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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/10/1990 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall January 10, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Emily Schue, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Freeman Holmer, Shawn Boles. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. The adjourned meeting of January 8, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. laurel Hill Road System Mr. Bennett indicated that the residents of the Laurel Hill area raise a continuing concern about the road system in that area. Although this issue has been the focus of discussion in the past, a resolution has not yet been reached. Mr. Bennett requested that an update of the laurel Hill Refinement Plan be considered by the council sometime in the near future in an attempt to resolve the need for road improvement in that area. Mr. Gleason stated that the council plays a role in update procedure sequencing and indicated that council members would soon receive information addressing this issue. Mr. Gleason added, however, that the issue of road improvement should be considered separately from the refinement plan. Mr. Bennett emphasized the need to find an acceptable solution to this problem in a timely manner. B. Reopening Willamette Street Mr. Holmer encouraged council members to demonstrate their support of the Mayor's position with respect to the opening of Willamette Street to vehicular traffic and requested that staff provide the council with the information required to place this proposal on the ballot. Mr. Miller emphasized the importance of having public support on this issue and indicated that the Urban Renewal Update issue should be considered separate from the issue of reopening Willamette Street. Ms. Schue pointed out that both issues require public debate and questioned the City's capacity to handle both issues simultaneously. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 Page 1 e Mr. Boles said that the Downtown Retail Management Task Force is looking at issues of access and circulation in the downtown and plans to present a recommendation to the council on this issue in the near future. Mr. Boles expressed his commitment to a pedestrian-oriented, but vehicle- accessible downtown, and indicated a desire to encourage community involvement in this redesign process through a design contest. Similar contests have been held in other cities and have been very successful. Ms. Ehrman supported Mr. Boles suggestion. Mr. Miller reiterated the importance of having community support before moving ahead. Mr. Holmer pointed out that securing community commitment for the concept of a pedestrian-oriented but vehicle-accessible downtown area is necessary before sponsoring a design contest. Mr. Gleason informed council members that in the process of opening Willamette Street, it will be necessary to amend both the old Urban Renewal Plan and the proposed Urban Renewal Plan Update; separate hearings must be held and separate decisions must be made. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, to direct staff to develop a process for Willamette Street redesign. Mr. Bennett reminded the council of his continued conflict of interest. The motion passed, 6:0:1; with Councilor Bennett abstaining. e C. Paper Recycling Ms. Schue reported that as a representative at the National League of Cities (NLC) she attended a discussion on the issue of using recycled paper within the City and asked for permission from the council to direct staff to offer advisement about current recycling policies within the City and how they might be improved. Ms. Bascom said that, upon request, she received information from Baltimore, Maryland, a city which makes a practice of buying recycled paper. Mr. Boles added that a policy statement was adopted by NLC recommending that all municipalities shift to the purchase of recycled paper. D. State of the City Address Mr. Boles recommended that at the next quarterly process session the council reconsider how it is to conduct the State of the City Address. He indicated that there are often varying perceptions about the state of the City across the council and suggested that discussion be held about a traditional format for this address which allows council members as well as the mayor to speak at the State of the City Address. E. Parking Code Ms. Ehrman said that she was recently contacted by a developer involved in a housing project who indicated that because code requirements on parking are e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 ~ Page 2 e affecting the financial viability of his project, he is applying for a parking variance. Ms. Ehrman indicated that she is aware of other projects also with applications for variance and because a proliferation of such variances is evident, suggested that the council review current parking code requirements. F. Safety Concerns on Fairfield Street Mr. Green presented the staff with a group of signatures from residents near Fairfield Street concerned with the increase in speed zone violations on that street between Royal Avenue and Jacobs Drive. He requested staff feedback on this issue. G. Permit Process for Security Officers Mr. Green indicated that he has been approached by members of the community who are concerned about the stringent procedures involved in obtaining security officer licensing. Mr. Green requested staff to provide him with information about the licensing process for security officers. H. Urban Youth Corps Mr. Green provided the council with an update on the status of the Urban Youth Corps. He said that there appears to be strong community interest in the formation of an Urban Youth Corps which focuses on providing community service jobs to youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who are not currently in an educational program. - Mr. Holmer expressed his support for the Urban Youth Corps program but expressed concern that the program will involve only a small number of youth. He suggested that consideration should be given to the idea of expanding program capacity to make it available to all who would benefit from it. I. USA/USSR Banquet Mr. Green informed the council that he recently represented the City at the USA/USSR Wrestling Banquet. At this banquet, a gift exchange was made in which the City received a Russian