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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 09/08/03 Mtg MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--City Hall September 8, 2003 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Papd, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Nancy Nathanson, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon. Mayor James Torrey called the meeting to order. 1. CEREMONIAL MATTERS · Presentation of Award from American Public Works Association Mayor Torrey called forward Public Works Department Director Kurt Corey to announce the award the department had received. Mr. Corey called the American Public Works Association (APWA) the "brand name in public works." He said the association had more than 27,000 members internationally and represented public agencies, private sector owners, and individuals, all dedicated to the provision of high quality public works goods and services. He stated that each year the APWA recognized outstanding achievements representing the best of the public works profession. He announced, with pleasure, that the APWA had awarded the Eugene Public Works Department the Exceptional Performance Award for journalism at the association's international congress on August 25, 2003. He related that the award had been given for the Take a Closer Look public outreach campaign, which helped the community understand the condition and needs of the transportation infrastructure. He noted that the campaign had also won the Communicator Award of Distinction, the Silver Axiom Award for excellence in electronic media, and the Telly Award for video excellence. He stressed that the award was a testament to community leaders because it showed that the City of Eugene was a leader in the challenging area of preserving the transportation system. Mr. Corey acknowledged Eric Jones, who received the award in San Diego, and Robert Lewis, of Metro Television, who assisted in putting the video portion of the campaign together. He noted that the president of the Oregon chapter of the APWA had called the story familiar and had commended the campaign for highlighting the impacts to public safety that a lack of road maintenance creates, of addressing the difficulties entailed in trying to maintain the public infrastructure in fiscally challenging times, and for offering creative solutions to the problems. In closing, Mr. Corey invited all those present to take a closer look at 18th Avenue by Churchill High School, 29th Avenue west of Willamette Street, and at Echo Hollow Road by Willamette High School. He stated that the projects demonstrated the department's involvement in proactive educational outreach. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 1 Regular Meeting Mayor Torrey congratulated the Public Works Department. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Kathy Ging, 2878 Harris Street, invited all present to attend a live music benefit for the Woods family on Friday, September 12 at the Woodsmen of the World Hall (WOW Hall). Ms. Ging explained that she had come to call the attention of the City Council to "regular use of heavy paramilitary tactics by police and narcotics officers." She alleged that a raid had been conducted on a rural property on June 5, because a delivery person had mistaken tomato plants for marijuana plants. She said that the raid had included a full SWAT team response and that officers had pointed assault weapons at a mother residing at the house. She related that she had spoken to more than 100 businesses while soliciting donations for the silent auction to benefit the defense fund for the family and all had expressed outrage at "the misuse of tax dollars for victimless crimes." She stated that, in the previous week, eight cars had been vandalized in south Eugene at an apartment building but, when called, the Eugene Police Department (EPD) had refused to take fingerprints, saying that it would cost too much. Ms. Ging suggested that members of the EPD be required to take urine analysis (UA) drug tests. In closing, Ms. Ging asked the City Council to meet with County officials regarding the incident to "stop this persecution." She asserted that the Woods property was now threatened with confiscation. She noted that properties of murderers and rapists were not subject to confiscation. Janetta Overholser, 30300 Cottage Grove Lorane Road, Cottage Grove, spoke as a representative of the Humane Society of Cottage Grove. She stated her concern regarding the lack of funding for the cattery portion of the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority (LCARA). She noted that she had e-mailed all of the councilors information from the last meeting of the task force that had been convened by the County to address the issue. She related that Judge Sinclair had educated the task force on cases coming before the court involving the inhumane disposal of cats and kittens. She said that a litter of kittens had allegedly been bludgeoned to death with a hammer. She blamed the lack of funding for an increase in such incidences. She stressed the importance of having a safe place to take stray and abandoned cats. Ms. Overholser emphasized the connection between cruelty to animals and cruelty to people, stating that indifference to animal suffering could lead to an increase in criminal behavior. Ms. Overholser suggested that funding could be obtained through a surcharge on athletic events. She remarked that the cost for one box seat cost could pay for the cattery. She asked the council to please reconsider the issue. Sean Liebling, 2441 Fillmore Street, recounted his recent experience of being a victim of theft. He explained that, two weeks prior, his car had been broken into while parked in the Spencer's Butte parking lot and his belongings and $4,000 had been stolen. He related that EPD had not been able to help him and had advised him to come to the station and fill out a report. He then spent his time locating the perpetrator MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 2 Regular Meeting and was successful. He said that the man was booked on 40 counts of burglary and had been arrested seven times in the last year for similar crimes, but was released less than 48 hours later due to the Lane County jail's matrix system. He asserted that the perpetrator was likely breaking into cars while the City Council was meeting. Mr. Liebling said that he hoped to bring this to the attention of the council for two reasons: 1) to motivate the City to consider increasing the police presence or installing some sort of security, such as a camera system or security guards, in the Spencer's Butte parking lot; and 2) to ask the council to speak out against the matrix system as it currently is implemented. Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, related that, though the library building had cost $35 million, the pay phone was located outside the building. He felt that a person using the pay phone would be vulnerable to the elements and possible harm at the hands of people with less than good intentions. He also was concerned that the symbols on the control panel in the elevator were not easy to comprehend. Continuing, Mr. Miller recommended that the Board of Commissioner's interview process and other civic exercises be videotaped as an educational tool for school students. Mayor Torrey closed the Public Forum and invited comments from councilors. Councilor Meisner suggested that Mr. Liebling approach the County Commissioners regarding the matrix system, as it was a County system and not under the jurisdiction of the City. He asked the City Manager if it would be possible to deploy volunteer patrol staff to the Spencer's Butte parking lot. Councilor Meisner called the lack of funding for the cattery a %erious problem." He reiterated that the City could not be responsible for rural services. He noted that the City had looked into the possibility of a tax or surcharge on University athletic events to support youth athletic programs several years earlier and had discovered that such a financing mechanism could only be enacted through an amendment by the State Legislature. Councilor Pap~ expressed appreciation for Mr. Liebling's testimony. He noted that the EPD currently had vacancies and could use someone with the ability that Mr. Liebling had displayed. He reiterated Mr. Meisner's suggestion that he take his testimony before the Board of County Commissioners. Councilor Nathanson noted that she had requested information from the finance manager several weeks earlier on the budget. She said that this information would be presented to the council in the next few weeks and that it would be better known at that time whether the council would have any tools to address the cattery issue. Councilor Nathanson asked, in regard to the testimony on the car theft, if staff could provide a brief memorandum on the effectiveness of video surveillance. Councilor Kelly thanked Mr. Liebling for bringing his story before the council. He agreed that the matrix system and how it was administered had a variety of problems. He thought that the potential use of volunteer patrols could greatly benefit the area and requested further information regarding this possibility from staff. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 3 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman congratulated Mr. Liebling for catching the perpetrator of the crime committed against him. She also recommended that Mr. Liebling consider applying to the EPD, adding that the Police Commission was currently looking for new members as well. She said, regarding the issues brought up by Ms. Ging and Mr. Liebling, that there was a formal complaint process for the EPD. She encouraged Mr. Liebling to come and speak at the Police Commission meeting scheduled for September 11. Councilor Taylor regretted that the council could not solve all of the problems that were presented by members of the public. She noted that her car had been broken into at recreational spots and she had found it infuriating. Councilor Taylor felt that the cattery was an issue that the council could resolve. She called it a matter of being humane, a matter of decency, and a part of a civilized society to take care of animals as well as people who are helpless. She hoped that City officials could meet with County officials and work toward a resolution. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - July 23, 2003, Work Session - July 23, 2003, Process Session - July 28, 2003, Work Session - July 28, 2003, City Council Meeting B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4774 Authorizing the Institution of Proceedings in Eminent Domain for the Acquisition of Property Interests (TL100, 102, 103 on Tax Map 17- 03-28-14) for the Proposed Construction of Garden Way from Sisters View Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and the North Side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Marche Chase Drive to 1-5 D. Adoption of Resolution 4775 of the City of Eugene, Oregon, Authorizing the Financing of Fire Station #11 E. Approval of Initiation of Amendments to the Land Use Code to Allow Concurrent Processing with Citizen-Initiated Amendments to Willakenzie Area Plan Council President Papd moved, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Councilor Kelly stated that he had submitted corrections to the minutes electronically. Mayor Torrey, noting no objections, deemed the corrections approved. Councilor Bettman said that she had submitted corrections to the minutes by e-mail. She pulled items D MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 4 Regular Meeting and E. Mayor Torrey, seeing no objection, deemed her corrections approved. Councilor Taylor noted that Milton Park had been misspelled on page 2, paragraph 3, of the minutes from the work session held on July 28. Councilor Poling said he had submitted corrections to the minutes electronically. Mayor Torrey, noting no objections, deemed the corrections approved. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar, excepting items D and E, passed unanimously, 8:0. Regarding Item D, having to do with the adoption of Resolution 4775, authorizing the financing of Fire Station # 11, Councilor Bettman noted that she was very supportive of the fire station, but had not voted for the motion because she objected to the diversion of money from funds used to pay the wages of firefighters. She asserted that the City Council had determined what funding sources to use and that these sources were not apparent in the resolution. She questioned how much the resolution would tie the organization to the sources of funds that had been previously identified. Sue Cutsogeorge, financial analysis manager, responded that the financing plan approved by the council had identified several funding sources and that the resolution before the council in the Consent Calendar only dealt with one part of the financing package. She said that the remainder of the funding package would be included in the Supplemental Budget # 1 (SB 1) when it came before the council in December. Mayor Torrey called for the vote on Item D. Roll call vote; the motion to approve Item D on the Consent Calendar passed unani- mously, 8:0. Councilor Bettman stated, regarding Item E, that it was an approval of concurrent processing of Land Use Code changes with citizen-initiated amendments to the Willakenzie Plan. She noted that the idea was intended to streamline the process. Teresa Bishow, Senior Planner for the Planning and Development Department, affirmed this to be so. Councilor Bettman registered her objection to the concurrent processing of the two changes, stating that this would presuppose that both would pass, when it would be possible that only one would pass. She felt it would give the message to the public that they need not participate in this process as the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Councilor Kelly asked for clarification as to whether it would be possible for the two independent changes to have opposite outcomes. Ms. Bishow responded that, legally, it would be possible, but it would not be the %est course of action." She explained the Willakenzie Plan policy prohibiting clinics had been the first privately initiated change. She stressed that the City wanted its Land Use Code to always be consistent with adopted plans. She said that the Land Use Code needed to be changed because it specifically prohibited clinics. She noted that both processes would require the Planning Commission to forward a recommendation to the council. In response to a comment from Councilor Bettman, Ms. Bishow stated that the amendments would bring a high degree of efficiency to the process. Councilor Bettman asserted that it would be a non-efficiency MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 5 Regular Meeting should one change go through and the other not. Mayor Torrey called for the vote. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Bettman and Taylor voting in oppo- sition. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 9 of the Eugene Code Regarding Hospital and Related Medical Uses; and Adopting a Severability Clause City Manager Taylor called for Planning and Development Department Director Tom Coyle to introduce the subject. Mr. Coyle explained that the item had come before the council subsequent to council initiation of a code amendment in April of this year to reconsider the zone districts that provide for hospital uses in the City of Eugene. He stated that the Planning Commission had discussed the proposed code amendment extensively and had come up with an option to propose (Attachment A). He noted the Planning Commission would limit the area in which a hospital could be constructed in to an area within a two-mile radius of the downtown core and would not include residential zones. He related that the second option had been generated by members of the public and would allow much discretion as it would require City approval (or denial) of development of a hospital on a site-by-site basis. The third option listed in the agenda item summary (ALS) was the staff recommendation, which would be to review the existing districts in which hospitals had been allowed. He said there was a comparison in the staff packet of the impacts of a hospital to a high school in terms of traffic, parking, and other things one would traditionally think of as impacts. He encouraged the council to fairly assess the different options that were presented, but noted that the draft ordinance included in the packet had been drafted from the staff recommendation. Mr. Coyle indicated that Planning Commission President Charles Rusch was present to respond to questions. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Charles Rusch, President of the Eugene Planning Commission, 99 West 10th Avenue, explained that the commission had found the staff recommendation to be minimal and somewhat lacking and had agreed to provide a recommendation of greater depth. He asserted that the staff recommendation encouraged development of a hospital at the edges of the City where green fields were plentiful but the population of the City was more scarce. He related the Planning Commission's concern that lives would be lost because of the distance traveled to the hospital. Another conclusion reached by the commission was that, should the hospital be located north of the river and should a disaster such as an earthquake compromise the system of bridges, the safety of those citizens residing to the south of the river would be jeopardized. He said changing the zoning code would make it easier to locate a hospital but would not make it more likely. He averred that a hospital would only locate in the City of Eugene when City representatives could sit down with a hospital board. To that end, he related the commission's recommendation to form and empower a negotiating committee and to set up geographic constraints to encourage location of the hospital ;;where the people are," e.g. within a two-mile radius of the population center of Eugene and southwest of the river. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 6 Regular Meeting He stressed that the commission felt that hospitals did not belong in R-l, R-1.5, and C-1 zones, but that the commission was in basic agreement with the matrix. He referred the council to the full Planning Commis- sion report contained in the council packet. Allen Hancock, 2244 Alder Street, spoke in support of the Planning Commission recommendation to adopt amendments to Chapter 9 of the Eugene code, because it encouraged use of the existing infrastructure by placing the hospital close to other medical facilities, transportation facilities, sewer, etc. He asserted that it would not impact existing residential neighborhoods. He commented that it made sense to build a hospital close to the people. Jack Roberts, 2330 Park Grove Drive, speaking as executive director of the Lane Metro Partnership, stated that the partnership did not care where the hospital was placed, but rather that the metro area of Eugene/Springfield maintained two hospitals as they were important economic assets for our region. He commended the staff recommendation as it made it easier for a hospital to locate in the City of Eugene. He opined that the Planning Commission recommendation was "180 degrees" from the staff recommendation and would hinder the City's ability to induce a hospital to locate here. He expressed concern that the decision could be made prior to the finalization of the partnership between Triad and McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. He called the existing Land Use Code regarding hospitals an improvement over the Planning Commission's recommendation. David Hinkley, 1350 Lawrence Street, #6, stated that a hospital was an important part of the civic infra- structure. He likened the staff recommendation to an exercise whereby the locations of fire stations were determined by throwing darts at a map. He felt that the location of hospital should be, in part, based on placing it so that it provided the largest portion of the city's population with the shortest trip to the hospital. He opined that neither proposal manifested the City's hospital needs, but that of the two, the option presented by the Planning Commission was least objectionable. He recommended that the City do the following: · Develop an overlay zone so that a zoning code with a set of criteria similar to a conditional use permit was in place to facilitate the location of a hospital. · Start a Metro Plan amendment now to shorten development time when the appropriate pro- posal for a hospital development was made, leaving only the zoning change to contend with. · Decide where the City wanted a hospital and then develop a set of incentives to make devel- opment at that location advantageous. · Make a list of where the City would not want a hospital and create disincentives to discour- age such development at those locations. Mr. Hinkley felt that the best option was the development of a public hospital owned by the City, but recognized that it was not economically possible. Mr. Hinckley related his experience of being transported to the hospital and expressed gratitude that he was able to arrive at the hospital in a short amount of time due to its convenient location. He reiterated the importance of not developing a hospital that would force many of the local citizenry to be transported for emergency care via a long and circuitous route. Rosie Pryor, 2671 East Wilshire Drive, stated that she worked for the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 7 Regular Meeting She explained that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital was only days away from signing an agreement to be part of a large system of hospitals, Triad Hospitals, Incorporated. She related that the hospital was ;;delighted" to find a partner that shared the values for being responsive to the community. She said that, as of yet, the joint board of directors had not met, but that the joint venture was expected to be implemented on October 1. Ms. Pryor stated that her purpose was to convey the goal of the partners to keep the lines of communication open with the City of Eugene, as well as Springfield and Lane County. She said that, in 2003, just over half of the patients at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital were from the City of Springfield and 23 percent came from the six zip codes in Eugene. She noted that this proved that hospital location made a difference when choosing health care. She affirmed that the partnership with Triad would allow the hospital to rebuild at a new site. She related that affordability, accessibility, and availability were key considerations and that the hospital partnership would continue to listen to the community in this. She expressed appreciation for the work of the Planning Commission to further the needs of the community. Tom Bowerman, 33707 McKenzie View Drive, noted that he lived close to the proposed siting of the new PeaceHealth hospital and had been through a lot of the public processes as well as contributing work to the development of the Game Farm neighborhood plan. He expressed his deep interest in the outcome of this. He commented that, when making its announcement regarding the new hospital site, PeaceHealth hospital had said that it would develop a master plan within six weeks, but such a plan had yet to be adopted. He related that the group he was working with, Citizens for Hospital Options in the Cities of Eugene and Springfield (CHOICES), had made a recommendation to a number of elected officials and interested parties that a hospital siting commission be formed. He remarked that those who had been asked felt that there was not enough time, but that since then two years had elapsed. Continuing, Mr. Bowerman wondered why the likelihood of a catastrophic disconnect of the hospital from 80 percent of the population of the community was not being discussed in the public process. He stressed that much community money would be tied up in a hospital resource. He questioned the assertion that the two competing hospitals would have the community's best interests at heart. He recommended the adoption of the first option. Philip Farrington, 677 East 12th Avenue, Suite N-225, Director of Planning and Development for PeaceHealth Hospital, affirmed the hospital's commitment to retain hospital services in the City of Eugene at the Hilyard Street campus. He related that