive Street as quickly as possible, with the
ultimate goal of opening Willamette Street. He said the community will need
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 4
Dinner/Work Session
,
e to examine the success of Olive Street and private investment before
analyzing Willamette Street again.
Ms. Schue said it was not her recollection that the council voted to open
Olive Street, but rather had agreed to consider the reopening. She said the
community does not like it when the council does not appear to consider its
input. Ms. Schue cautioned the commission that their list of involved
parties only seems to include City boards and commissions, and that other
groups exist that will wish to be involved. She felt it would be wise to
share information with both those who support and those who oppose the
concept. She encouraged the commission to present its case objectively. Ms.
Schue noted that the League of Women Voters' poll of Lane County Fair
attendees on the opening of Olive had been overwhelmingly opposed.
Mr. Boles congratulated the commission for constructing a work program with
clear elements. He said that he had originally come to the council convinced
that access and circulation downtown did not need to be addressed, but he had
changed his mind. Malls must have shared access with vehicles and
pedestrians in at least one direction to be successful. He expressed concern
over the absence of the word "quality" in the commission's approach to the
reopening. Mr. Boles felt that to give the street anything less than the
highest level of quality would be a mistake. He suggested that the issue is
much larger than the opening of Olive Street. This concept merely sets the
stage for discussion. Downtown patterns for vehicles and people are the
major issue. Mr. Boles said the Retail Task Force had to make the assumption
that the access and circulation issues were resolved before it could work on
e the issue of downtown management. He was not convinced that the task force
could handle the larger issue of access and circulation, however. He said
perhaps a larger task force to examine access and circulation downtown is
necessary. Mr. Boles expressed concern over the lack of a downtown plaza or
location for events such as the Eugene Celebration due to the loss of the lot
at 8th Avenue and Willamette Street. He concluded by saying that he
supported the commission's concept, but felt it belonged in a larger context.
Ms. Ehrman said she shared some of Mr. Boles thoughts, and asked what type of
street the commission was considering when it looked at Olive Street. Ms.
Aspinwall-Lamberts said this was where commission discussion broke down.
Commissioners realized that they needed to involve more people in that
discussion, such as LTD and the Public Works Department. Ms. Ehrman
expressed concern over the closeness of the playground located on Broadway to
Olive Street and traffic following the proposed opening. Ms. Ehrman said
that it sounded to her as though the commission was attempting to use the
reopening of Olive Street as a lever to reopen Willamette Street.
Mr. Jensen remarked that it would be interesting to know, of those who voted
in opposition to the opening of Olive Street at the fair, how many of them
shop and frequent downtown. He said this vote was indicative of the lack of
knowledge among Eugene's citizens about what actually happens downtown.
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 5
Dinner/Work Session
. Addressing Ms. Ehrman's comments, Ms. Morrow said she did not think the
commission ever lost sight of the opening of Willamette Street as its number
one priority, but the opening of Olive Street had come up in conjunction with
the Pankow development. Ms. Young agreed with Ms. Morrow's remarks. She
said the commission was also attempting to respond to the direction that
commissioners believed that they received at the last joint meeting with the
City Council. Mr. Schwartz noted that Councilor Holmer had urged the
commission to aggressively pursue its work plan. The commission had followed
this recommendation in developing its program. Mr. Schwartz pointed out
that, during discussions with the City Council in 1984, a task force had been
proposed to examine the Willamette Street and Olive Street reopenings. This
had never occurred. At that time, the city still had three of its five
anchors downtown. Now there is one anchor left. Mr. Schwartz said all the
right parties need. to be brought together to discuss the issue, and he
recommended that it be done rapidly before the city loses its last anchor
downtown and retail sales drop.
Ms. Schue agreed with Mr. Jensen's remarks that there is a case to be made
that people have not been fully informed about downtown issues. However, she
hoped that the commission's proposal did not generate public uproar. She did
not want the issue to become a political football, and hoped that the
commission did not present the issue to the public as a way to solve
downtown1s crime problem or retain The Bon as an anchor. Ms. Schue was
unsure whether the city lost its downtown anchors because Willamette and
Olive streets were closed. It could not be proved one way or another. Ms.
