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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 09/08/03 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall September 8, 2003 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Pap6, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Bonny Bettman, Gary Poling. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Jennifer Solomon. Mayor Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. Items from the Council, Mayor, and City Manager Ms. Bettman thanked the volunteers who attended the City's annual volunteer appreciation event and thanked staff for organizing the event. She also thanked the band and commended the weather. Ms. Taylor said she read that Sanipac was going to require subscribers to have another large-sized container for comingled recycling. She had concerns about that because she believed people were having difficulty finding space for recycling containers, the yard debris bin, and garbage cans. She asked how the situation came about, and suggested the City should have a say in the issue as she anticipated citizen complaints. Mr. Poling agreed with Ms. Bettman's comments, saying one did not realize how many volunteers there were until they were gathered in one place. He encouraged other citizens to participate when they could. Mr. Pap6 said that he nearly had an accident at the intersection of the Washington-Jefferson Bridge and encouraged City Manager Dennis Taylor to step up City traffic enforcement efforts at that location. Mr. Pap6 inquired about the status of his inquiry on regulating racoons. Mary Walston, City Manager's Office, indicated that the State passed legislation allowing local jurisdictions to address problem racoons. Mr. Pap6 indicated he would request a work session on the topic. Mr. Pap6 asked about the progress made in scheduling a work session to discuss the airport. Mr. Taylor indicated that he had sent inquiries to the surrounding communities and counties and was awaiting their responses. He had also met with regional managers to discuss the topic. When he received responses to his inquiries, he would return to the council. Mr. Pap6 wanted to see a work session scheduled before the end of the calendar year. Mr. Pap6 indicated he would also request a work session on fire districts. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 1 Work Session Ms. Nathanson said that a concert in the park had been held at Churchill Park, which was a very good event. However, the park was not signed to let people know that it was a public park. She suggested a sign that read ~welcome to your neighborhood park" to let people know it was not just school property. Ms. Nathanson asked the manager about the consistency of City logos and the future of those logos. Mr. Taylor indicated the City had standards for its logos, and the executive team had discussed the need to control the use of logos that took away from the overall image of the City. Several new logos had been developed over the past few years that were not consistent with the policy, but City staff had recommitted to the policy, which he offered to share with Ms. Nathanson. Mr. Meisner joined in the thanks of Ms. Bettman and Mr. Poling to the volunteers and City staff who organized the event. Mr. Meisner shared Mr. Papa's concern about the intersection at the Washington-Jefferson Bridge, noting that although conditions had actually improved somewhat in recent years, it was still a dangerous intersection. Mr. Meisner joined in Mr. Papa's request for a work session on fire districts. He suggested it might be too late for a metropolitan district given that Springfield was considering its own district. He said that such discussions needed to be more timely. Mr. Kelly joined in the thanks of other councilors for the well-organized volunteer appreciation event and said he enjoyed his conversations with many City volunteers. Mr. Kelly said that many communities had moved to comingled recycling. He had received calls from constituents living on steep hills, who did not think they could move the proposed 90-gallon container up their driveway. He requested staff examination of whether a substitute size container could be used. Mr. Kelly suggested that a discussion of fire districts could coincide with Chief Tallon's report on staff deployment. Mayor Torrey indicated that Ms. Solomon was absent but would be present at the later meeting. Ms. Bettman thanked the organizers of the march and rally commemorating the Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ~I Have a Dream" speech. She appreciated their efforts and said she heard nothing but wonderful things about the event from residents. She thought the event contributed to the recent renaming of Centennial Boulevard to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Regarding the comingling of recyclables, Ms. Taylor said she was concerned about the loss of employment as the pickup was automated. She also thought that people would be tempted to add newspapers to the container, which would hurt the efforts of the Eugene Mission. City Manager Taylor indicated he was disappointed that he was unable to share the name of the next police chief with the council as the selected candidate had withdrawn. He assured the council that the current police chief had his full confidence. He said he had asked Acting Chief Thad Buchanan to begin to address some of the internal staffing issues that had been postponed MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 2 Work Session during the recruitment and hiring process. He said Chief Buchanan assured him that he would serve until another candidate was selected. Mr. Pap6 expressed hope that the City did not take Chief Buchanan for granted. He said he understood the department was having trouble attracting recruits, and asked