hospital services had been provided at that site for more than 75 years, decades before the advent of zoning in Eugene. He noted that the campus had operated under the auspices of previously approved conditional use permits (CUP). He stated that the CUP process added time and uncertainty to any development. He encouraged the City to support such health services by establishing processes that would allow for more flexibility. He related that adoption of the ordinance would support the ability to have the current Hilyard Street campus have permitted uses for hospitals. He urged the council to consider that in the future there may be health care needs and services that have not been predicted at this time and reiterated the importance of retaining a certain amount of flexibility in regard to health care services. Mary Ann Holser, 2620 Cresta de Ruta, explained that she was not going to take a stand on the potential location of a new hospital. She referred to the State Certificate of Need process, and said that in order to relocate a hospital or build a replacement hospital, the City would need to go through a process of applying MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 8 Regular Meeting to the Certificate of Need committee, which would then make a recommendation to the Department of Health and Human Services, as per Oregon Administrative Rule 33.590-0040. She believed that the rule severely limited the placing of the hospital. She recommended that a negotiating committee be formed to, among other things, look into this. She provided the council with testimony she had given to the legislature in support of changing the rules regarding the Certificate of Need. She stated that the advisory committee for the process would be holding its next meeting on September 29 in the Straub Room of the Lane County Building. Lauri Segal, 120 West Broadway Street, expressed the support of 1,000 Friends of Oregon for the recommendation on the ordinance regarding hospital zoning made by the Planning Commission. She called the commission's proposal ;;well-thought out," stating that it provided flexibility, incentives, and certainty for health-care facility siting while recognizing the need to consider the livability of existing neighborhoods, availability of existing infrastructure, and the integrity of the downtown core. She commended the commissioners for their diligent and thoughtful work session, stating that the product of the work was a ;;positive forward-thinking recommendation that will benefit future planning for hospitals." She said that 1,000 Friends of Oregon provided its support for the recommendation with exceptions: that the recommen- dation be amended to permit hospitals, clinics, and laboratories as conditional uses in industrial and high- density residential zones and outright in most commercial zones, with redevelopment options as one possible application of conditional use allowances in industrial and high density residential zones. Continuing, she said that the Planning Commission recommendation considering zoning for hospitals, laboratories, and clinics coupled with a focus on siting hospitals near the geographic center of Eugene was consistent with the council's expectations for a hospital zoning proposal that was flexible, easy to implement, and compatible with existing plans. Rob Zako, 1280 B East 20th Avenue, transportation advocate for 1,000 Friends of Oregon, requested the record remain open for a week. He emphasized that everyone present was in agreement that the City needed a hospital and that the point of consideration was how to achieve that goal. He thought that a refinement of the staff recommendation would facilitate this. He called the notion of allowing a hospital to be developed ;;anywhere" n~iive as it was well known that a hospital could not randomly locate. He asserted that the City of Springfield was experiencing difficulties in siting the new Peace Health facility. He stated that it was a complicated process and recommended the adoption of the Planning Commission's flexible approach to hospital zoning. Bill Kloos, PO Box 11906, spoke on behalf of a local medical group that was in the process of siting a new clinic. He thought that several more such clinics would be sited in Eugene in the near future. He noted that he had submitted a letter of testimony to staff, with copies to the council, that concluded with three points: · Clinics should be allowed in the same zones as a hospital, as per the staff recommendation. · Clinics should not be tied to a single hospital development site, and this would let the market work for clinics in the same manner that the market works for hospitals. · Clinics should be allowed to be developed throughout the City as indicated by market de- mand. Seeing that no further testimony, Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. He opened the floor for questions and comments from councilors. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 9 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman questioned the usage of a high school site for purposes of comparison to a hospital site. She asked if the parking impact of visitors and patients had been considered in this equation. Mr. Coyle responded that such statistics would be built into the Institute of Traffic Engineers manual (ITE) estimates, but would not be built into the employee count. Councilor Bettman called the numbers "artificially low" and recommended that the statistics be revised for better accuracy and presented for further consideration by the council. In response to another question from Councilor Bettman, Mr. Coyle affirmed that the Planning Commission recommendation was consistent with the Metro Plan and an amendment would not be needed. Councilor Bettman asked why the issue of the placement of larger clinics had been included for considera- tion at this time, given the limited resources and the desire to streamline, when possible, such actions. Mr. Coyle replied that the Planning Commission had recommended initiation of a broader discussion, but that the staff recommendation, in terms of modification of land uses, only related