Schue encouraged an upbeat approach, and the use of statistics such as those
e cited by Mr. Brown.
Mr. Green asked who would bear the cost of the financial impact of the street
reopening, and how the City would recover its investment in the project. Ms.
Aspinwall-Lamberts responded that the ultimate design of the road would have
a major affect on the cost of the project. Until this is done, it would be
difficult to gauge the cost. Mr. Schwartz said the money would not come out
of the City's General Fund, but would be taken from gross receipts on sales
and the ad valorem tax. The City would benefit from any increase in gross
receipts on sales as these funds go to the Downtown Development District.
Mr. Boles pointed to the availability of public anchors in the downtown.
Responding to Mr. Schwartz's desire to pursue the opening in a rapid fashion,
Mr. Boles felt that this would exacerbate tension already present in the
community. He said the only way to address the concern of public
participation and the reopening is to put boundaries around the council's
vision of downtown and present it to the community for consideration.
Ms. Prichard said people who rent retail space want to locate where their
business will succeed. It was her experience as a broker that it was
difficult to persuade people to locate on the mal led portions of downtown.
Retailers want access. Ms. Prichard added that a downtown with character and
a personality is important to the community.
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 6
Dinner/Work Session
e Mr. Bennett asked about the status of the Retail Task Force, observing that
the task force has broad-based community representation. He said the idea
behind the task force was that it would not get bogged down in street
openings. He understood the role of the Retail Task Force to be an
examination of consensus in terms of vision of where the retail sector should
be downtown, and how downtown should operate. Do we want office space at
ground level or not? Is it possible to have a well-thought tenant mix plan
under centralized retail management or not? Where is it appropriate to have
night life? Where is it appropriate to have restaurants with sidewalk cafes?
Where is it appropriate to have soft goods retail or service retail? Mr.
Bennett said this is no different from the considerations that take place
when designing an enclosed suburban shopping center. He understood that as
part of this mission, the task force might take advantage of outside
expertise. Mr. Bennett said regardless of the different points of view
expressed on the task force, the responsibility of each faction is to develop
a specific vision of downtown. Issues such as the potential, or lack of, for
mixed use; the potential, or lack of, for housing; the potential, or lack, of
speculation office space; all of these issues can be addressed on a
comprehensive basis. Mr. Bennett said he was convinced of this approach.
Even if it was politically possible to make a case to the community for
opening Olive Street, this does not address in a comprehensive way, the
issues surrounding the success of downtown and its place in the community.
He said he was very interested in the task force's work and did not wish it
to become bogged down in circulation and access issues immediately.
Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the task force has not lost sight of the
e objectives described by Mr. Bennett. Access will come up in the task force
discussions. There is no way to address tenant mix issues, for example,
without some discussion of access. She anticipated that the task force will
proceed on the course outlined by Mr. Bennett. She said the task force is
very diverse in composition and, after only a few meetings, the group is
still team-building. She described this progress as excellent, saying that
she had never before seen people with such diverse interests and points of
view come together so quickly.
Ms. Prichard said the task force had reached a stopping point when it
attempted to come up with a marketing plan without addressing access issues.
The group resolved to develop a plan by assuming that all access questions
are resolved.
Addressing Mr. Bennett, Ms. Bascom said she was under the impression that Mr.
Bennett thought the access issue should be discussed at the same time as
other issues being worked on by the task force, but his remarks tonight
seemed to indicate that he believed that other issues should be resolved
prior to the task force tackling access. Mr. Bennett said it was his view
that it is difficult to accomplish centralized retail management without
looking at the physical environment. He said some people disagree with his
point of view. The task force has an opportunity to present different points
of view, with supporting evidence, based on the group's collective vision of
what downtown should look like. He did not think it was helpful to
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 7
Dinner/Work Session
e continually have the same arguments about downtown. He felt the task force's
work could be beneficial to the community as a whole. Ms. Bascom asked Mr.
