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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/12/1983 Meeting ~ M I NUT E S - Eugene City Council Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission and Downtown Commission Eugene Conference Center--Hellman Room December 12, 1983 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Emily Schue, Brian Obie, John Ball, Dick Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Mark Lindberg, Betty Smith, and Cynthia Wooten. PLANNING COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Eleanor Mulder, Roger Rutan, Dorothy Anderson, Robert Barkman, Brian Bauske, Robert Bennett, and Randy Thwing. DOWNTOWN COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: James McCoy, Mike Schwartz (until 7:05), Anne Bennett, Don Genasci, Roger Neustadter, and Thomas Schott. The joint meeting of the Eugene City Council with the Planning Commission and the Downtown Commission was called to order by His Honor, Mayor Gus Keller. I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS - The members of the three groups introduced themselves. Mayor Keller introduced the first agenda topic. II. DOWNTOWN PLAN STATUS REPORT Planning Commission Interim Secretary Jim Farah introduced the topic and outlined the presentations by staff and the Downtown Commission. Downtown Commission Chair Jim McCoy stated that the original plan was to bring the plan to the council in September 1983. He hoped to have the draft done by February 1984 and ready for distribution in March He said the plan included a mix of in- dividuals in the process, stating that the plan attempted to address many short-term issues as well as take in a broader view for the future. Downtown Commissioner Don Genasci, addressing the overall design n& the Downtown Plan, referred to several maps which illustrated the plan concepts. He stated that the three main principles of the plan were a concern for what was already present in the downtown, the elements of the downtown to make it a more viable economic unit, and a desire to bring jobs back to the downtown. He stated that the plan would attempt to incorporate the surrounding areas with the wntown. Improving the S~;nner Butte area; creating connectors between the butte, the Willamette River, and the downtown; allowing housing in the downtown area with regard to scale; and supporting the growth of the industrial area near the river with a link to the 5th Street and railroad areas were all concerns incorporated into the Downtown Plan. He said the plan was to bracket the downtown area with housing and to set aside land for muncipal buildings, ~ MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 1 additional park space, and a public gathering place. Also included was the e concept of the Millrace as a point of arrival to the Old Mill building. Downtown Commissioner Roger Neustadter, expanding on the issues of access and circulation, outlined the following suggestions for improving the downtown ma 11 : l- Open up Wil1amette Street between 10th and 11th Avenues to two-way traffic with drop-off points and landscaping. The athletic club in the Ax Billy Building might lead to opening Wi11amette Street to 8th Avenue. 2. Return Broadway to two-way traffic between Pearl and High Streets. 3. Allow transit vehicles on Willamette Street within the mall area. 4. Improvement of Parking: Short-tenn: Transfer parking responsiblity from Public Works to the Development Department, centralizing the issuing of permits and promoting the asset of parking. Some changes in employee parking were also discussed. Long-term: Possibly add to the the existing parking facilities and the possible elimination of free parking. In a general discussion with regard to the above changes, those present raised e the questions of the actual demand for transit service in the downtown area, problems resulting from changing some of the downtown streets from one-way to two-way, the assessment of parking fees, and methods of motivating businesses to relocate or develop in the downtown area. Mr. Neustadter said that responses from retailers to possible parking changes within the plan thus far had been similar in nature. He emphasized that the plan contained no threats to the retailers nor any big changes. He acknowledged that some long-term changes related to parking reduction might be considered a threat to some. Downtown Commission Vice-Chair Mike Schwartz, addressing the issue of services and marketing, stated that the two major goals were to improve the downtown economy and the focus of the city within the region and to enhance the role of the downtown as a central location for public and private resources. He said the downtown manager role should place emphasis on the importance of the down- town's economic importance. He said a prospectus on the downtown manager position would be mailed out that week and it was hoped the position would be filled by February. He stressed the importance of the Hult Center and the library as regional centers, with the Eugene Celebration and other activities drawing interest and retail to the downtown. Work had also been performed to increase housing within the area and to draw retailers to the downtown. Mr. Schwartz said that the Eugene Downtown Association was currently working on its second six-month budget, stating that it was important for the City to continue its Economic Development loan program and to maintain the image of the downtown. Responding to a question on the role of the downtown manager, Elaine Stewart said the individual hired would manage downtown develoment e related to projects and property management, with funding for the position to MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 2 e come from