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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/11/1990 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall April 11, 1990 11 : 30 a. m . COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mayor Jeff Miller, Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Emily Schue, Bobby Green, Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Debra Ehrman. The adjourned meeting of April 9, 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. Active Bethel Citizens (ABC) Mr. Green indicated that in a recent ABC neighborhood meeting, neighbors in the Bethel Triangle area expressed concern that they are unaware of the formal City process for transferring from one ward into another. He requested more information from staff on this formal transfer process. Neighbors continue to voice concern with the condition of Marshall Street, and request that attempts be made to repair this street. B. National Conference of Black Mayors Mr. Green announced that he recently attended the 16th annual National Conference of Black Mayors in New Orleans. "Balanced Government for America" was the theme for this conference which included speakers such as Marion Berry, Jesse Jackson, and Father George Starling. Mr. Green said that a more extensive report will be forthcoming. C. Student Intern Mr. Boles introduced John Schwartz, a University of Oregon masters student graduating in planning and public policy management. Mr. Schwartz, who will serve as Mr. Boles' administrative intern next term, will focus his work on citizen access issues. A report from Mr. Schwartz will ~ome before the council and the Citizen Involvement Committee this spring. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 1990 Page 1 e D. Traffic Counts on Friendly Street Mr. Boles stated that he recently received a call from a citizen concerned with the placement of a stoplight on Friendly Street. He requested more information from staff regarding traffic counts on Friendly Street between 18th and 29th avenues and information about the City's process for assessing traffic demands on this street. E. Global Cities Mr. Boles noted that councilors recently received information regarding membership in Global Cities and suggested that in light of the upcoming Earth Week celebration and Eugene's reputation as an environmentally progressive city, the council join this project. Membership price is $2,000 per year. Mr. Holmer voiced concern that this membership would offer little real benefit to the council. The council requested more information on this membership before making a decision. e Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that the City Council endorse the Global Cities project and Earth Day and plan to demonstrate this support by taking part in or sponsoring one or more related activities within the community. The motion carried, 6:0:1; with Councilors Boles, Bascom, Schue, Bennett, Green, and Rutan voting in favor and Councilor Holmer abstaining on that grounds that this is an inappropriate move for the council. F. Earth Day Ms. Schue reminded councilors of their recent commitment to actively promote Earth Day within the community. At Ms. Schue's request, Barbara Bellamy, City Manager's Office, suggested ways in which the council might participate in the Earth Day celebration, including participation in the April 26 celebration in Alton Baker Park or public recognition of those community groups working on Earth Day projects. Mr. Holmer suggested that the council participate in a way which will actually advance the cause of Earth Day. Councilors agreed to participate in Earth Dayan an individual basis. G. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Ms. Bascom observed that the council recently received a memo from the Cultural Affairs Commission requesting that the council support the NEA without any restrictions on its granting policies. Acknowledging that the wording is overly broad, she expressed support for the general tenor of this request and suggested that the council send a letter to the NEA conveying this support. The council supported Ms. Bascom's suggestion. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 1990 Page 2 e H. Appointment to the Bonn Conference Mr. Holmer announced that his son, Alan F. Holmer, has been appointed by the United States Department of State to lead the United States Delegation to the Bonn Conference on Economic Cooperation in Europe. I. Sports Council Mr. Rutan said that he recently appeared before the Lane County Commissioners on behalf of the Sports Council Organizing Committee and submitted its concluding proposal. He noted that the Hospitality Industry has indicated that while it does not support a one percent increase in the Transient Room Tax, it is supportive of the Sports Council and will likely support a .5 percent increase. J. Research on Willamette Street Opening Mr. Rutan noted that Micheal Hunsaker, University of Oregon Political Science major and student intern, recently indicated his interest in conducting independent research on the issue of opening Willamette Street to traffic. Mr. Hunsaker will make a presentation before the council after he has completed his research. e K. Quarterly Process Session Mr. Miller indicated that at the last City Council