Bennett if he recommended backing off on the Olive Street issue until the
task force makes its final report. Mr. Bennett said that was his
recommendation. He added that downtown's perimeter development might make
the opening of the street more of a necessity, but noted that the necessity
of opening the street to traffic for traffic circulation has scarcely been
addressed tonight.
Ms. Bascom said the issue of reopening Olive Street had been sent to the
Downtown Commission by the council after community rejection of opening
Willamette Street. It was her recollection that the issue of frustration
with access was raised by citizens. Community frustration with downtown
circulation continued to be a problem. Ms. Bascom said that at the time, the
council was told that Olive Street would be too difficult to reopen. It
appeared to her that it would be worth finding out if Olive Street could be
reopened, and what it would cost. Ms. Bascom said the council still needed
this information. She would be interested in knowing basic design schemes
and cost estimates for the reopening of the street. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts
said in order to reach this point, it did not make sense for the commission
to work in isolation. Now was the time to call in other significant players
and develop a vision for an open Olive Street. Ms. Bascom said she was
comfortable with passing the issue to the task force to consider. Mr. Boles
said the task force has a lot of work to do. He did not think that the task
force, as presently scheduled and staffed could address both retail
management and access and circulation in any rapid time frame. Mr. Boles
e said the council could increase the membership of the group, divide it into
two groups, and set the groups on parallel courses to examine the two issues,
or constitute an entire new group to deal with access and circulation.
Mr. Bartel said he did not think that retail management and access issues
could be separated. He said while the City Council has a goal to make the
downtown a place where office and retail development occurred, on the other
hand, it continues to approve the development of retail shopping centers on
the urban fringes. The council, in its Metro Plan Update, needs to stop
development Mr. Bartel termed "willy-nilly."
Mr. Green said due to the time constraints faced by the Retail Task Force,
the council should be prepared to receive a less-than-comprehensive, though
nonetheless informative, study. The council must be prepared to make a
decision based upon that study. He felt that if the issue is brought to the
public as part of a comprehensive, uniform study, the community may be more
receptive.
Ms. Morrow suggested that the task force address the issues of tenant mix as
though all the streets were open. At the same time, the Downtown Commission
could take a broad look at street designs for the reopening of Olive Street.
This information could be forwarded to whatever group the council deemed
appropriate.
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 8
Dinner/Work Session
e Mr. Schwartz said he believed that the total vision of downtown must be
considered. It was his concern that the vision keeps changing. He pointed
to the development taking place on Country Club Road while downtown continues
to experience vacancy. Retail sales have fallen while development takes
place on the fringes. The vision could change in 24 hours if, for example,
Nordstrom wished to locate downtown. He was frustrated by years of
discussion of process and consensus building; it has gotten downtown no
where. Sales have eroded and office space has disappeared. Mr. Schwartz
said the council exhibits different attitudes for development in the Chad
Street area, for example, than it exhibits for development downtown. Mr.
Schwartz said everyone seems to want a viable, vital, quality downtown, but
it takes years to do consensus building while downtown continues to go down.
Mr. Holmer proposed that the council direct the Downtown Commission to
undertake, before January 1, 1990, an examination of designs for reopening
Olive Street and a funding plan. In addition, he wished the commission to
develop information about the fiscal scope of the opening of Willamette
Street. Ms. Ehrman asked about the possibility of adding councilors to such
an effort. Mr. Bennett said he believed in the work that the Retail Task
Force was attempting to accomplish. He did not think the proposal would
help. Ms. Ehrman said it could not hurt. Responding to a question from Mr.
Bennett, Ms. Bohman said she could not pinpoint a date for the task force's
work to be finished.
Mr. Gleason said it seemed as though the council wished to have a serious
examination of the reopening of Olive Street, but that the examination be
e part of a larger, more comprehensive study of downtown. The council wishes
to have the commission develop a plan that parallels the work of the Retail
Task Force and opens a discussion with all the interested parties.
