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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 12/01/03 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room-Eugene City Hall December 1, 2003 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Pap6, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon. President Gary Pap6 called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order in the absence of Mayor James D. Torrey. A. Items from Council, Mayor, and City Manager Ms. Bettman announced that the Eugene Middle East Group would hold a town meeting on December 3, 2003, at the Westmoreland Community Center to discuss racism and injustice. She announced that a celebration of the completion of the Walk A Mile program, a Food for Lane County program which partnered elected and appointed officials with low-income residents, was scheduled for December 3, 2003, at the Bowerman Building Heritage Hall. Ms. Taylor reported on the joint meeting of local elected officials with the Lane Board of County Commis- sioners to discuss road funds. She said there was no conclusive resuk, but the commissioners expressed willingness to share more funds with local jurisdictions if the funds were used for maintenance instead of new projects. She said there was a discussion of a gas tax and vehicle registration fee as potential revenue sources and the commissioners were interested in feedback by February 15, 2004. She suggested a council work session on the registration fee be scheduled. She added that the meeting was very congenial. Mr. Poling asked the City Manager for a status report on the ordinance which granted the University of Oregon Department of Public Safety authority to issue citations and on the diversion program for individu- als in possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Mr. Taylor replied that a report would be provided as soon as sufficient data was available to evaluate the programs, possibly once students had left for summer break. Mr. Meisner offered his congratulations on the selection of a finalist for the position of police chief. He thanked Ms. Taylor for representing the City at the meeting with the County commissioners and said he was pleased that commissioners were willing to consider sharing funds. He reminded councilors that the annual Authors and Artists Fair at the library would occur on December 6, 2003. Ms. Solomon echoed Ms. Taylor's remarks about the transportation summit with the County commission- ers. She said she hoped the process would move along more quickly and an agreement could be reached by spring, but the meeting was a good start. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Kelly said he supported a work session on transportation funding options and asked that information be available at the work session on the amount of revenue the various options were likely to produce. He asked the City Manager for a report on the issue of inadequate water pressure at fire hydrants in certain parts of the city. Mr. Pap6 joined Mr. Meisner in his congratulations on the selection of a finalist candidate for police chief and asked where the City was in the process of hiring a new chief. Mr. Taylor described the selection process and the professional/technical panel, community panel, and executive leadership panel, all of which agreed that the applicant pool consisted of highly qualified individuals. He said the panels were in agreement with their recommendations for the three top candidates. He said the finalist candidate was Robert Lehner, Assistant Chief with the Tucson Police Department. He briefly described Mr. Lehner's background, which he said was well-suited to Eugene's needs. Once the background check and psychologi- cal evaluation were completed, Mr. Taylor hoped Mr. Lehner would assume the responsibilities of Police Chief in early January. In response to a question from Mr. Pap6, Mr. Taylor said that based on several conversations, Mr. Lehner was prepared to accept the position. Mr. Pap~ commented that he had received a number of complaints about the poor condition of Pre's Trail. He asked for a report on the trail and suggested that a community work party could be organized to restore the trail. He noted that the trail was a major draw for runners. B. WORK SESSION: Eugene Downtown Plan Update and Related Code and Metro Plan Amend- ments Mr. Taylor introduced City Planners Kurt Yeiter and Nan Laurence to present the Downtown Plan Update and related code and Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) amendments. Mr. Yeiter gave an overview of the collaborative interagency process used to update the plan, including supplementation of the Planning Commission with three councilors (Planning Commission +3) to develop the early framework of the plan. He said the process involved a significant amount of public review, with an opportunity for additional review prior to the public hearing scheduled for January 26, 2004. He said the Downtown Plan established a vision and tone to help guide City actions and public investments in the downtown area that built on existing strengths. He said the development of the plan was coordinated with the update of the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS), which represented a significant functional component of the plan. Mr. Yeiter said the actions requested by staff at the public hearing included adoption of the updated Downtown Plan as a refinement plan, a Metro Plan amendment to designate downtown as a nodal development area, and a Metro Plan Diagram amendment to designate the federal courthouse site and adjacent City-owned property as appropriate for commercial use, which would also permit mixed-use or residential development within the area, with the exact zone to be determine in a subsequent process. He said staff would also request that the Lane Use Code be amended to incorporate Downtown Plan policies so they could be used in future land use decisions. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 2 Work Session Ms. Laurence remarked that the plan's purpose was two-fold: 1) a visionary plan that built upon the downtown vision; and 2) a refinement plan. She said as a visionary plan it characterized downtown as a strong, active urban center and committed the City to a strategic approach in using economic tools to promote desired development. She related that the visionary aspects of the plan encouraged public art, promoted nearby nature areas, and addressed the downtown riverfront. She said the refinement plan aspects embedded policies and implementation strategies that were more pragmatic and would be used to guide land use decisions and investments downtown, such as redesignation and rezoning of the train depot area from industrial use to commercial. She noted that combining visionary and pragmatic elements in the plan illustrated the strong collaboration between the Planning Division and the Development Division. Ms. Nathanson congratulated staff on completing the plan and noted that its tone was positive and identified strengths that could be built upon, rather than simply identifying problems. She said she appreciated the inclusion of a section on safety. She expressed concern over the availability of conference space and encouraged collaboration with the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County, the Lane County Fair Board, and other entities in planning improvements. She commented that her other special interests were entrances and landmarks to signify arrival in downtown and river connections. She observed that water and light were both important to attracting people to downtown and maintaining interest. Ms. Meisner commented on the lengthy process to develop the plan update and expressed satisfaction with the result, which combined vision with practicality. He said he hoped the plan would not be adopted and then ~put on a shelf," and asked that the subject of downtown development appear before the council on a regular basis and continuing basis. He noted the many examples of possible projects and anticipated that staff would bring plans back to the council. Referring to problems encountered with the demolition of the Agripac facility, Mr. Meisner asked if language in the plan relating to historic issues or the map identifying potential historic properties would cause delays or interfere in any way with redevelopment or the City's decisions about buildings such as City Hall. Ms. Laurence said language in the plan had been softened because of those types of concerns and staff was working with legal counsel to assure that language was appropriate. She added that nothing in the plan designated properties such as City Hall as historic sites, only as properties of potential historic interest. Mr. Yeiter elaborated that the plan and map recognized the importance of certain historic structures contributing the character of downtown and making special places in civic architecture. He said the intent of the map was to identify those properties in anticipation of development, but if the council felt the tool was too restrictive for future development, direction could be given to staff to pare down or eliminate some elements. Mr. Kelly thanked everyone involved in developing the plan, which he agreed combined both visionary and practical aspects and identified strengths and assets in the downtown area. Referring to Mr. Meisner's comments, he noted that adoption of the plan would only adopt the policies, not the implementation strategies, and urged that more of the strategies were included in the policies. He related a conversation with a downtown property owner in which the question was asked: What would someone walking through downtown see that was different as a result of the policies? He said the vision to which the plan aspired was commendable and asked staff to consider what implementation strategies could be included as policies or whether a downtown work plan that would be formally adopted could be developed in order to make a commitment to change. Mr. Taylor said a high priority on implementing the vision and revitalizing MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 3 Work Session downtown was the kind of strategic issue that the council could adopt as a council goal for budgetary and implementation focus. Ms. Bettman echoed previous comments on the vision and the plan. She said the status of the example projects should be clarified. She said she did not share concerns that the plan would be put on the shelf and noted that many of the policies and implementation strategies were ones the council was already pursuing. She stated her biggest concern was that the plan would be selectively implemented, citing design standards as something that needed to be developed and implemented concurrently with the plan. She commented that the city hall and police headquarters projects should be more prominently featured to reinforce the City's commitment to them. She suggested that the housing component of the plan should be %eefed up" to reinforce a connection between policies and strategies. Ms. Taylor asked if a project could receive both Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) and vertical housing incentives. Mr. Kelly replied that it was potentially possible, but not likely to happen. Ms. Laurence said that both incentives would be considered and the one that best suited the project