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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/24/1992 Meeting ~'. M I NUT E S '. Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall August 24, 1992 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Paul Nicholson. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Keith Parks, Chair; Thom Montgomery, Jack Billings, Peter Brandt, Pat Hocken, Janet Calvert, Tammy Fitch. The work session of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. 1. CITY COUNCIL DINNER WORK SESSION A. Joint Work Session with Lane Transit District Introductions were made for the purpose of introducing the councilors to new board members. e Phyllis Loobey, General Manager of Lane Transit District (LTD) called the roll for the board. Ms. Loobey reviewed the transit station site selection time line. Stefano Viggiano, LTD Planning Administrator, reviewed the configurations of the two top sites under consideration: the McDonald Theater site, and the International House of Pancakes site. Mr. Miller asked how a change in land use at the Agripac site would affect the site selection process, questioning if there was thought of shifting the site closer to the possible new Ferry Street Bridge alignment. Mr. Viggiano said that such an alignment had been considered but the district did not want to wait until a new bridge was built. The district considers the current station to be unacceptable and does not want to wait four or five years to replace it. Additionally, such an alignment would move the station farther away from the heart of downtown. Mr. Viggiano said that the more people have to walk to the core, the less likely they are to take the bus. Mr. Nicholson asked how the current location was unacceptable. Mr. Viggiano responded that it was difficult to make transfers as the buses were spread out over three blocks. Some transfers entail crossing two streets and three alleys. Elderly people and people with disabilities are unable to make such e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 24, 1992 Page 1 5:30 p.m. - . transfers easily. Mr. Viggiano said that, additionally, as the station is located on the street, the district has little control over its use and cannot prevent loitering. Mr. Billings added that the district has exhausted its spaces at peak hours and is at capacity in the current station site. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Viggiano said that the citizen advisory committee had ranked the McDonald Theater site first and the Interna- tional House of Pancakes second. Staff had ranked the sites in the opposite order. Responding to a question from Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Viggiano said that the International House of Pancakes site has received the most public opposition. Ms. Hocken said that the board received negative comments about all the sites considered. In response to a comment from Mr. Nicholson regarding the levels of pollutants released by diesel-burning buses, Mr. Viggiano said that the district will do an environmental assessment for each site, which would encompass air pollu- tion. He noted that there was a new standard for diesel engines that will take effect in 1994, which will result in less air pollution. In addition, the environmental assessment will address noise pollution to respond to City standards. Mr. Viggiano said there were several ways to mitigate noise at the proposed station. Responding to a question from Mr. Miller, Mr. Viggiano said that the district intends to develop a security plan for the selected site. ~ Mr. Nicholson asked for information about an average fare, and the percentage of the fare subsidized by the public. Mr. Viggiano said that the current per trip fare is about $2; about 20 percent of the fare is paid by the rider, while the rest is addressed through various subsidies. Mr. Nicholson asked if the board had considered the possibility that this algorithm was the wrong way to address public transportation. Mr. Nicholson asked how much the new station would cost. Mr. Viggiano anticipated a cost of between $8 million and $12 million. Mr. Nicholson asked how much annual earned income the district received from fares. Mr. Viggiano said that the district earned about $2,100,000 last year. Mr. Nicholson asked if there were any privately operated bus companies in the United States. Mr. Viggiano said he was aware of one private system serving a section of New Jersey. Ms. Loobey added that there may be other private commuter lines, but generally urban systems have gone public since 1945. Mr. Green asked about the district's plans for addressing the concerns of those living and working near the proposed sites. Ms. Loobey said that the district has met with such individuals in several different forums. There has been active participation at board meetings by neighbors. There have been proposals from neighbors of two of the four proposed sites to work together on the issues of most concern to those neighbors, such as security, noise pollution, and air pollution. . MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 24, 1992 Page 2 5:30 p.m. Mr. Boles asked about the advantages of the proposed sites to the shuttle e called for in the Central Area Transportation