the Downtown Development District Fund, the Tax Allocation Fund, and the General Fund within the Development Department. She said the manager would be a contract employee with the City of Eugene, housed in EDD, and supervised by Ms. Stewart. Screening and interviewing for the position would be performed by City staff and representives of the DC and the EDA. In response to a question, Mr. Schwartz said he believed that any conflicts in regard to the role of the manager had been resolved. He said the EDA would still coordinate activities. He said the issue of developing venture capital was just a concept at that time and that no discussion had been performed on obtaining properties for management by the manager. The issue of how to compen- sate the manager for his work was also raised. Ms. Stewart said the downtown manager would be initially working with public property and that this land had already been assembled. She said the manager would provide information to the private sector to encourage development in the downtown. She said a relationship between the City and the manager would be utilized to manage the downtown properties. In response to a question, Ms. Stewart said that EDAls present budget was $140,000 from ODD taxes and it would continue to receive funding for administrative and promotional actitivities, with a $20,000 reduction for the downtown manager position and marketing budget. City Councilor Cynthia Wooten stressed the importance of continuing the promo- tional activities for the downtown. In response to a question, Mr. Schwartz said that downtown recovery would be difficult unless the local economy changed or diversified. He added that it would take some time for the downtown manager to learn the area. He said the role of the manager would be to recruit more e customers for the downtown, thus creating more traffic to the downtown and increasing the strength of the area. Downtown Commissioner Anne Bennett said the commission had also discussed the possibility of having the manager coordinate a marketing survey to analyze the downtown market, with such information to be available to the EDA for their sales and promotional activities. She said she anticipated the manager would be in tune with the feedback on the parking program for the downtown. In response to a question, Ms. Stewart said the downtown manager program was designed for $50,000 for the salary and support services. The $30,000 not covered by the EDA budget reduction would come from a reallocation of Downtown Development District Funds, Tax Allocation Funds, and General Funds. Councilor Holmer asked if it would be possible to simplify the funding for downtown programs. In a review of comments by the City Council, the council was generally in favor of opening Willamette Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. Mr. Lindberg said he felt positive about the downtown plan, stating that the river and the Millrace concepts were bold, new ideas. He said the ideas had been discussed before but this was the first real attempt to directly address those goals. Ms. Smith said she was extremely positive toward the plan and that she was anxious to see the results of the DTC recommendations. Mr. Hansen said she was pleased to address the issues along the Willamette River. He stated that he was concerned with the structuring of the downtown manager program. Ms. Wooten said she was pleased with the short- and long-term framework for the plan and the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 3 ideas for river development and an incubator for light industry. She expressed e her pleasure with the work of the OTC. Ms. Schue said the OTC had performed a good job of examining the issues, but that she would reserve specific judgements until more feedback was obtained. She said she was interested in the plan for citizen involvement and the involvement of the downtown employees and consumers. Mr. Obie said he liked the approach for the development of the butte and river areas, but he was concerned with the integration of the commercial use in the Agripac area with the downtown. He said the downtown area was already spread out and he would rather support use of the Agripac area for research by the Uni vers ity. He thanked the OTC for their efforts toward parking for the ath- letic facility, commending their "making it work" attitude. Mr. Ball said he appreciated the time and effort of the OTC in developing the plan. Mr. Holmer urged the DTC to carefully consider the fiscal complexity of the downtown, adding that there was a need to simplify the financial burden. He said he would consider the recommendations of the OTC and expressed his desire to see the bottom line on the costs of the plan. Mayor Keller said the key issues before the DTC were the creation of housing in the downtown area and the sense of unrest in the downtown area. Mr. Schott said the DTC was not satisfied with the little input received from the public and said the OTC would widely distribute the plan to obtain addi- tional input. In response to a question by Mr. Neustadter, City Manager Micheal Gleason said he would explore the issue of removing from the plan the recommen- dation to open Willamette Street between 10th and 11th Avenues to expedite that particular project. EDO Director John Porter said it would involve an amendment to the plan since the plan was a fiscal document; therefore, removing the e recommendation from the plan would possibly be a legal issue. Mr. Barkman raised the issue of returning Willamette Street between 11th and 18th Avenues to two-way traffic. Ms. Anderson hoped the focus of the plan would be on what was possible, stating that she supported the opening of Willamette Street only to 10th