to hospital uses. He said that the discussion had broadened to ancillary uses at the behest of the commission, but that staff was still of the opinion that consideration for such uses should be deferred to a more general code update. Councilor Nathanson asked how the Certificate of Need would create geographic restrictions and how this would impact the discussion. Mr. Coyle expressed his belief that the service area did not align with the options and did include a broader base in Eugene than was envisioned in the Planning Commission's option. Councilor Nathanson declared the most important objective to be the insurance of good quality health care in the City of Eugene, including a full service hospital and emergency room. She felt that the proposal made by the Planning Commission could be so prescriptive that it would "chase away" the options for a hospital. She expressed her preference for having a hospital that was located on the south side of the river, noting that this was the side that she resided on, but stressed that, above all, it was important to have a hospital that served all of Eugene rather than the City finding itself with no hospital service. She underscored that this was someone else's project and not a municipally owned hospital and that the location for the hospital would ultimately be decided by the company that would build it. She could not support the Planning Commission's recommendation without some modifications, though she appreciated some of the issues that had been raised and the work done looking at the appropriate zones and the ancillary uses. Councilor Meisner refrained from sharing his comments until the record was closed, as per his preference. He asked three questions for staff to respond to prior to the meeting scheduled for September 22 meeting, as follows: · How did legal counsel think a negotiating committee could function in terms of real estate negotiations and whether the meetings would be public or confidential? · Could staff analyze the degree to which incentives or disincentives could dictate where a hospital could or could not locate? · Noting that, from the time that Peace Health Hospital announced it was leaving, every staff presentation regarding this issue had featured a different dollar amount and a different amount of employees, what were the most accurate statistics in this regard? Councilor Pap6 moved to keep the record open until September 15. Ms. Taylor pro- MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 10 Regular Meeting vided the second. Councilor Kelly asserted that the draft ordinance would not be completed by September 22. He said he hoped that the council would provide final direction for such a draft on the 22nd and not plan on approving it at that time. Councilor Bettman opined that the record should remain open for two weeks as the community has "a lot of passion around this issue." She asked Mr. Coyle to state where further testimony could be submitted. Mayor Torrey called for a vote on the motion on the table. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0; Councilor Nathanson was ex- cused. Mr. Coyle provided the following address for further testimony: Steven A. Nystrom Planning and Development Department 99 West l0th Avenue Eugene, OR 97401 steven, a.nystrom~ci, eugene, or.us 682-8385 Councilor Pap6 called the ordinance an indicator of the need to be more proactive and less reactive. He felt that a medical or hospital overlay zone should have already been put into place. He thought that municipal government should be more forward-thinking when addressing community needs. Councilor Pap6 commented that he was "troubled" by the recommendation from the Planning Commission. He questioned, in particular, the process recommendation contained in Attachment D, which had not passed the muster of a vote. Mr. Rusch responded, on behalf of the Planning Commission, that commissioners had spent much time on this, but not enough time. He related that the commission had acknowledged that the siting area would be restricted and that this could present difficulties for a medical entity and, as a result, had suggested that a negotiating committee be included in the procedure for hospital location. He said this was considered a critical component and, though there had not been time to vote on the recommendation, it had been decided to include it in the commission's report nonetheless. Councilor Papd advised staff to ensure that the Planning Commission voted on such things in the future. He felt it integral to the process to understand whether something presented before the council had been given unanimous or marginal support. He stressed that an item presented before the council needed more than a "kumbaya" done around it. As such, he asserted that the Planning Commission recommendation was incomplete. Councilor Kelly thanked all those who testified, calling it high-quality testimony. He reiterated that the most important objective was the location of a viable hospital in the City of Eugene. He speculated that, at most, the City would consider two potential sitings based on the certificates of need likely to exist in this metro area. He suggested the committee be called a facilitation committee and that it sit with the two MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 11 Regular Meeting providers and determine how the hospital could be made to work for both the hospital developer and the community. He underscored that the joint ventures board for Triad Hospitals, Incorporated and McKenzie- Willamette Hospital had yet to meet and questioned the merit of casting any code change "in concrete" prior to this meeting. He noted the support for the focus of the Planning Commission's recommendation voiced by the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital board. Councilor Poling stressed that the main goal was to have a full service hospital for the community. He noted that the initial direction given to staff had been in regard to code amendments that would address hospital and related medical uses. He commended the work that staff had done toward that direction. He said the Planning Commission's