Quarterly Process Session, the council discussed the possibility of eliminating individual committee reports from the normal process session format. Recognizing the importance of committee reports as a means by which councilors remain informed on community issues, the council considered the possibility of submitting written committee reports at the Wednesday council sessions. After some discussion, the council agreed that important information regarding committee assignments will be raised at the council's Wednesday work sessions. K. Tree-Cutting in the South Hills Bill Gary, City Attorney's Office, announced that the City has recently obtained a Restraining Order for the Department of Forestry for failing to enforce the Forest Practices Act. In effect, any tree-cutting in the South Hills which is not in compliance with the Forest Practices Act will be considered unlawful. It is the City's hope that this order will allow the City enough time to discuss and determine the extent of existing tree-cutting laws before further cutting within the urban growth boundary is permitted. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 1990 Page 3 r I I ~ II. REPORT ON AIRPORT PROJECT e e Steve Counards Airport Commission, reported on the status of the Airport Expansion Project. He indicated that with the exception of several minor projects, this expansion is nearly complete and that all phases of the project have been completed within budget. Mr. Counard noted that the only significant design change made was a relocation of the security area to comply with FAA regulations. The airport is currently served by five airlines and has room for an additional jet carrier. Under the direction of the Federal Air Administrations the commission and staff are working on a new master plan for future project funding. Mr. Rutan reminded councilors that the airport master plan is intended solely for the airports not the land surrounding the airport. Responding to a question, Mr. Counard ensured Mr. Boles that no General Fund money will be used to pay for the runway extension. Ms. Bascom indicated that completing this project within budget was a major accomplishment and commended all involved for this effort. III. WORK SESSION: INDUSTRIAL LAND REPLACEMENT--MARKETABILITY ANALYSIS Gary Chenkins Planning and Development Department, reported on the status of the industrial land replacement project. He observed that because a significant portion of the West Eugene area is impacted by wetlands, the council requested that the Planning Commission identify between 100 to 200 acres of land within Eugene's urban growth boundary that could be designated for industrial development over the short term. On December 4, 1989, the council discussed six such sites and requested a market analysis of four of them and the Central Eugene Industrial Area. John Hall, Robert Charles Lesser and Company, presented the council with the results of the requested marketability analysis. He noted that while most of the sites considered were zoned either for industrial or residential usess it appears likely that most of these sites could be rezoned for other industrial uses, if deemed suitable. Mr. Hall outlined the specific criteria which were used to evaluate the sites which include: airport compatibility; freeway access; airport access; compatibility with adjacent properties; availability of key urban services; ability to avoid impact on wetlandss wetland mitigation sites, and other environmentally sensitive areas; and ability to amend the Metro Plan within one year. Three additional criteria were added by Mr. Hall to attempt to address marketability issues. These include parcel size, parcel configuration and topography, and the proximity of the parcel to like uses. * Site 1, located on Stewart Road, is currently zoned Special Industrial with a Metropolitan Plan designation as Special-Light Industrial. It was determined to be the most marketable site if redesignated and MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 1990 Page 4 e zoned for light-medium industrial uses. Because it requires little preparation, it would be most attractive to developers; its ability to avoid wetlands impacts was its only notable deficiency. Mr. Hall noted that none of the sites were given a good rating for this criteria. (Sites 2 and 3 were dropped from analysis consideration.) e * Site 4, located north of Chad Street, is zoned mostly Low-Density Residential. Mr. Hall said that while Site 4 meets all the attributes of an attractive industrial property, it would be premature to redesignate it for Special Industrial use. He explained that several parcels located adjacent to Site 4 which are currently zoned for Special Industrial remain vacant; this suggests that there is an insufficient demand for this type of zoned land at this time. * Site 5, Enid-Awbrey, is zoned for Heavy and Special Heavy Industrial use. Mr. Hall determined that although this site would be suitable, it is awkwardly configured and is held under a number of different ownerships. He cautioned that because of its given ownership pattern, this site should be developed as a single industrial parcel. * Site 6 is located near Highway 99 behind Jerry's Building Supply. Mr. Hall recommended that this site be removed from further consideration because it