about the status of that effort. Mr. Taylor said that the City had no trouble getting recruits, but did have trouble getting its candidates through the academy. He stressed the importance of maintaining high standards, and said that it took some time to get good candidates. He did not know when the next wave of officers would be on the street, and said he had asked Chief Buchanan to discuss ways to ease the burden on patrol and still meet the demand for service. Mayor Torrey shared Mr. Papa's concerns about the Washington-Jefferson Bridge and his particular concern about the Jefferson Street off-ramp, which he believed would be the site of a bad accident at some point. He asked that something be done. Mayor Torrey asked Mr. Heuser to contact Andrea Fogue of the League of Oregon Cities about the new school zone speeding rules and regulations recently enacted by the State legislature and their impact on the community. Mayor Torrey recalled the pedestrian fatality at North Eugene High School the previous year, and the subsequent community meeting regarding potential solutions to problems with speeding in the vicinity. Nothing had been accomplished, and he asked City Manager Taylor to follow-up on the ideas generated at the community meeting as to what the City could do in terms of lowering the speed limit near the school. Mayor Torrey asked what the City was going to do with the historic building on the AgriPac site. City Manager Taylor said that staff was investigating viable redevelopment or relocation options for the building. Mayor Torrey encouraged councilors to view the demolished site. B. Work Session: Discussion of 2003 Legislative Session Intergovernmental Relations Manager Jason Heuser was present for the item. City Manager Taylor expressed appreciation for the work of Mr. Heuser and his staff, and for the work of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR). Mr. Heuser recognized the team effort involved in the legislative process and thanked the members of the CCIGR for its guidance and availability. He commended the team of legislative coordinators and said staff's analysis had benefited both the League of Cities and the City of Portland. Mr. Heuser indicated that despite reports to the contrary, the legislature had accomplished a great deal. Issues around the country were similar to those faced by Oregon, and times were difficult for most states. He said that an economic turnaround was needed for things to improve. Mr. Heuser reviewed key issues from the legislative session and briefly described the legislation that was adopted to address those issues. Key issues included Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) reform, collective bargaining, transportation funding, regional law enforcement MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 3 Work Session training programs, local enforcement of federal immigration laws (the 181 statutes), and State shared revenues. Mr. Heuser invited questions. Mayor Torrey thanked Mr. Meisner and the members of the CCIGR for their work. He called for a first round of council comments and questions. Mr. Meisner commended this year's legislative process. He said that he had been approached by legislators and lobbyists who commended the City's staff for its work. Regarding the session, he suggested that Eugene had ~'dodged a bullet" by not being a target for the State legislature this year. Mr. Meisner thanked Mr. Pap~ and Mr. Kelly, members of the CCIGR, for their work. Mr. Meisner thanked the council for its letter in support of rail funding, noting that operational money had been preserved and he was sure funding for rail improvements could be found without a special session. Mr. Meisner noted that the revenue bill included a reduction in the discount for early payment of property tax, which affected the City. The amount was reduced from 3 percent to 1-1/2 percent. Staff was working on an analysis of the expected revenue. Mr. Meisner said that the issues facing the legislature in terms of PERS and the revenue package that legislators were too busy to do damage in other areas. Ms. Bettman asked if any progress had been made in closing "luxury loopholes" in the tax code. Mr. Heuser said very little progress had been made. The legislature took one small tax credit off the books. He anticipated that the legislature would appoint a tax force to examine the tax code and make recommendations on tax reform. A recommendation would be made around May 31, 2003, and the legislature would meet in a special session. Mr. Heuser believed that the legislature had avoided the issue because of the many other contentious issues that had to be resolved. Ms. Bettman asked the total fiscal year's budget for transportation at the State level, and its percentage of the entire budget. Mr. Heuser indicated he would follow up as he did not know. Ms. Bettman said she understood that the transportation bill would create 5,000 new jobs, and she asked how that figure was calculated, and if the jobs were new jobs for Oregon employees or if they would be filled by skilled out-of-state workers. Mr. Kelly concurred with the remarks of Mr. Meisner regarding the quality of the staff support received by the committee, and thanked staff. Mr. Kelly asked if anyone had estimated a time line for the litigation related to PERS to be resolved. Mr. Heuser said that the legislation had a clause "fast-tracking" it, and he hoped the issue would be addressed by the State Supreme Court within twelve months. He suggested that it was in the interest of all parties to get the issue resolved as soon as possible. Mr. Pap~ also thanked staff for its support. He also thanked the local legislative delegation, which had been responsive to his calls. