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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/04/1991 Meeting - -- e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall December 4, 1991 11 :30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Bobby Green, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, Debra Ehrman, Ruth Bascom. ABSENT: Mayor Jeff Miller. The adjourned meeting of December 2, 1991, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Council President Roger Rutan. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER Mr. Rutan announced that Department of Public Safety Director Dave Whitlow was attending for City Manager Mike Gleason. Mr. Rutan welcomed in attendance Jim Smith and Tom Dawson from the Washing- ton, DC lobbying firm of "Smith and Dawson," with which the City contracts e for Federal lobbying services. Mr. Rutan said they were in town to work with staff on the council's annual trip to Washington, DC. Mr. MacDonald ex- pressed appreciation for their lobbying efforts which resulted in the City receiving Federal funding, as part of the Surface Transportation Act, for the Ferry Street Bridge Study. Mr. Boles suggested providing copies of a Global Communities article on municipal lobbying efforts relative to Federal poli- cies to Mr. Smith and Mr. Dawson. A. Human Rights Mr. Boles said he received a letter from Tom Keating about the City's policy with respect to employment of persons with disabilities. There was no objec- tion to Mr. Boles' request to forward the letter to the City's Human Rights Program staff for a response from the Human Rights Commission Accessibilities Subcommittee. . B. Breath Ignition Air-lock Devices Mr. Boles referred to the memo the council received and said he was interest- ed in having more information about breath ignition air-lock devices. City Attorney Bill Gary explained that there were State restraints relative to local legislation on the use of such devices. He said that his prelimi- nary assessment based on past case law was that the City could not exercise its home rule powers and develop local legislation on the use of such devic- e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 1 e es, but he described how a case could potentially be appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court and possibly overturn current precedent. He said that if the council requested, he could prepare a memorandum that would analyze the fol- lowing two issues: 1) the likelihood of success of a general home rule chal- lenge; and 2) whether an ordinance could be crafted specifically around the air-lock devices that could present a good vehicle for making the home rule argument. Mr. Boles requested the council to direct the City Attorney to prepare such a memorandum. He felt that in light of Eugene Decisions, it was increasingly clear that the City needed something concrete associated with its home rule powers. Mr. Gary said the City Attorney's Office has done considerable work around the home rule theory. He said the City Attorney's Office feels that the current precedent was wrong and inconsistent with the overwhelming authority across the country relative to home rule. He pointed out that Oregon is singled out in municipal law courses as an anomaly in terms of its home rule powers. In response to a question from Ms. Ehrman about costs, Mr. Boles suggested discussing funding with the Century Council. Mr. Rutan suggested that staff prepare a memo outlining issues and costs relative to this topic. In re- sponse to concern expressed by Ms. Bascom, Mr. Rutan said he understood that the council would decide how to proceed with this issue after reviewing fur- ther information provided by the City Attorney and staff. e Councilors agreed to direct staff and the City Attorney to each prepare a memo on this topic. C. Eugene Decisions Mr. Boles referred to a letter from John Gallagher about Eugene Decisions. He said he would forward the letter to City Manager Mike Gleason for his re- sponse. D. Eugene Celebration Mr. Robinette referred to a memo from PARCS Director Bob Schutz regarding gated admissions for the Eugene Celebration. Mr. Robinette suggested direct- ing the Eugene Celebration Committee to explore other alternatives to make the Eugene Celebration self-supporting as much as possible. Councilors discussed the memo. Ms. Bascom said that the Filbert Festival in Springfield received $23,000 from voluntary donations. She suggested direct- ing the Eugene Celebration Committee to explore alternatives besides mandated gated admissions to make the Eugene Celebration cost effective. She said that voluntary donations could be solicited at the entrance of the Jacobs Room, in the food area, or at the beer garden. Mr. Boles and Mr. MacDonald supported Ms. Bascom's idea of voluntary donations. Mr. Rutan said the Maude Kerns Art Center and Art in the Vineyards have both been successful with e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 2 their gated admissions. Ms. Ehrman noted that the Maude Kerns Art Center was e a nonprofit organization and that the Filbert Festival still operated a defi- cit budget. Councilors agreed to forward a letter to the Eugene Celebration Committee to express appreciation for its work and to ask the committee to explore other alternatives besides mandated gated admissions to make the Eugene Celebration self-supporting as much as possible. E. Downtown Parking Program Mr. Robinette said that at last week's Council Committee on Eugene Decisions meeting, Planning and Development Director Abe Farkas reported concerns ex- pressed by some of the downtown businesses about the new parking program. He said that councilors present at that meeting supported a revised fee structure that would divide hours into 20-minute segments. He said that concern was expressed about this information not being forwarded to the coun- cil via the Downtown Commission. Downtown Commission Chair Sue Prichard reported that the commission discussed concerns about the new downtown parking program at its December 3 work ses- sion. She said the commission generally agreed that an immediate solution needed to be implemented to resolve some of the concerns of downtown busi- nesses. She said there was unanimous support for dividing the hours into 20-minute segments, and that a majority supported effecting this change imme- diately. e Lew Bowers, Planning and Development, said staff anticipates some revenue loss under the recommended revised fee structure, but said this may be offset by those more willing to use the validated parking. He said the council has asked for a one-year report on the new parking program but staff would report any problems if identified earlier. Councilors unanimously supported the Downtown Commission's recommendation. Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Prichard said the commission and Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI) were aware of businesses requiring a minimum purchase to issue validation coupons. She said this would be addressed after the holiday season. F. Metropolitan Policy Commission Ms. Bascom announced that U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield will attend the next Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) meeting to discuss the Surface Transpor- tation Act. She welcomed suggestions from councilors of discussion items. Mr. Boles said he would like to see Federal funding go toward mass transit as part of the Ferry Street Bridge Study. Ms. Bascom noted that staff from Lane Transit District (LTD) will attend the meeting and will be able to vote on transportation issues the committee reviews in the future. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 3 G. Affordable Housing e Ms. Bascom expressed appreciation for the council's action December 2 regard- ing the construction of affordable housing units near Richardson Bridge. Ms. Bascom said the Housing Policy Board will review the design of the Willakenzie site at its next meeting. H. Cuthbert Amphitheater Ms. Bascom reported that a design for a shelter for the amphitheater was approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission. The shelter will be funded by Urban Transition funds. Work is scheduled to be completed by next summer. I. Wayne Morse Integrity in Politics Award Mr. MacDonald announced that U.S. Senator Paul Simon would be in town to receive the Wayne Morse Integrity in Politics award. The ceremony will be held December 5 at the Hilton Hotel. J. Community Airports Workshop Mr. MacDonald announced that a community airports workshop will be held De- cember 12 at 7 p.m. in Court Room #1 in Municipal Court. K. Lane Transit District (LTD) Site Selection Committee e Ms. Ehrman reported that the committee has not yet narrowed down potential sites for the new LTD transit station. She said the committee has discussed the possibility of an enclosed transit station with security personnel. Mr. Boles said the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) Citizen Advisory Committee members have expressed a strong interest for some kind of shuttle system to serve the major areas of the city. He encouraged the LTD Site Selection Committee to review potential sites for the new transit station in the context of being able to serve such a system. Ms. Bascom echoed this and added that LTD indicated at the last Metropolitan Policy Commission (MPC) meeting that it has identified a vehicle to use in such a system. Mr. Nicholson said he has conferred with Steffano Viggiano, LTD, on this topic. He suggested that LTD coordinate with major institutions to make the viabili- ty of a shuttle system more probable. He said that parking policies within major areas of the city would likely have a significant impact on the use of such a system. Mr. MacDonald asked what the most appropriate venue would be to forward the council's suggestions regarding this topic. Ms. Ehrman said she would forward councilors' suggestions to the committee. l. Eugene Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau Mr. Nicholson said he received correspondence from supporters of the bureau expressing concern about the bureau being identified for cuts in the Eugene Decisions process. Mr. Boles said those letters were a result in part from e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 4 r e the bureau being listed in one of the sample strategies published in the Eugene Decisions tabloid. M. Li brary Mr. Green said he received phone calls from citizens objecting to library cards being distributed to the homeless community. He said he explained to them that this was an administrative decision. He asked staff for a report on this decision. N. State of the City Publication Mr. Rutan reminded councilors that their writing assignment for the State of the City publication was due December 6. He asked councilors to verify their information on the invitation-list in the council office. Mr. Boles expressed concern about the Mayor's State of the City Address in- cluding goals that have not been reviewed by the council. The council agreed to discuss Mr. Boles' concern at its next meeting. O. Bill of Rights Mr. Rutan announced that there would be a ceremony December 9 at Harris Hall honoring the bicentennial signing of the Bill of Rights. He said that pre- siding over the ceremonies would be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ed Fadeley. e II. WORK SESSION: HIGHWAY 99 NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION DISTRICT Department of Public Safety Director Dave Whitlow introduced the topic. Planning and Development Director Abe Farkas and Jim Croteau, Planning and Development, gave the staff presentation. Mr. Farkas said the issue before the council was whether it wanted to expand the Highway 99 road improvement project to include a more comprehensive treatment. He said that timing was critical and that there are initial costs of approximately $180,000 to cover planning and design work. He said the possibility of establishing another neighborhood revitalization district in the Whiteaker neighborhood would be included in the initial planning process. He said staff from Public Works and the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWES) were present to answer ques- tions. Mr. Croteau presented the following three options for the council to consid- er: 1) whether to pursue a neighborhood revitalization district in the High- way 99 corridor and/or the Whiteaker neighborhood; 2) funding sources; and 3) the focus of the study area. He reviewed estimated costs of possible projects for revitalization in the Highway 99 corridor. He said that utility work would occur before Highway 99 road improvements, which would provide an opportunity for landscaping enhancements consistent with the Entrance Beauti- fication Study. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 5 e Mr. Green discussed reasons for his support of the project, emphasizing that the revitalization of Highway 99 has been the subject of many land use plans. He said that timing was critical for the availability of State funding for the project. Ms. Bascom supported proceeding with the project, but felt that it should not be combined with the Whiteaker neighborhood revitalization effort. Mr. Nicholson suggested considering the feasibility of these two closely related projects outside the context of Eugene Decisions. Mr. Farkas said an urban renewal district in the Whiteaker neighborhood could be created by late summer 1992 and then tie into the Highway 99 project. Mr. Croteau added that if the landscaping and road improvements were done simul- taneously, it would involve the disruption of businesses only once. Mr. Croteau reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of the various funding sources outlined in the staff notes. Mr. Whitlow said the initial planning costs of approximately $200,000 was potentially fully recoverable. Mr. Boles did not think that systems development charges (SDCs) should be considered as a funding option for this project. Les Lyle, Public Works, explained that there may be some justification for using SDCs but would like- ly be a small percentage, if any, due to lack of development impact or growth in the area. Councilors agreed that SDCs should not be explored as a funding source for this project. Responding to a question from Mr. MacDonald about the Road Fund, Mr. Lyle said that funding for the FY93 capital budget was very limited. He added e that a number of high priorities have not been addressed due to the limita- tions in funding. Mr. Croteau said that if the council supported creating an urban renewal district, part of the planning process would include projecting the amount of tax increment financing that would be available for various projects. Mr. Robinette said there would be no certainty of receiving enough tax increment funds for planned projects if new development did not occur soon after a district was created. Mr. Farkas affirmed this but said that new development in the area within the last four years merited exploring this as a funding source. Mr. Green felt that this project provided an opportunity to see if tax increment financing could be successful outside of the downtown core area. Ms. Ehrman felt that tax increment financing would not be feasible because the first revenues would not be received until FY94. She said that there has been significant criticism about this form of financing in the downtown core area, and she did not support using such a form in other areas. Mr. Nicholson concurred. Mr. Boles said that he would support tax increment financing only under circumstances that the council craft a large enough district to address all revitalization needs and that the urban renewal au- thority not be solely held by the council. Councilors took a straw vote to determine if staff should explore tax incre- ment financing as a funding source. The vote was tied, 4:4, for exploring tax increment financing as a funding source for Highway 99 only. The vote passed, 5:3, for exploring tax increment financing as an option for an ex- e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 6 e panded project. Mr. Farkas said that tax increment financing would be ex- plored as part of the planning process. Councilors took a straw vote on whether staff should explore a general obli- gation bond (GO Bond) as a funding source. The vote passed, 5:3. Councilors took a straw vote on whether staff should explore a serial levy as a funding source. The vote passed, 5:3. Mr. Farkas said that representatives from the Whiteaker neighborhood have expressed an interest in pursuing neighborhood revitalization. He said that if a revitalization district was created in the Highway 99 area, it could be expanded up to 20 percent and possibly extend into the Whiteaker neighbor- hood. Following further discussion, councilors expressed unanimous support for staff to proceed with a comprehensive planning process to address the revi- talization needs of Highway 99N and the Whiteaker neighborhood and to explore identified funding sources. Mr. Whitlow said that after conferring with staff, $125,000 was a closer estimate to cover the initial planning costs. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Green, to authorize an upper limit of $125,000 for this planning process to come from the General Fund Contingency Fund and that maximum recovery of e this amount be documented. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. MacDonald announced that he had to leave early for an appointment at 1:30 p.m. Mr. Boles asked staff to obtain estimates from EWEB for alternatives to undergrounding utilities. III. WORK SESSION: 11TH AND WILLAMETTE DEVELOPMENT SITE PROPOSAL ~ Department of Public Safety Director Dave Whitlow introduced the topic. Bob Hibschman, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff presentation. The council was asked to review the recommendation from the Downtown Commis- sion and accept the proposal for the development of the 11th Avenue and Willamette Street site and to direct staff to develop firmer recommendations on how to proceed with the project. One response was received from the re- quest for proposal (RFP) released April 1991. The proposal was reviewed by a citizens committee and the Downtown Commission, and was found to meet the criteria contained in the RFP. The citizen committee had findings and recom- mendations similar to those of the Downtown Commission, suggesting that a different site would be more appropriate. Mr. Hibschman presented a schemat- ic view of the proposal. The proposal is for a mixed-use project that con- tains 75 units of rental housing and 75 parking spaces in an underground e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 7 e parking garage. The rental structure would meet criteria to qualify for a housing revenue bond and possibly a ten-year tax-exemption program, depending on income levels of the occupants. Responding to a question from Mr. MacDonald, lew Bowers, Planning and Devel- opment, said the City would not have any financial exposure to a housing revenue bond for this proposal. Mr. Hibschman said that the housing revenue bond would be secured by the project itself. The proposal would require $1.32 million for the construction of the parking garage to serve the build- ing and $325,000 of the value of the land proposed by the developer. Mr. Hibschman said the citizen RFP review committee and the Downtown Commission felt uncomfortable with the amount of revenue needed to construct the under- ground parking garage. The Downtown Commission suggested that the proposal be developed at a different site where surface parking existed. He reviewed the following key issues for the council to consider: 1) does this proposal as presented essentially fit with the goals of downtown housing; 2) is the amount of parking subsidy the most cost-effective use; and 3) is this the most appropriate site for this proposal. Mr. MacDonald suggested that the council consider the impact this proposal would have on parking for lane Community College's downtown center. Greg Smith introduced himself as one of the principals of the project and Eric Jacobson, who has been working on the financial aspects of the proposal. Mr. Smith said that the proposal meets every policy objective and suggested that the council weigh the alternatives to not developing the site against the cost of developing the site. He said the proposal hinges on the issue of e parking. He did not think that the City had much to lose from accepting the proposal. Ms. Bascom asked about alternatives to expending $1.65 million for a private project. Mr. Smith did not think that a proposal for this site could be developed without underground parking. He said that the project could poten- tially be scaled down so that parking would be surface level, but said this would not address the goal of mixed commercial and residential use. Ms. Bascom said there was no guarantee that commercial space would be filled. Mr. Smith explained that the developer would be willing to construct commer- cial space at its expense if demands for such space existed. He said that lease revenues and tax increment financing would then return some of the City's subsidy. Responding to questions from Mr. Boles, Mr. Smith said that parking in the Overpark would be a disincentive to many people who would want immediate access to their vehicles. Mr. Jacobson said that 20 percent of the residents would have to be below 50 percent of the median income for this project to qualify for the housing revenue bond. Mr. Smith said that 50 percent of the tenants would have to be below the median income to qualify for the ten-year tax-exemption program. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 8 ---~ Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Smith said that adding addi- e tional residential units has been suggested if it was determined that some residents did not have automobiles. Mr. Smith said that the architectural design could incorporate an option to allow surface-level parking until demand for commercial space existed. Responding to a question from Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Jacobson said that if the proposal was developed at a different site, the cost of structured parking would not be required. Councilors agreed that this proposal meets the goal of downtown housing. Ms. Bascom said the council needs to be clear that the goal of downtown housing was not limited to the downtown area located between 7th and 11th avenues. Ms. Ehrman said she understood that development of an alternative site would still pose parking problems. Mr. Boles said the amount of the subsidy was beyond what the council should commit. He said he was pleased with the de- veloper's willingness to consider a different site. Ms. Ehrman and Mr. Rutan supported considering an option of not including commercial space in the proposal. Mr. Boles supported the idea of considering an alternative site for the proposal. . Councilors Green and MacDonald left the meeting. Planning and Development Director Abe Farkas said the council could direct staff to work with the developer to come up with alternatives for developing e the site. Mr. Boles suggested exploring an option that provides noncontigu- ous parking spaces. Ms. Bascom expressed concern about not incorporating at least some commercial space for this site. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Robinette, that the City enter into an exclusive agreement with the 11th and Willamette Partnership for a period of six months. Roll call; the motion passed 5:1, with councilor Nicholson voting against. IV. FINALIZATION OF 1992 CITY COUNCIL GOALS This item was postponed until the December 9 meeting. The meeting adjourned at 1:50 p.m. R~~_ Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by David Straub) mncc 120491 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 4, 1991 Page 9