Councilors agreed that this summary was accurate.
City Councilors left the meeting at 7:20 p.m.
Commissioners debriefed the meeting. Commissioners agreed that it had been
useful to hear Mr. Bennett's description of the mission of the Retail Task
Force as it focused the work of the group in their minds. Ms. Aspinwall-
Lamberts said she would like the issue of access to move faster than she
anticipated that the work of the task force will. She suggested an entirely
separate group with a similar composition work on access. Ms. Aspinwall-
lamberts said for the commission to work on the issue alone would be a
mistake. Commissioners agreed with this statement.
Commissioners agreed that the task force would continue in its work while the
Downtown Commission worked with staff to develop schematic designs for the
opening of Olive Street. A variety of designs and a funding scheme could be
developed, and this work incorporated into the work of the task force at a
later time. The commission could invite representatives from various points
of view to review the designs after a good start has been made. Mr. Schwartz
suggested that the commission involve City Councilors in the design work.
Commissioners agreed this would be a good idea.
- MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 9
Dinner/Work Session
---
.
e Due to the heavy agenda schedule of the commission, commissioners resolved to
meet more frequently for the next few weeks to work on a design for reopening
the street. Mr. Brown recommended that the commission examine the work done
by the Schaefer's Building architecture group and incorporate it into its
deliberations. Staff agreed to provide preliminary designs for a variety of
traffic patterns on Olive Street for commission review.
II. MEETING SURVEY
Ms. Morrow said she liked the final decision reached by the commission. She
felt that the reopening of Olive Street should be the commission1s only
agenda item for some time.
Mr. Brown said that it was important to meet the challenge provided by the
council. He wanted to reach a point in the downtown where the City no longer
had to subsidize development.
Ms. Young concurred with Mr. Brown. She said she wished to have closure on
this issue. Ms. Young expressed concern that as the process continues, the
commission involve other relevant parties to get support for its
recommendation.
Responding to a request for clarification from Mr. Luell, Ms. Aspinwall-
Lamberts said the commission wished to have a serious discussion at its next
e meeting about what it wished downtown's cross streets to look like. If
drawings are already available, the commission needs to look at those. Other
relevant information, such as traffic patterns and counts, should be provided
a s we 11 . Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the commission wishes to look at the
entire issue of downtown access. If the architecture students have developed
information staff finds usable, the commission would like to see that as
well.
Mr. Schwartz thanked staff for its time and effort in the meeting
presentation. He recommended that the commission stay together on the issue
as they work toward closure. Mr. Schwartz felt it was important that the
Friends of Downtown be included as much as possible in the issue. He said he
shared the same frustration as other commissioners, in that it was difficult
to know what the direction from the council was.
Mr. Bartel said he had found the meeting interesting. It appeared as though
a few councilors are genuinely interested in downtown. It seemed to be
strictly a political issue to other councilors. He felt the commission1s
task was more difficult when it did not have a firm commitment from the City
Council.
Mr. Bartel said he would like to have Mr. Brown provide the commission with
more information about the Lane Transit District siting project at the
commission's next meeting.
e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 10
Dinner/Work Session
~
e In response to a comment from Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts, Ms. Henry suggested
that the commission schedule additional meetings to work on the street
design. Commissioners agreed with this suggestion. Mr. Schwartz recommended
that councilors be invited to participate in the work sessions. Ms.
Aspinwall-Lamberts said she would work with staff to develop agendas for the
next several months.
Mr. Brown said on Friday, October 20, staff will be evaluating potential Lane
Transit District sites based on criteria developed by the task force. This
is not a regular meeting, but he encouraged commissioners to attend if they
wished.
Due to the potenti~l difficulty of scheduling additional meetings because of
possible prior conflicts, Mr. Jensen suggested that the commission consider
lengthening its regularly scheduled meetings. He felt that rapid progress on
the design would illustrate to the council the commission's commitment to the
project.
The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
e
(Recorded by Kim Young)
MNCC 100989-530
. MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 11
Dinner/Work Session