Avenue. Mr. Obie said he supported Mayor Keller's comments on housing within the pl an. Mr. Schwartz, speaking on the athletic club, said the DTC hoped to keep the reaction time short in order to show the public that the City was acting to develop the downtown. The meeting was recessed at 7:05 and reconvened at 7:15 p.m. Mr. Schwartz departed the meeting at this time. III. 6TH/7TH WIDENING PROJECT City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the agenda item, stating that the widening project linked back to the 6th and 7th Avenues Extension, the key feature of the T-2000 Plan. He stressed that 6th and 7th avenues were not performing their functions as planned, stating that people avoided those streets by driving through the neighborhoods. He said that the Chambers Connector project, the Ferry Street Bridge, and Franklin Boulevard were dependent on 6th and 7th avenues. He said the project was an attempt to obtain funding from the State and to possibly link landscape plans from Fern Ridge and the Airport to the Ferry Street Bridge. He said there was a need to integrate the street vegetation to make a visual statement. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 4 Kirk McKinley of the Planning Department presented a brief history of the - project, stating that the environmental assessment was drawn from the Eugene- Springfield Transportation Study and the T-2000 Plan. Three projects within the T-2000 Plan based on land uses were the widening of 6th and 7th avenues, the Mid-Block Freeway, and the 6th and 7th Extension. The T-2000 plan was amended in 1979 related to the Mid-Block Freeway to widen 6th and 7th in the interim and placing that project in the post-1990 phase. He stressed that the two streets needed to be reconstructed because of their present poor condition. He stated that 524 accidents had occurred on 6th and 7th avenues during 1980-82, well above the state average. He said that the traffic projectors were based on the 1990 Plan land uses. David Reinhard of Public Works said the main goal of the project was to recon- struct the 1910-20 vintage 6th and 7th avenues, a major construction effort. He said the avenues would be widened from 34 feet to 46 feet and new sidewalks would be constructed, all within the existing rights-of-way. He referred to several maps which illustrated the sections of the avenues to be reconstructed, those requiring pavement overlays, sidewalks, and the existing and planned street vegetation. He outlined the three phases in which the widening would occur: High Street to Washington Street, Washington Street to Blair Boulevard, and Blair Boulevard to Garfield Street. He said that testimony obtained during the public hearing on the widening project focused on the following issues: the isolation of the downtown area from the Hult Center and the 5th Street area; the build or no build alternatives and the impact of each on the existing trees along 6th and 7th avenues; traffic management versus reconstruction; and the justification of the project. e John Etter of Parks and Receation presented slides which illustrated the types of trees to be utilized in the widening project to replace and add to the existing vegetation. He explained the spatial limitations of the project and the liability of the City for the trees, stating that the City has had to remove approximately two percent of the trees each year due to their hazardous condition. Pat Decker of the Planning Department said the Design Review Committee would work with City staff to determine the impact of the widening project on the trees involved and on the connections to 4th and 5th avenues. Other areas for action included the planting of trees, the consolidation of curb cuts, the identification of areas for narrowing lanes, and the relocation of sidewalks outside the rights-of-way. She said the DTC and Planning Commission represen- tatives to the review committee had already been appointed; the City Council representative had not been appointed as of that date. She said the committee would also include representatives from the neighborhoods abutting the project and several landscape architects. Ms. Decker said the committee would address those issues identified at the State meeting on the widening project and would then present suggestions for the project construction. In response to questions, Mr. Reinhard said that most city traffic traveled on 6th and 7th avenues and then took the path of least resistance--4th, 8th, 11th, 13th, or 18th avenues. City Manager Micheal Gleason said that inter- sections deteriorated rapidly and that commuters were attempting to avoid the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 5 areas at D and F condition levels as listed in the project by driving through the neighborhoods. Traffic Engineer Jim Hanks said that the removal of parking e from 11th and 13th avenues would increase the capacity of those streets but would also have significant impact on the area residents. He stated that the widening project was connected to future projects which would not directly link up with 11th and 13th avenues. He said the viability of West 11th Avenue as an industrial and commercial area might decrease because the traffic flow would be lessened'without the proposed widening. Mr. Gleason stressed that the Chambers Street Connector was a key element in the project; the connector would not work without the widening project. Ms. Wooten said it took her approximately four minutes to drive from Blair Boulevard to High Street during peak traffic and that she did not find the congestion irritating. In response to her question on the generation of the traffic projections, Mr. McKinley said that the State had attempted to emulate the Metropolitan Plan