doll in exchange for a Pendleton wool sweater. Both teams put forth a good effort; Team Russia won the competition. J. Increase in Cable Rates Ms. Bascom expressed concern that effective January 1990 TCI Cablevision raised its rates a substantial 6.8 percent and asked whether the City has any regulatory authority over such rate increases. Mr. Gleason said that the City has no such authority. Mr. Bennett mentioned that in the past he has strongly encouraged the City to make every effort necessary to ensure that it has alternatives to monopolistic markets and indicated that it is even more important now to gain some control back in such markets. Mr. Holmer said that the City's authority to give a franchise has within the past year been e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 r. Page 3 e subject to renegotiation and suggested that it might be possible to make the franchise agreement more restrictive. II. ELECTION OF CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, that in light of the letter submitted by Mr. Rutan indicating his inability to serve as City Council President during the 1990 calendar year but stating his desire to serve as City Council President in 1991, to elect Ms. Schue as City Council President and to elect Mr. Bennett as City Council Vice President. Ms. Ehrman said that the election of council officers should be discussed at the next Quarterly Process Session. Ms. Schue requested that all members of the council receive a copy of the code governing the election of officers. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. III. WORK SESSION: GLENWOOD REFINEMENT PLAN - Terry Jones, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff report on the Glenwood Refinement Plan. On October 11, 1989, the City Council and the Lane County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on the draft Glenwood Refinement Plan. In response to the public testimony, 24 possible revisions to the refinement are being proposed, in addition to revisions previously recommended by the Planning Commission. The County Commissioners have already reviewed and made recommendations on these revisions. The purpose of this work session is to review these revisions and give direction to staff on which to include in the refinement plan. Ms. Jones introduced members of the Glenwood Planning Team. The Glenwood Planning Team is a citizen group composed of nine community members who, through a series of public meetings, obtained community input regarding the refinement plan. The Glenwood Planning Team also worked closely with City staff in developing a draft of the Glenwood Refinement Plan. Ms. Jones said that in order to adopt the Glenwood Refinement Plan, amendments to the Metro Plan must be made. She requested that once the City and the County agree on a draft plan, the City initiate the Metro Plan amendment process. Responding to a question from Mr. Holmer, Ms. Jones said that should a conflict arise, the process of resolution would be between the Lane County Board of Commissioners and the City Council, the two bodies that will be adopting the plan. This plan is unusual in that there is jurisdiction both inside and outside the limits of the city. Ms. Jones suggested that should a conflict arise between these two bodies, the plan be referred either to the Joint Planning Commission Committee (JPCC) or the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) for their recommendations toward resolution. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 ~ Page 4 e A. Revision A Referring to Revision A, Policy 3, which states that the City of Eugene shall consider the feasibility of constructing a full freeway interchange at the intersection of Franklin Boulevard and 1-5, Mr. Boles said that to the extent that this freeway interchange is needed to service multiple modes of transportation, he would support this revision but indicated a reluctance to support Revision A because of its inveterate focus for automobile use. With the exception of Mr. Boles, the council offered support for Revision A. B. Revision G Revision G has to do with whether the vicinity of the intersection of Glenwood Boulevard and 17th Avenue should be an entirely industrial area or whether a mixture of commercial and industrial uses should be allowed. The planning commissions reviewed and discussed this issue and recommended that this area be designated for light-medium industrial use only. Their discussion on this item reflected the view that no additional commercial was needed in Glenwood. Both the board and the planning team recommend that the area be designated for mixed commercial and industrial use. This is based on the desire to allow property owner flexibility in deciding the use of the properties in question. e Ms. Ehrman expressed a reluctance to allow this land to be zoned as mixed commercial and industrial because of the possible proliferation of strip commercial sites. She indicated, however, that if commercial sites are needed, she would support the board1s recommendation. In support of designating this area for mixed commercial and industrial, Mr. Bennett emphasized the importance of considering the needs of each site separately. Mr. Bennett moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to support the recommendation of the board and the planning team that the designation be for mixed commercial and industrial use. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Bennett said that Franklin Boulevard already has a substantial amount of commercially used land; commercial use allows this area to be more neighborhood-oriented. Mr. Boles said that he is in support of this if there is a way to ensure that commercial lands will be of a neighborhood scale. In response to a question from Ms. Schue concerning what types of commercial uses are envisioned for this land, Ms. Jones said that the size of land available would allow for both small- and large-scale industrial use; if it is zoned for mixed commercial and industrial use, there would be no restriction on the possible scale of commercial use. Mr. Miller suggested that it might be possible to include a design review process in the plan should the development be incompatible with current development near this site. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 Page 5 e Ms. Ehrman emphasized that consideration should be given to the fact that the recommendation made by the board reflects the position of property owners in this area. She added that in trying to integrate this area with Eugene, it is unfair to restrict these individuals to shopping in Eugene or Springfield and expressed her support for allowing mixed commercial and industrial zoning. Steve Moe, Chair of the Glenwood Planning Team, said that the planning team feels strongly that this area should be zoned to allow some commercial uses. Mr. Bennett's motion carried 5:2; with councilors Bennett, Ehrman, Holmer, Green, and Schue voting in favor, and councilors Boles and Bascom voting in opposition. C. Revision H The planning teams and the board recommend that this area remain as proposed in the plan which is for eventual industrial but keeping residential as long as individual property owners would like. Testimony from one resident asks that this be kept strictly residential for the next five years because there is no apparent need for industrial land on this site currently and requests that when this is changed from residential to industrial, to change as one block rather than piecemeal. - Mr. Boles indicated that individual residents were concerned that if zoning changes were made in a random fashion as land became available, the residential area would become unpleasantly checkerboarded with industrial businesses. If an aggregate approach would prevent this, he would be in favor of it. Ms. Bascom expressed concern that as portions of these lands are converted to industrial usage, the property values for the remaining residents would diminish. Ms. Jones said that review by the planning team revealed that property owners are currently divided on this issue. The planning team encouraged that the individual property owners be allowed the flexibility to decide the fate of their own property. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, to retain the original policy which allows for a gradual transition of the South 17th Avenue from residential to future industrial use. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. D. Revision I Ms. Jones indicated that the Eugene Planning Commission recommended that the City consider changes to its site review process while the Lane County Planning Commission was hesitant to put this in the plan. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Ms. Jones said that adding the wording in Revision I would strengthen the current site review process. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 Page 6 e Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, to add the wording in Revision I to the plan thereby strengthening the current site review process. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. E. Revision U Revision U has to do with the location of the riverfront bike path in Glenwood. Robert Moulton, representing industrial land owner J. Oldam, requests that the bike path be eliminated in the industrially designated portion of Glenwood's riverfront. Staff recommends that the path be shown along the entire length of the riverfront but that a clarification be added to the text to explain that the path may not be able to follow the river's edge along its entire length. The board did not support either of these options and, in fact, it did not support a bike path along the river at all. They expressed concerns about the need for such a path since there is one on the other side of the river. They were also concerned about public safety and private property rights. The planning team supports the staff recommendation. Ms. Bascom stated that the presence of a bike path on the other side of the river does not preclude the need for continuation of the South Bank Trail. Eugene citizens use both sides of the river bank corridor for transportation as well as recreation and because of this, it is necessary to have the bike trail on both sides of the river. Ms. Bascom expressed her support for the staff recommendation that a continuous path system be constructed on the South Bank Trail, but that it not be necessary for the path to have river frontage where it is not feasible. e Mr. Bennett questioned the feasibility of constructing a bike path on the south side of the river and asked whether the presence of a continuous path system would encourage increased bicycle usage. In light of the industrial nature of the area in question, Ms. Schue asked whether the construction of a bike path is appropriate in this area. Mr. Boles said that the staff recommendation appears to accommodate Mr. Moulton's concerns and offered his support for the staff recommendation. Ms. Jones clarified that Mr. Moulton's proposal states that in those areas that are currently designated industrial, the City would not be allowed to do a bike path easement unless some change was made. The City currently has plans that propose a bike path along the river bank eventually. Mr. Bennett expressed concern that with a bike path easement proposal, industrial land owners would be forced to accommodate easement any time they needed to make even minor changes--even when bike path easement would not have otherwise been projected for some time. Ms. Jones affirmed Mr. Bennett's concern, but indicated that in light of recent court decisions, there is some question as to whether the City will even be able to obtain bike path easements for minor site changes. Responding to a question from Ms. Schue, Ms. Jones said that the Willamette Greenway boundary extends down Franklin Boulevard. In those cases where e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 Page 7 e development is substantial, the City will ask for an easement as part of that Greenway Permit process; in the past, the City has not asked for easements in many small scale developments. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to support the staff recommendation which would allow for the continuation of the South Bank Bike Trail along the river and that the City will require bike easements whenever possible. Ms. Ehrman indicated that this is an issue of concern and needs more discussion and suggested that this issue be continued at the next meeting. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to table this discussion for two weeks. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. e (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 011090 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1990 ~ Page 8