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Pap6 determined from Mr. Heuser he was not familiar with the funding details related to Measure 29. Mr. Pap6 requested more information. Mr. Heuser said that he would provide more details. Mr. Pap6 noted the successful passage of a transient room tax increase to fund tourism-related marketing. He thought the local area would benefit. Mr. Heuser noted that the bill created some preemptive language related to local authority. Seventy percent of any increase would have to be dedicated to tourism-related purposes; thirty percent could be used for other purposes. Mr. Heuser commended representatives Phil Barnhart and Pat Fart for their work in crafting definitions in the bill that allowed the Hult Center and Lane County Fairgrounds to qualify for the funding. Ms. Nathanson thanked Mr. Heuser for his efforts related to State legislation regarding police training, saying that it was necessary for the community to be able to integrate its local standards and needs into police training. She also wanted to eliminate duplication of cost and effort, noting that the State not only did not provide some types of training but required the City to use its facilities. Mr. Meisner also commended the local legislative delegation, saying it had been very helpful to Eugene. The delegation was unified in supporting the City's positions on almost all issues, and that support crossed party lines. Mr. Meisner said the increase in the transient lodging tax was not local but State-imposed. The one-percent increase would create and fund a State Tourism Commission. It would not be included in any referendum. In addition, the tax did not include restaurants. Ms. Taylor asked about Oregon's relative position in terms of the tax burden borne by its residents. Mr. Heuser said that Eugene's tax burden was fairly low among states, but he was unsure of the exact rank. Ms. Taylor asked Mr. Heuser if the reduction in the discount for early property tax payment would actually help. Mr. Heuser indicated he did not know. The details were being worked out by the State, and he understood that there was a legal challenge facing the legislation. He indicated he could provide some information developed by staff regarding the legislation. Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Heuser confirmed that nothing happened to the State kicker. It was possible it would be addressed in the special session. Mayor Torrey also commended Mr. Heuser and his staff and said they should feel good about what they had accomplished. Mayor Torrey noted that a legal validation bill was passed during the session. Such legislation would have avoided the legal costs incurred by the City during its attempt to install sewers in the River Road/Santa Clara area. Mayor Torrey commended the work of representatives Robert Ackerman and Pat Fart. Mayor Torrey regretted the legislation's failure to adequately fund education funding. He said that the legislature would not look at the true costs of educating Oregon's children, and the longer MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 5 Work Session that issue was postponed the worse the situation would get. He said that if the legislature did not meet the challenge, it would continue to lose credibility among the voters. City Manager Taylor indicated that Mr. Heuser would prepare a report on the recent session and would be available to answer questions. Mr. Pap~ asked that the report include recommendations for improvements to the committee process as well as a discussion of what went well. C. Work Session: Disposition of Westmoreland School Property The council was joined for the item by Public Works Director Kurt Corey and Planning and Development Director Tom Coyle. Mr. Corey reminded the council that the 4J School District was closing several schools and disposing of several existing school sites as surplus property, including the Westmoreland School. He said that during the summer, staff provided the council with information about those sites, and that information was included in the Agenda Item Summary. Mr. Corey called the council's attention to a map showing the Eugene parks service areas and school service areas. He noted that Barb Bellamy and John Lauch from 4J School District were also available to answer questions. Mayor Torrey called for council comments and questions. Ms. Bettman believed that the issue went beyond the immediate site and touched on the subject of the 4J sites, in addition to other infill opportunities in the urban core, as they related to the City's growth management policies, which called for higher densities. She said that the district intended to sell part of the site to the City to landbank for high-density low-income development. She assumed that 4J would use the residual and rezone it for higher-density housing or mixed use and then sell it, so at some point the entire site would be developed for high densities. As that occurred, the neighborhood would be burdened with such things as congestion and an amenity in the form of the open space created by the school use would be lost. She agreed the City should densify and do infill development, but contended that initially, the City had considered design standards and amenities that enhanced those higher densities to ensure such developments were community enhancements. Ms. Bettman suggested that the City convert part of the property into a neighborhood park to serve the area south of 18th Avenue, or consider developing a pocket park as a compromise with the district, wherein both parties donated a half-acre of each parcel. She said that residents of high-density developments, particularly children, needed a place to recreate. She maintained that children living in the high-density developments would be attracted to the inadequate sidewalks and the street, potentially leading to an accident. Mr. Kelly wanted to ensure the council