Study. Mr. Viggiano said that if the shuttle were feasible, it did not matter where the station was located. Mr. Miller asked how the district would mitigate the loss of parking at the proposed sites. Mr. Viggiano said that all four sites originally considered would result in the elimination of parking. He described how parking replace- ment might work at the McDonald Theater site in the form of structured parking adjacent to the site. Lew Bowers of the Planning and Development Department added that there were a variety of contingency parking options developed for both preferred sites. Mr. Nicholson asked if LTD would pay for the cost of replacing the lost parking. Mr. Viggiano said that there was an issue of damages for parking that in certain cases is paid in addition to the cost of land. He said that the issue at the McDonald Theater site was not clear due to the location of the property in a parking exempt lone, and there is no code-required parking. However, all the businesses adjacent to the lots at 10th Avenue and Olive Street use the parking there, and would be damaged if the parking is lost. Mr. Viggiano said that the issue had not been resolved. Responding to a question from Mr. Miller, City Manager Mike Gleason said that an appraisal of the property would have to recognize the damage of parking removal to satisfy the Federal government. Mr. Boles said he believed the district should consider a tradeout analysis e between the construction of structured parking contiguous to the station versus a combination of ordinances making it less attractive for employees to park downtown and the proposed shuttle system. He questioned whether the construction of both the transit station and structured parking for more cars reached the community's goals for alternative modes of transportation. Mr. Billings said that the district was willing to work cooperatively with the City in achieving those goals. Mr. Miller asked Ms. Loobey to describe mitigation strategies to respond to neighborhood concerns. Ms. Loobey said the district was awaiting the results of the environmental assessments to determine the necessary mitigation efforts. That assessment will suggest strategies to reduce or eliminate the impacts of the buses on the neighborhood. Ms. Loobey said that the district will investigate the mitigation efforts of other recently constructed transit stations, including those in Tacoma, Bellevue, and Santa Rosa. Additionally, the district will work proactively with the help of surrounding neighborhoods to produce a facility that is an asset for the community. Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Loobey said that the board was expected to make a decision on the preferred site folloWing the public hearing scheduled for January 20, 1993. Ms. Calvert maintained that the transit station would be a positive addition to downtown. She said that the district's facility in Glenwood illustrated e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 24, 1992 Page 3 5:30 p.m. the district's commitment to an attractive, quality transit station. She e asked the council to reaffirm its support for the district's efforts in seeking a site downtown. Mr. Boles said that the council's position on the station had not changed. The location of the station was driven by physical and fiscal realities. He said that the issue was how and where to place it downtown. Mr. Boles agreed that LTD had set a standard for public buildings in the community. He said that he believed there was a need to solve more than one problem at a time; the station would serve as a downtown anchor and was a means for the City to address Goal 12 issues and implement the Central Area Transportation Study. Mr. Miller agreed that the council was supportive of the district's efforts. Ms. Ehrman said the council had been interested in the topic for some years. She expressed regret over the difficulty of bringing projects online at the same time, such as reopening Olive Street, building a library, and building the station at the McDonald Theater site. Ms. Ehrman said that from her perspective, the city needed a downtown station. She said the council welcomed LTD's presence downtown and regarded the station as a lynchpin in downtown. Mr. Billings pointed out that the district's ability to place the station at the McDonald Theater site depended on the City's willingness to sell the district the two lots. He asked if the council had discussed the possibility of accepting an option from the district for the property to give the district some assurance that the site would be available. Mr. Miller said that the e council had not addressed that issue, but was willing to do so. Mr. Nicholson said that he believed it had been a mistake to proceed with the Olive Street reopening in a "nonintegrated" fashion, and he opposed proceeding with the transit station or the Ferry Street Bridge outside the context of TransPlan. He questioned whether the City was generating the "most model shift for the money" under the current approach. Mr. Nicholson recommended that the council start from "scratch" and stop using traditional solutions that do not have a good record of success. Mr. Boles said that the council could examine a "right of first refusal" that would preclude the sale of the