is held in numerous ownerships, has existing residential structures on it, and would not lend itself well to either multiple industrial uses or use for a single firm. Mr. Boles observed that in light of the council's original intent to find replacement areas which were not impacted by wetlands, none of these sites seem to be acceptable. Mr. Rutan pointed out that while portions of these parcels may be impacted by wetlands, there is some buildable land on each parcel. Responding to a request for clarification, Pat Decker, Planning and Development Department, indicated that the City has conducted a thorough analysis of wetland impacts on the sites in the West Eugene area; the City remains less certain about the extent of wetland impacts on the Enid-Awbrey site. Mr. Chenkin noted that none of these sites were encumbered by wetlands under the old definition; every site is encumbered to some extent under the new disturbed wetlands definition. He said that these are the best sites the Planning Commission could identify and underscored the potential for on-site mitigation on the wetland-impacted lands. Ms. Schue noted that it has been suggested that Site 4 (north of Chad) be rezoned to Special Industrial. In light of the historical experience with zoning in this area, she said she is not comfortable considering a possible zone change. For these reasons, she suggested that only Sites 1 and 5 be considered. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Page 5 April 11, 1990 e Mr. Bennett offered justification for undertaking a marketability analysis. He said that if the council's goal is to find a reasonable total replacement, it should not eliminate any of the sites without having further discussion. He predicted that the industrial lands study will depict that the general demand for industrial lands will remain the same. Mr. Rutan recommended that a process similar to that of Enid-Awbrey be used to discuss the possible initiation of Sites 1 through 6 and possibly the Central Eugene Industrial Area. Mr. Holmer expressed frustration with the amount of time that has taken for this process and urged the council to make a decision on this as soon as possible giving consideration to recommendations from the Planning Commission and staff. Responding to a comment from Mr. Boles, Ms. Decker said that the Planning Commission recommended that the council not attempt to identify industrial replacement lands now because it felt the issue of industrial land need was being addressed comprehensively in the Metropolitan Industrial Lands Study. Ms. Childs added that the industrial lands study draft report is due out in July. She underscored that any hearings on site initiation would draw away staff resources which, in turn, would make it more difficult to complete present projects. e Mr. Boles said that if there is no immediate demand for industrial lands, the council should follow a comprehensive planning method as called for in the industrial lands study. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to call for a public hearing to consider the initiation Metropolitan Plan amendments affecting Sites 1 and 5. Mr. Bennett reiterated the importance of not limiting the council's options with respect to site initiation and suggested that Site 4 be included in the public hearing process. Mr. Bennett moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to amend Mr. Holmer's motion to include Site 4. Mr. Boles cautioned that because of the tenuous nature of the final compromise that was made regarding the Awbrey-Meadowview site, including Site 4 in the call for a public hearing might be taken by those initial litigants as a direct violation of that agreement. Mr. Bennett's amendment passed, 5:1; with Councilors Rutan, Schue, Bascom, Holmer, and Bennett voting in favor and Councilor Boles voting against. Mr. Holmer's motion passed, 5:1; with Councilors Rutan, Schue, Bascom, Holmer, and Bennett voting in favor; and Councilor Boles voting against. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 1990 Page 6 . e e Mr. Hall said that given the current parcelization patterns in the Central Eugene Industrial Area, it will not be useful or attractive for large-scale development in the short-run, but will be critical and essential to a long-run industrial future of Eugene. The council discussed the possibility of including this area in the call for a public hearing, but the general sense of the council was that this addition at this time would require extensive work and consideration. IV. WORK SESSION: WEST UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Teresa Bishow, Planning and Development Department, gave a brief staff report. On May 14, the council will be holding a public hearing on a series of recommendations from the Historic Review Board and Planning Commission that address historic resources in the West University Conservation and Development Project area. The highest priority recommendation forwarded to council by both bodies calls for a program to preserve the historic and natural features that contribute to the Millrace area. At 1:30 p.m., the meeting of the Eugene City Council adjourned. ........ -..' ,. ~: (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 041190-1130 i MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 1990 Page 7