gave clear direction to staff. He believed that the subject before the council was related to how the community did infill development to achieve higher densities and satisfy other community goals related to transportation and employment. He said the surplus school sites presented the council with potentially the largest infill projects it would see. If that occurred, the development should be done right to demonstrate that it could be done. He looked to Mr. Coyle for specific ideas on how that could be accomplished. He noted that Growth Management Policy 9 discussed the need to mitigate the impact of high-density and infill MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 6 Work Session developments using design standards, open space, etc., and few of those elements were currently in place. Mr. Kelly noted that in his July staff response to the council, Mr. Coyle discussed the importance of master site planning to quality development, and he asked Mr. Coyle how master site planning would %ome into play" on the Westmoreland property. He questioned how the City could be involved in the master planning process if the property was sold to a single developer. Mr. Coyle suggested that one way would be to buy the land, which the City would be doing by landbanking the property. The development would be developer-driven, whether done by District 4J or a private developer. Staff would apply the council's growth management policies as well as other design criteria associated with private development to the development application. Mr. Kelly believed that a developer-driven project would not be required to have significant open space. He asked if a planned unit development (PUD) overlay could be applied to the property to ensure that happened. He noted that the ordinance adopting the City's growth management policies specifically precluded the City from using them to make a particular decision about a land use application. Mr. Kelly questioned how the City could get quality development that would result from the master planning process if the developer had the right to develop the entire property at R-3 densities. Ms. Taylor hoped the school district would feel the need and obligation to help preserve open space for the rest of the community, given the assistance it received from the City for sports fields. She thought that selling the property created both an opportunity and a threat to existing open space created by the presence of schools in a neighborhood. She said that ideally, all the surplus schools would become recreation centers. She hoped that they did not merely become dense residential developments as too much density took away from the quality of life. Ms. Taylor suggested that the district might need the properties again in the future for new residents and that they be used as recreation centers until needed as schools again. Ms. Nathanson spoke to the general issue of disposing of school properties. She recalled that she had tried to raise it as a policy issue at one point in the past. The council invited the school districts to join it in a general discussion about site disposition. However, that effort did not move forward for a variety of reasons, and then the districts were no longer interested in continuing the discussion. She regretted that. She had also been interested in joint management of school property so that it could be used for multiple purposes. However, for a variety of reasons many school properties seemed to be more internal in nature and not oriented toward the neighborhood. She hoped that discussion occurred at some time. Ms. Nathanson also hoped the City could collaborate more closely with the districts in the future. She noted the recent coordination that had occurred and suggested that the City and districts had success to work from. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap6, Mr. Coyle confirmed that the City Code had open space requirements for multi-family developments. The market also drove the creation of open space. He said that the City charged multi-family developments a parks systems development charge (SDC) to offset the impact of the demand created by new development. He said that the SDC was incorporated into the Parks and Open Space Plan to address the needs of the community. Mr. Pap6 did not see how the proposal fit into the City's planning for parks in the long-term He said that it was not possible for all the school sites to become open spaces and at the same time address the need to accommodate additional density. He said that if the site did not fit with the MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 7 Work Session City's plans but another did, the City should put its dollars where it fit in with other priorities. Mr. Pap6 did not think the proposal met the City's goals. Mr. Meisner said that as valuable as the growth management policies were, it was difficult for him to apply them to a site in isolation. The idea sounded appealing, but when he viewed the map of resources in the area, they seemed well-balanced. He did not know how the site fit into the broader context and said he looked forward to the completion of the Parks and Open Space update process. He reiterated that it was difficult to look at the site in isolation and contemplate the best future use for the site. Mayor Torrey said that the center of the city was moving north and west. When one viewed the map, it was clear where the City lacked parks, and it was not in the area under discussion. The City had limited dollars to do parks development. Mayor Torrey indicated he was not supportive of pocket parks, noting that one of the City's pocket parks had become an attractive nuisance and had been closed for years, and another pocket park was continually patrolled by police. Mayor Torrey suggested that if the property was