property to any other entity, although the City might not sell the property to lTD. He said that the council needed to review an analysis of parking before it would be able to give the district an option on the property. Mr. Billings pointed out that membership on boards and councils change. He said he would not want to put the public to the expense of more analysis and public hearings if a majority of the council was adverse to the sale of the lots. Mr. Billings said that the district is looking for some commitment within the time frame it is working under. Mr. Green suggested that the council could direct the City Manager to develop the terms of an agreement regarding the property between the district and City. e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 24, 1992 Page 4 5:30 p.m. -', Mr. Nicholson clarified he was not opposed to the sites under consideration. . He suggested that the community consider rethinking how it could spend the money to achieve a real model shift. He believed that for the cost of the public subsidy the community could design a system that was more convenient and attracted more riders than currently used the bus. Ms. Hocken asked the council to begin to think about what type of information it needed and the type of discussion required so that it was prepared to answer the district if it sought an option on the McDonald Theater property. Mr. Brandt said he did not want to spend money on an environmental assessment without knowing the council's decision regarding the option. Mr. Miller said that it appeared that the board was desirous of more than the right of first refusal. He said that the key to the discussion was some assurance that the site would be available if it was selected by the board. Mr. Boles reiterated that the council needed a response to the questions it had submitted to the district at the meeting of June 24. He referred the board members to the agenda item summary, which included the council's questions. Mr. Nicholson suggested that the City consider making a contingent commitment to selling the site that depended upon the district's response to the council's questions. e Mr. Gleason summarized the discussion. He suggested that staff develop a process to address the multiplicity of issues for the council to consider. Ms. Ehrman maintained that the parking issue was one for the council to resolve. She suggested that the council examine parking issues related to the top two sites. Mr. Boles agreed, and said the council had instructed City staff to work with LTD staff on those issues two months previous. Mr. Gleason said that staff recommends a separate study of the integration of the shuttle issue and the transit station. Mr. Boles said that the shuttle issue was not independent of the parking issue. He said that the two issues must be considered in an integrated fashion. Responding to a question from Mr. Green, Mr. Billings said that the board would make a decision on the preferred site and alternative site on September 19. Mr. Nicholson favored developing contingent conditions prior to the board's site selection. Mr. Gleason said that the processes could be concurrent. After the preferred site is selected by the board, staff could discuss with the council under what conditions it would be willing to sell the site. That would avoid the unnecessary expenditure of dollars examining the site. e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 24, 1992 Page 5 5:30 p.m. - , Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Gleason said that the board will e need to analyze the data from CATS regarding the shuttle and decide whether it chooses to fund the shuttle. If the council's support of the site is contin- gent on the shuttle, it should be clear with the board that the shuttle is a threshold question. Regarding parking, Mr. Gleason said that the issue must be considered in terms of the entire city, not just the core. He agreed with Ms. Ehrman that parking was a council decision. Mr. Gleason said that he believed that the issues could be addressed by the council as the board proceeds with its site selection. Responding to a question from Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Gleason said that the Downtown Plan includes provision for a parking structure near the McDonald Theater. He added that the council may wish to re-examine that plan. Additionally, the council has requested an analysis of whether the shuttle helps solve the citywide parking problem. Mr. Nicholson stressed the need for an analysis of the parking issue and the implementation of the integrated approach favored by the council. Mr. Boles asked the board to consider if the district would be responsible for the street roadbed and signage costs related to a transit station. Ms. Loobey noted that those issues had been discussed at the Metropolitan Policy Commit- tee. There are some such expenses that are eligible for Federal funding and STP funds. Staff continues to work on those issues. Mr. Miller expressed appreciation to the board for its efforts. e The meeting adjourned at 7 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~ Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) cc53024.082 e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 24, 1992 Page 6 5:30 p.m.