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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/13/1990 Meeting e MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall June 13, 1990 11 : 30 a. m . COUNCILORS PRESENT: Rob Bennett, Freeman Holmer, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Roger Rutan, Ruth Bascom, Shawn Boles. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Mayor Jeff Miller, Emily Schue. The adjourned meeting of June 11, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Councilor Rob Bennett. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Correspondence with Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI) Mr. Holmer noted that the council recently received a copy of a letter from Daphne Walwyn addressed to DEI. He asked if Ms. Walwyn had received a response to her letter and, if so, requested a copy of the reply. Mr. Rutan e said that Ms. Walwyn has since had contact with representatives from DEI, a~d he felt it would be appropriate for the council to see the reply. B. Taxi Regulation Ms. Bascom noted that the issue of taxi regulation has recently received a great deal of public interest particularly with respect to taxi regulation at the airport. She asked that the council be provided with an update on this topic. Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow said that the issue of taxi regulation is scheduled for the council's October 10 meeting. This discussion will focus on taxi regulation citywide. C. Council Process for Funding Requests Ms. Bascom noted that Councilor Ehrman's funding request for the Literacy Coalition at the June 9 council meeting created some debate about the council's current policy for processing funding requests. She requested that the council schedule its discussion on the process for handling funding requests soon. The council agreed that this discussion would take place at its July 16 Work Planning Session. D. Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) Ms. Ehrman informed council members that the council's decision to reduce councilor representation on LRAPA was the recent topic of discussion at the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1990 Page 1 e last LRAPA meeting. She noted that legislative changes are needed to modify the membership constituency of LRAPA; suggestions have been made to maintain the current number of committee members by replacing former council positions with lay members. E. Students United for Responsible Fun (SURF) Mr. Green announced that several students from Willamette High School have recently organized into a group of Students United for Responsible Fun. He commended these students for this action and noted that he invited SURF members to attend a future council meeting. Mr. Bennett encouraged SURF member attendance at a Monday night public forum. F. Airship Oregon Spirit Mr. Boles called attention to an invitation recently received from the organization which brings the Airship Oregon Spirit blimp to Eugene. He noted that the blimp would be landing in Eugene on Saturday, June 23 and encouraged councilors to attend. He emphasized that this is the type of economic development that he can support. G. The Bon Marche Mr. Boles indicated his intention to send a letter to the owners of The Bon Marche expressing his disappointment with their decision to consider closing their downtown store. He noted that this is a critical store in the downtown e area and encouraged members of the council and community to write to The Bon Marche to make them aware that the community is concerned. H. Review of the Metro Partnership Mr. Boles referred to a memo he had sent to councilors regarding the Metro Partnership and noted that an update from the partnership was scheduled for a future council agenda. Councilor Rob Bennett adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened the meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency. II. WORK SESSION: 8TH AND WILLAMETTE DEVELOPMENT Lew Bowers, Planning and Development Department, briefly reported on the terms of the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the 8th and Willamette site. He said that under the direction of the council, staff has prepared a draft RFP for the sale of a one-half block site located on the south side of 8th Avenue between Willamette and Olive streets. The primary intent of the RFP is the sale and development of the parcel. The RFP is flexible and should help the City realize the most advantageous use of the site. Mr. Bowers noted that the RFP is based on existing City policy laid forth in both the Downtown Plan and the Urban Renewal Plan. The appraised price of e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1990 Page 2 -- e the parcel is $973,000. He indicated that the entire parcel will be made available for purchase, but a buyer will have the opportunity to purchase only part, if so desired. It is also possible that a portion may be retained for a public parking structure. Mr. Bowers pointed out that some of the documents referred to within the RFP are still in draft form but are treated as final in anticipation of their finalization. Mr. Bowers said that the Downtown Commission has offered its unanimous approval of the RFP, and has suggested that a subcommittee be formed to review the resulting proposals. It has been suggested that the committee be composed of seven members representing various constituencies: Downtown Commission, Planning Commission, City Council, Downtown Eugene, Inc., Chamber of Commerce, and two citizens-at-large positions, one from the Neighborhood leaders Council and one the league of Women Voters. The Downtown Commission has asked for council input on the proposed composition. Ms. Ehrman noted that it should be indicated in the proposal that the documents to which it refers are draft policies and have not been finalized. Regarding the proposed formation of a committee to review the proposal, Mr. Holmer expressed concern that because the final proposal is subject to council review, the council should not have representation on this committee. He also recommended that citizen-at-large representation currently proposed for this committee be broadened. e Mr. Rutan disagreed with Mr. Holmer on whether the council should have representation on the proposal review committee. He felt that because of the location of this parcel and its resulting impact on future development downtown, it was necessary for the council to take part in RFP review. Mr. Rutan also pointed out that the council should not direct the specific type of development which will occur on this site. For this reason, he suggested that page one of the draft RFP clarify that "design proposals are encouraged, but not required to contain a housing component." Mr. Boles suggested that the RFP time line be extended until September to allow for ample time for design development and enough time to broaden the committee base of participation. Mr. Green agreed with Mr. Holmer that the council should not have representation on the review committee. Mr. Boles disagreed with Mr. Holmer about whether the council should be allowed committee representation. In allowing council representation on the committee, a council member would be able to provide an historical perspective on the need for mixed-use planning. Mr. Bennett highlighted the importance of having at least one member on the committee who thoroughly understands the Retail Task Force1s Tenant Mix Plan. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1990 Page 3 e Ms. Ehrman pointed out that it is uncertain how many proposals will be received for site development. She expressed concern that broadening the committee membership and extending the time line might unnecessarily delay the entire process. Mr. Rutan suggested that the resulting proposals undergo some type of professional review. In response, Mr. Bowers indicated that the staff would provide this professional analysis. In considering the number and type of members which should constitute this committee, Mr. Gleason highlighted the importance of having a constituency of committee members who are familiar with and have some historical perspective on the original downtown development goals. Ms. Ehrman suggested that the council position on this committee be replaced with a member of the Retail Task Force. Mr. Boles pointed out that one of the major criticisms of this committee has been that the current makeup of committee members has an interest in downtown that would offer an inherent bias to the final decision. In order to account for this, he suggested that a Mayor-appointed community member be added to this committee. Mr. Holmer questioned the propriety of having Downtown Commission representation on this committee and suggested that a representative of the e Friends of Downtown replace the Downtown Commission position. Mr. Rutan said that in light of the fact that the council is trying to promote high-density development on this site, the council should offer some weighted criteria which encourage the use of subsurface parking. After lengthy discussion, the council agreed that subsurface parking would be added to the list of secondary criteria and would be weighted two points. The council also agreed to reduce the weight of the housing component to five points. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, to extend the time line for the 8th and Willamette Request For Proposal to allow developers 60 days to respond to the Request For Proposal after its issuance. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. The council offered its general consensus that council representation on the RFP subcommittee would be replaced by a representative of Friends of Downtown. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan to increase the current constituency of the committee to review the responses to the 8th and Willamette Request For Proposal by one member to include a Mayor-appointed citizen-at-large. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1990 Page 4 e Ms. Ehrman emphasized the importance of expediting the citizen appointment process. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to direct the City Manager to issue the 8th and Willamette Development Site Request For Proposal and proceed through the time line as indicated in the June 12 memo from the Planning and Development staff amended to provide for an additional 30 days for developers to respond to the Request For Proposal. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Bennett adjourned the meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency and reconvened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. Councilor Boles was not present during discussion or action of the following agenda item. III. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE WITH LANE COUNTY TO PROVIDE INTERIM FINANCING FOR THE 1990 RIVER ROAD SEWER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Administrative Services Director Warren Wong briefly summarized the terms and agreements negotiated in this resolution. e Res. No. 4193--A resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate short-term interest-bearing bonds and related documents in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $3,420,000 at any time outstanding in any fiscal year for the purpose of providing interim financing of the 1990 River Road Sewer Improvement Project. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms, Ehrman, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Councilor Ehrman exited the meeting at 12:35 p.m. At 12:35 p.m., the meeting of the Eugene City Council recessed for five minutes. IV. WORK SESSION: FERRY STREET BRIDGE UPDATE Dave Reinhard, Public Works Transportation, gave a slide presentation on the eight alternatives under consideration in the Ferry Street Bridge corridor study. He noted that the purpose of the work session is to make sure that the council is well informed about this project and that the study team is aware of any concerns or questions the council may have. Council comments e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1990 Page 5 e will be forwarded to the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) at their meeting on June 28. Referring to a point in Mr. Reinhard's presentation, Mr. Boles noted that the alternative which is depicted as no-build is actually a minimum-build option which provides enhancements for bicycles and other alternative modes of transportation. Mr. Boles noted the importance of factoring the true cost of planting mature trees into the cost estimates for redesign landscaping. Brian Obie, Ferry Street Bridge Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair, spoke about the Ferry Street Bridge Corridor Study. He noted that the Ferry Street Bridge CAC recently held a successful public hearing that received a great amount of public interest and involvement in the proposed design alternatives. He emphasized that as a result of extensive citizen involvement allowed for in this project, a high level of public trust is being gained. Public testimony reveals that the community strongly favors design alternatives which invest in alternate modes of transportation. Regarding possible means of project financing, Mr. Gleason said that the City can expect to receive some Federal contribution to this project if it is willing to levy its local tax dollars against Federal dollars. The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m. e (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 061390-1130 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1990 Page 6