not owned by the schools, the council would not be having the discussion. Mayor Torrey believed the City received more benefit from the sports fields at the schools in several areas of the community than the district had received. Eugene could not have found the land the district had been able to provide. He said that if the City was to buy new park lands, it should go to those places where parks were needed the most. He indicated support for the staff position. Mayor Torrey called for a second round of comments. Ms. Bettman said that because of the change of use and zoning, the City had the opportunity to enhance the livability of the urban core with a pocket park. She acknowledged that there were near-by regional park facilities but said that a pocket park close by to serve residents of the high- density development would be very useful so that residents did not have to travel one half-mile by bus or car to reach a park. She did not believe that met the council's intent when it discussed including amenities and design standards with such developments. Ms. Bettman asked if the council could give policy direction to staff to testify at a public hearing for a zone change that the zone change was in the best interest of the cities and explaining how higher densities would be accommodated. If the zone change was granted, it could be conditioned on the inclusion of such an amenity. Mr. Coyle reported that there would be elements of what Ms. Bettman desired in the new multi- family development for recreational use. Ms. Bettman asked how he knew that would occur. Mr. Coyle responded he knew that because the City would be the developer. The City would, in that role, ensure that recreational facilities were included on site. The affordable housing project would have open space. It would be private open space, but it would serve the same function as a pocket park. City Manager Taylor noted the City's contradictory polices related to parks development and residential development. In general, the City did not support the development of pocket parks, or "mini-neighborhood parks" as they were known in the Parks and Open Space Plan, and it was already budgetarily constrained to support the existing park system. When looking at the larger MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 8 Work Session community, it was clear that some areas were under-served, and there was only so much money dedicated to parks acquisition. He said that staff analyzed all the surplus school properties to evaluate their potential, and in the case of this site, staff did not recommend it for acquisition as a mini neighborhood park. Mr. Kelly expressed frustration that the discussion was not a conversation on how to work with the districts on maximizing the reuse of its properties. He said that the conversation was not about making the entire property a park or an apartment development. Mr. Kelly wanted to do density right, and he wanted to know what tools the City had to accomplish that goal. He said that SDCs were an important tool but they were not spent in a site-specific manner but instead were allocated to projects through the community. The SDC did not support neighborhood building. Mr. Kelly asked if there was anything in the City Code that required a planned unit development overlay to be placed on the part of the property that would be privately developed. He noted that the code counted things such as parkways and landscaped areas as private open space, which was not necessarily suitable for recreational uses. Mr. Coyle said there was no code requirement for a planned unit development. In terms of recreational uses, he said that hardscape was considered a recreational amenity. It was walked on and provided access. People used hardscape to walk to, for example, their barbeques. He said that open space requirements were embedded in various parts of the code, sometimes in the form of floor area ratios and sometimes in the form of setbacks. The goal was to provide a certain degree ofnonbuilt area that represented open space. Mr. Kelly said that if he pointed to a sidewalk and asked the man on the street if they considered it open space, he doubted the answer would be yes. Ms. Nathanson spoke to the Parks and Open Space Plan update process, saying that the advisory committee formed for the update had inventoried what the City already had and discussed what it wanted in the future and would soon discuss what the community could afford. She anticipated that the committee would discuss funding issues in light of the recent Parks and Open Space bond and examine various funding opportunities. The committee had goals for open space to relieve density and for riparian values. There was a need for neighborhood parks and play areas. She was concerned the wish list would be very long and the City would need to look carefully at the distribution of resources and meet the needs of each neighborhood. That was a matter of both distances and the locations of streets and parks. She said that a meeting was scheduled this week and the committee would continue to meet in the future. Mr. Pap6 acknowledged Mr. Kelly's concerns but said he thought the council needed to consider the site in the context of the existing plan. He wished to ensure that all areas of the community were fully served. He did not want money that could benefit his under-served ward to be used for a park in the area in question. Mr. Pap6 suggested that the City could consider code changes that reached the goal of having private open space, but he did not want to over-regulate what a private developer might do in terms of amenities on their properties. Mr. Pap6 pointed out that the school district had a different mission than the City. The school board had a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers rather than a responsibility to forward City policies. That was the council's job. He said that the two districts were squeezed and needed to maximize their resources. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 9 Work Session Ms. Bettman observed that it did not appear there were votes to mitigate the impact of the anticipated high-density proposal. She said that the situation in question was not typical. The developers were not developing already-zoned property well-served with parks within walking distance. The land was zoned for public use and was not zoned for housing. In exchange for changing the zoning, the City should request the amenity. She believed that residents did not want density because the council was unwilling to do anything to mitigate the impact. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Papd about the need to keep the proposal in context of the plan. He liked the idea of revising the code so that the development of market-rate housing included some true common open space as opposed to a sidewalk. He preferred publicly maintained parks, but acknowledged the City's fiscal constraints. Mr. Kelly did not think the City was treating the school district differently from another entity. He said that he would want the same conversation if the property was privately owned. The City had to figure out how to do infill with amenities. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to have staff return to the City Council with specific ideas of how the Land Use Code Update, Land Use Code Update amendments, and collaboration with property owners can lead to quality neighborhood development on significant infill sites. Mayor Torrey called for comments on the motion. Ms. Bettman spoke in favor of the motion, saying that it reflected Mr. Papa's expressed willingness to consider how to amend the code to include more requirements related to open space. She thought it possible the motion could give the City the tools it needed. Mr. Meisner asked what Mr. Kelly meant by %ignificant" sites. Mr. Kelly said he was envisioning a parcel that accommodated dozens of new units but he did not want to specify an acreage. Mr. Meisner noted that many units could be placed on a few acres in a high-rise situation. Mr. Meisner asked how the motion would fit into the list of priority work plan items. Mr. Coyle said that staff had a very deep queue of work and it was running late on the Downtown Plan. City Manager Taylor reminded the council that the Planning Commission was currently working on a project designed to make infill more attractive, and thought that the commission would probably recommend things that the motion sought to elicit. Ms. Nathanson said she appreciated the intent of the motion but would not support it because of the comments of the manager about the commission's efforts. She did not think the motion was necessary as the commission had an approved work plan that she believed included the tasks reflected in the motion. Mr. Kelly said that Mr. Coyle's points about the commission's work item was well-taken, but the motion was focused on staff input. He thought the value of the motion was that it got the planning professionals on record. Their ideas did not have to be fully developed. He had not suggested a time line in the motion as he anticipated the work could be done before or after the commission's report to the council. He was frustrated that after five years the council still did not have information about how to achieve its growth management goals. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 10 Work Session Mayor Torrey determined that the motion would not preclude the district from applying for a zone change. Mayor Torrey solicited a second round of comments on the motion. Mr. Meisner asked that staff request the Planning Commission to specifically consider the issue under discussion when discussing how to alleviate the impact of infill and higher densities. Ms. Bettman asked if the City had applied for a zone change on the property, or if the district would apply for the zone change. Mr. Coyle did not know, and added that no application for a zone change had been made. Mr. Lauch indicated that the application would be made after the 4J School Board took final action on the surplus properties on September 11. He said that the district intended to apply for a zone change to R-2, Medium-Density Residential, concurrent with an application for a minor partition to split the property into two parcels. Mr. Lauch said that if the district changed the zone on the entire parcel no further action from the City would be required. Ms. Bettman asked if the price would be increased if the zone change was done. Mr. Lauch noted that the City was required to pay the market rate for the property. Ms. Bettman suggested that timing could be a costly issue for the City and asked the City Manager to let her know if the City had any options in that area. Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson indicated that the property was designated in the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Plan for medium-density use, and the City anticipated it would buy R-2 property. Mr. Coyle indicated that the underlying land use designation was considered by appraisers when they fixed the price of the land. Mr. Poling said he supported holding a work session on the topic because a similar situation had come up in his ward. He had wanted to know what options were available, and what was going on. Given the commission's efforts, the ongoing parks planning process, and the building requirements for affordable housing, he did not think action by the council was warranted at this time. The motion failed, 4:3; Mr. Kelly, Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Bettman voted yes. Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 11 Work Session