by subtracting some of the downtown employement figures from the 1990 Plan and then adding the Willow Creek traffic, dwellings, and employment. Ms. Wooten requested to seek the actual figures generated for the projections. She agreed with the need for the widening project, but questioned if the council was committing itself to all three phases of the project. Mr. Gleason said the entire project was divided into three phases but that the City would be committing itself only to the Washington-to-High-Street phase. He said there would be no monetary committment unless a right-of-way agreement was necessary. He added that the State would not commit money to the project without the extension project. In response to a question, Mr. Hanks explained why repaving the two streets was not a viable alternative. He stated that the repaving project would last approximately 50 years. e In response to a question, Ms. Decker said the widening project would serve the entire city and that staff felt the representatives from the Planning Commission, the Downtown Commission, and the City Council would address the concerns of the entire city. Mr. Genasci questioned the description of 6th and 7th avenues as being utilized for both through traffic and short trips. Mr. Reinhard said the two streets connected the major arterials in the area, but such use did not mean that they were not also used for short trips and for access to the downtown by area residents. Referring to Table 4 in the Environmental Assessment Plan, Mr. Genasci said the solution appeared to be a local adjustment to the streets rather than their widening. Mr. Gleason responded that signing and enforcement would not impact on through traffic, adding that there was no successful alter- native to dealing with the situation of linking the Coast and McKenzie routes. He stressed that the widening of 6th and 7th avenues was a minor project and would stay within the existing right-of-way. He stated that the Metropolitan Plan called for a 30-percent modal split and he wished the City to strive for that level, the present split being 12 percent. He stressed that the volumes of traffic involved must be discussed when dealing with this issue. He recognized that even slow-moving traffic would maintain the traffic levels, but breakdown of the intersections would have a tremendous impact on the neighborhoods. In response to a question, Mr. Hanks said the Oregon standards for construction would require that businesses along the highway construction have continuous access except during those periods when it is absolutely necessary; therefore, e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 6 the construction would be staged so that only half of the highway would be under construction at one time. He explained that the High Street to Washington Street phase of the widening project would require approximately three months. ~ He acknowledged that the access would be lessened during the construction, but ~ he said that it was a justification for performing the construction only once. In response to a question regarding the traffic projections, Mr. Farah said staff had considered the issue. He said the peak in growth occurred in the late 1970's and there had been a decrease since that time. However, he said that the City was exactly at those levels projected by the T-2000 and the Metropolitan Plans. He said it was necessary to juxtapose the various data when making any determinations about traffic levels. Mr. Obie said he was concerned with the process, asking if the meeting was for information or for debate. Mayor Keller clarified that the meeting was primarily for information sharing. Ms. Mulder asked if any data had been generated comparing the present traffic projections with those projections made when the T-2000 Plan was formulated. Mr. Farah said that such data had not been formulated but it could be done. Mr. Hanks said that traffic counts on 6th and 7th avenues have been continuously taken and he approximated the increase at one to two percent each year. Mr. Bauske said he would approach the question as a resident near the proposed construction who believed that a current need for the widening did not exist, but he believed the information supported the future need for the project. He said a public relations effort was needed to sell the project and staff should develop the data to support that need. He emphasized that the trees along 6th and 7th avenues were a cultural heritage but that the beautification project ~ would mean additional plantings at no additional expense to the City. He said the City must question what the net result of the corridor will be and what impact the project will have on pedestrian access. Mayor Keller agreed that it was important to consider the individual effects of the project but it was necessary for each of the groups present to remember that they are part of the community with accompanying responsibilties. He asked that any concerns or questions be addressed to him. He stressed that the T-2000 Plan was a major portion of all the City plans. He said the City was involved in the Metropolitan Plan because the City expected to move large numbers of people to the west side of Eugene. He said numerous assumptions were made when placing the Metropolitan, T-2000, and Capital Improvements Plans together. He viewed these plans as major commitments, having already been approved by the City Council. The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. !<~~:;, ~JU!~~,~l'~'~."~,.' #v /'.. -t. ,.I'/.;.Y ./ ~'~;/J..yr ~ ..' -- Micheal D. Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Thorn Strunk) 4It TS:clj/CM7a1 MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session December 12, 1983 Page 7