recommendation seemed like an overlay zone. Regarding the assertion that the hospital should be built ~where the people are," Councilor Poling related that population demographics, according to the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), indicated that the population of the City was most dramatically increasing north of the river. He supported the staff recommendation. He felt that it would not only follow the original direction to staff to assist in siting a new hospital, but it would help existing hospitals and medical facilities in renewing, redeveloping, and expanding their current facilities as technology advances and the needs and size of the community grow. Councilor Taylor said she tended to favor the Planning Commission's recommendation. She felt the council would not be ready to make a decision on September 22. She stressed the importance of location and of having hospital care available on both sides of the river. Mayor Torrey reiterated that there would only be two hospitals and that both of the hospital entities would have the Certificate of Need. He stressed that a hospital should be sited in Eugene and that no barriers should block this progress. He added that the PeaceHealth campus on Hilyard Street should be permitted as it is an existing hospital. He felt the recommendation of staff to be a responsible recommendation. Mayor Torrey called for a five-minute break at 9:25 p.m. Councilor Bettman requested clarification of the language regarding the placement of ancillary clinics as it could be interpreted to allow such clinics in every zone. She reaffirmed the importance of providing emergency health care to every part of the City. Regarding compatible uses in C-1 zoning, Councilor Bettman asked staff to provide examples of how the height restrictions would be interpreted. Councilor Bettman asked how the City could best demonstrate to McKenzie-Triad that it was willing to take the steps to put together assembled property. Councilor Kelly agreed with Councilor Bettman that the City needed to indicate to the hospitals that it was willing to facilitate its placement. He noted that there was no other large land-use aside from hospitals allowed in as many zones. He questioned the broadness of the staff ordinance. He remarked that a C-1 zone would not allow a commercial development to exceed 5,000 square feet, but that a hospital could be a 200,000 square feet, or that the rule for an R-1 zone was that the height of a structure could not exceed the length of the setback and, as such, a hospital could be 100 feet tall provided it was 100 feet from the nearest street. He asked if a large hospital could be built on any property zoned industrial, such as MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 12 Regular Meeting property one found on Greenhill Road. He questioned whether staff had considered the transportation impact of hospital placement on such a road. Councilor Solomon felt it to be an opportune time to address the concerns that Mr. Kloos had raised. She asked if staff concurred. Mr. Coyle replied that embedded in the assumption was that the proposal would look at 20 to 25 acres for a hospital site. He said that it was unclear as to what ancillary uses would become over the next 10 to 15 years and how the uses would fall under zoning uses. He suggested that the issue be covered in a discussion of zoning amendments. Councilor Pap6 did not think that an ancillary clinic needed the same kind of consideration that a hospital did. Mr. Coyle opined that the ancillary uses were the uses that impact neighborhoods the most, as a hospital would have a large setback. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~, Mr. Coyle explained that a traffic impact analysis (TIA) was related to the scale of a project. He stated that it would not be possible for the Planning Department and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to obtain different results as ODOT was concerned with the transportation assets of the State and not the City. Councilor Kelly requested a written response on the issue of scale, noting that he agreed with Councilor Pap~ that there was a big difference between a 250-bed hospital and a 10-bed clinic. He suggested that the issue of ancillary clinics be addressed in depth at a later date. Councilor Kelly reiterated his concern that allowing a hospital as a permitted use would not allow site specific conditions to be placed on such a development. He asked staff to respond to this. Continuing, Councilor Kelly requested clarification from the City Attorney regarding the opinion that no Metro Plan amendment was needed. He wondered how the situation in Eugene was different from the situation in Springfield, which was currently in the process of addressing a Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) suit regarding the hospital proposal there. He noted one of the central points of the appeal was the contention that the Metro Plan would not allow development of a hospital in residential zones. He advised caution prior to proceeding ~down that same road." In conclusion, Councilor Kelly advocated for bringing a specific proposal as to how to indicate to providers that the City was willing to discuss incentives and property assembly. He added that it was not necessary to fix the hospital zone at a two-mile radius as per the recommendation from the Planning Commission, that the City could choose to make the zone larger. Councilor Bettman speculated that a new hospital could be as large as 750,000 to 1 million square feet. She asked how this would affect the assumptions in the Trans Plan. She said that LCOG had based all of its modeling on assumptions on what the different zones would be used for and that allowing such a large development in any zone, as she asserted the staff recommendation would do, would change those assumptions. She asked staff to address this. Mayor Torrey asked staff to provide copies of the information requested by the council to all councilors. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 13 Regular Meeting 5. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Repealing Ordinance No. 20273 Concerning Transporta- tion System Maintenance Fees City Manager Taylor asked the Director of Public Works, Kurt Corey, to speak to the ordinance. Mr. Corey provided a brief overview of the previous council action on the transportation system mainte- nance fee (TSMF). He noted the ordinance establishing the TSMF had been subject to a referendum drive and an initiative campaign, both of which were unsuccessful, and that the Chamber of Commerce had announced another initiative campaign to rescind the ordinance. He said that the City of Springfield had adopted a similar TSMF in December 2002, and then subsequently repealed the enabling ordinance in June 2003, after organizers of the initiative campaign had submitted approximately 1,200 signatures in support of placing the fee on the ballot. He stated that the Board of County Commissioners had suggested a possible meeting with the cities in Lane County to discuss the possibility of sharing some funds from the Road Fund. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Dave Hauser, 2168 Elkhorn Drive, representing the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, thanked the council on behalf of the chamber for moving forward on the repeal of the TSMF. He reiterated the chamber's position that the TSMF was the wrong solution to the backlog of street maintenance projects and repairs. He stressed that the chamber remained committed to working with the council and the county commissioners to find a solution that would be dedicated to address street maintenance issues that would be equitable and would not penalize Eugene businesses. Mayor Torrey, seeing no others wishing to testify, closed the public hearing. He opened the floor for questions and comments from the council. Councilor Pap~ asked Mr. Corey to elaborate on the potential meeting of staff and the commissioners. Mr. Corey said that a preliminary meeting had been scheduled for later in the month. Mr. Taylor clarified that mayors, city managers, and some commissioners were meeting the next week, convened by the City of Springfield, in order to have a general discussion on the distribution of County road funds and the distribution of transportation funds recently approved by the State Legislature. Mayor Torrey added that it may not be appropriate to meet. Mr. Taylor agreed, and commented that the commissioners could choose not to attend. Councilor Pap~ expressed disappointment that the commissioners had not been more forthcoming in scheduling a meeting. Mr. Taylor attributed the lack of a specific meeting schedule to the uncertainty on the part of the Board of County Commissioners whether the Eugene City Council would repeal the TSMF. Regarding Mr. Hauser's assertion that the fee would have been a penalty, Councilor Pap~ reiterated that every developed property would have been assessed the fee. Councilor Kelly requested whether the meeting Mr. Taylor spoke of would be convened and when. He asked staff to include in a memorandum whether it would be a public meeting and, if so, whether it would be publicly noticed. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 14 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman elaborated on the distribution of the TSMF between businesses and residences, stating the fee was fair and legally supportable because it was based on standard data commonly used for that purpose. She asked if there were other methodologies that could have been applied. Mr. Corey replied that the methodology used for purposes of describing the TSMF was an ITE methodology that applied trip generation to different classes of property and was a legally defensible means to apply the TSMF. He noted that caps on the assessment and exclusions had been discussed by councilors. Councilor Bettman asserted that the methodology was considered fair in other calculations such as systems development charges (SDCs). She opined that making unilateral decisions, based on input from special interests, to arbitrarily adjust rates calculated on the basis of hard data was unfair. Councilor Solomon addressed Mr. Hauser and Terry Connolly of the chamber. She reminded them that, when discussing the TSMF, the chamber had challenged the council to put the burden back on the chamber to spearhead a larger discussion around transportation issues. She noted confusion among the councilors on whether a meeting was being scheduled and who was convening it. She hoped that the chamber would take a %igger lead" to ensure that all of the parties involved could begin work toward resolving the transportation maintenance crisis. Councilor Nathanson expressed hope that the staffs of the primary parties involved would be convening to discuss the process. She pointed out that the process should be fair and productive. She opined that it would be premature to discuss potential solutions at this juncture. She commented that much discussion on the repeal of the TSMF had transpired at previous work sessions and meetings and that the public hearing was closed. She asked the City Attorney if there was anything in the charter that would preclude finishing the item at the present meeting by voting upon it. City Attorney Glenn Klein deferred to Mary Walston of the City Manager's Office regarding the council's operating agreements, but said that in terms of the charter, it would take unanimous consent of the council for a vote to occur at the present meeting. Mayor Torrey asked if there was objection to taking a vote on the ordinance. Seeing none, he invited the council to provide a motion. Councilor Pap~ moved, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, to adopt Council Bill No. 4848, an ordinance repealing Ordinance No. 20273 concerning transportation system maintenance fees. Roll call vote; the motion carried, 6:2; councilors Kelly and Pap~ voting in opposition. Agenda Item (6) was deferred due to a lack of time. The meeting adjourned at 9:59 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis Taylor MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 15 Regular Meeting City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 8, 2003 Page 16 Regular Meeting