would be selected, although she was not certain whether the incentives could be layered. Ms. Taylor commented free parking was not mentioned and she felt lack of it was a deterrent to commercial activity. She said that the Farmers Market was an asset to downtown and should be encouraged to remain by providing for disposal of gray water and better loading zones. She said she liked the idea of a multiplex cinema as a downtown attraction and noted the need for parking for such a facility. She also commended the concept of safe walking routes between centers of activities. Mr. Pap~ also congratulated staff and council members involved in the plan update. He observed that there was no mention of angled parking and said it had been successful in other communities and urged staff to consider it for downtown. He said he was pleased to see that the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) property was being considered as part of the plan to develop an active waterfront for downtown. He noted that there was no mention of a multi-modal transportation center to concentrate activities or parking to support a center. He said he hoped to see surface pedestrian transportation with respect to 8th Avenue as the courthouse area was developed, or another feasible way to move people across the intersection. Ms. Nathanson commented that the involvement of Public Works in implementation of the plan was critical and could provide another opportunity for interdepartmental collaboration. She stated her support for the implementation strategy that called for a regulatory audit to identify impediments to development and redevelopment. She cited several references in the plan to signs and cautioned that visual clutter should be avoided in the use and placement of signs. Mr. Meisner said he supported the concept of a transportation center and an opportunity was missed several years ago when Lane Transit District (LTD) was constructing its downtown center. He said the city hall and police headquarters could be more prominently mentioned. He noted that a group had expressed interest four years ago in developing a multiplex cinema downtown but had concluded that the site being considered would not allow for the large number of screens now routinely included in such a facility. He expressed his appreciation that the 3rd/4th Avenue connector was the northern boundary as it marked the transition from downtown to Skinner Butte. He said that area, with its mixed-use zoning, was an opportunity site. He again cautioned staff to ensure that there were no unintended consequences of any of the historic properties language in the plan. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Kelly concurred with Ms. Bettman's request that the housing policies be strengthened. He stated that when the vision work plan was adopted, the council unanimously agreed to a focused review of the Westside Jefferson, Whiteaker, and Far West neighborhood plans and he did not find that mentioned as an implemen- tation strategy. He asked staff to respond to his concern before the public hearing. He commented that the implementation strategy calling for a single zone to unify the downtown core required a better explanation of its purpose to avoid raising concerns or confusion in the community. He asked what practical affect a Metro Plan nodal development designation for downtown would have, as compared to a nodal development overlay district. Mr. Yeiter replied that the State transportation rule guiding nodal development encouraged mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development areas, referred to by the City as nodes, which gave similar deference to central business districts. He said the primary reason for proposing the Metro Plan designation was to reflect the central business district as an area that met the State's criteria. Referring to strengthening the housing component, Ms. Bettman said she hoped the plan would strongly articulate the objective of maximizing home ownership and minimizing conversion of existing residential property to other uses. She said she did not feel that MUPTE would preserve existing housing, but rather have the opposite affect. She remarked that there were many overlapping concepts between the Downtown Plan and the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) and diagonal parking was addressed in CATS. She stated she strongly supported the Willamette Street connection of 6th and 7th avenues as important for pedestrian and emergency transit. She noted that public comment during the development of LTD's transit center addressed the issue of a major transportation center and its downtown location closer to the train station. Ms. Taylor concurred with Ms. Bettman's remarks regarding a transportation center and Ms. Nathanson's remarks about avoiding visual clutter with signs. She asked why downtown did not have signs directing people to river access. Referring to a statement in the plan related to periodic review of commercial zoning downtown, Mr. Pap6 asked that "periodic" be defined in terms of a specific timeframe such as two- to four-year intervals. He suggested that a work session could be held to develop criteria, aside from identifying specific structures, regarding what properties might be considered historic. Ms. Nathanson mentioned the difficulty many people who visited downtown had in understanding instructions for paying at downtown parking facilities. She said it was important to address how parking services were delivered, whether by the City or through privately owned facilities, in order to benefit downtown. She said frustration with parking services was a frequent subject of citizen complaints. Mr. Kelly acknowledged the need to avoid barriers to development through language addressing historic properties, but noted that the last round of urban renewal erred by eliminating too many historic structures. He suggested that the Historic Review Board could lead an effort to identify those historic structures that were most in need of preservation and the City could put resources behind those priorities. He agreed with earlier comments that entrances and landmarks should be a priority and that better signage was necessary to identify downtown features. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Taylor agreed that revitalizing downtown was a strategic issue and that all City departments had a contribution to make to implementation strategies. He said that staff would development responses before the public hearing to issues not resolved during the discussion. Mr. Pap~ asked why the Lane County Historical Museum was being encouraged to relocate downtown as one of the implementation strategies. Ms. Laurence replied that the museum intended to move and staff felt a downtown location was desirable. Mr. Kelly added that the museum's current facility did not have adequate storage or climate control. Mr. Kelly gave as an example of the need for prioritization and historic preservation the fact that the house that Mary Skinner lived in following Eugene Skinner's death was still standing, but had no historic protection. C. WORK SESSION: Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) Transportation Planning Engineer Chris Henry stated that the first CATS was adopted in 1987 and helped provide the transportation and parking element for downtown. He said it was updated in 1993 to improve access and circulation for alternative modes and since that time many of the strategies have been imple- mented. He described the coordination of the CATS update with that of the Downtown Plan and thanked those involved, including councilors, planning commissioners, City staff, and other agencies, for their participation. Continuing, Mr. Henry said the significance of the update was the addition to CATS of policies related to the Downtown Plan and the Great Streets concept. He said CATS contained a more robust look at conversion of street operations from one-way to two-way and the visioning process had confirmed a desire to make it easier for people to get to and through the downtown area. He said the disconnected arrangement of one-way and two-way streets made circulation through town confusing and a consulting firm was hired to assist staff in analyzing the downtown traffic system and produce the recommendations for conversion of Willamette Street, 8th Avenue, 10th Avenue, Lawrence Street, Lincoln Street, and Charnelton Street. Mr. Henry said the agenda item summary included recommendations from the Planning Commission, with which the staff agreed. He noted that Mr. Kelly had pointed out a discrepancy regarding Policy #3 relating to system development charges (SDC) and a geographical component that was no longer relevant. He said staff concurred and that section would be stricken from the final document. He announced there would be a public hearing on January 26, 2004, in conjunction with a similar public hearing for the Downtown Plan. Ms. Taylor asked why all streets were not being proposed for conversion to two-way operation, instead of sections of some streets, leaving gaps in two-way operations. She suggested that the Farmers Market be consulted about concerns regarding the impact of converting 8th Avenue to two-way operation. She asked why there was no stop sign for vehicles at the intersection of Willamette Street and 12th Avenue. She commented that 6th and 7th avenues were State highways, presented major barriers to pedestrians and suggested that the City could negotiate with the State for better regulation of traffic speed. She also suggested that staff consult pedestrians, those in wheelchairs, and bicycle riders to identify problem areas. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Bettman commended the comprehensive format of the CATS document. She highlighted several issues, including the impact of bicycle routes and street conversions on on-street parking. She cited the estimated costs of parking spaces and noted that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on l0th Avenue would result in the loss of 22 parking spaces, with a potential cost of $500,000 to replace those spaces. She urged the council to be cognizant of both the replacement cost of parking and the adverse impact on adjacent uses on the street, especially small businesses. She noted that several streets were recommended as future BRT routes and commented that BRT was basically a commuter system designed to bring employees to their job sites or provide access to other transportation infrastructure, rather circulate in a downtown area. She said that the terms %huttle" and ~BRT" were used interchangeably in the document, but had very different purposes and a shuttle was intended as a local circulating route. She said that BRT was not appropriate for residential streets. Mr. Kelly thanked the Planning Commission for its thorough review and recommendations, which he supported. He asked for clarification of proposed Policy #8 on page 13, relating to vehicle parking. He said he recognized that the provision of adequate parking needed to balance a number of needs, but said there was no mention of transit, pedestrian, and carpooling factors that could lower the demand for parking. He commended the thoroughness of the parking analysis and asked that those additional factors be acknowl- edged. He also asked that consideration of public/private partnerships inthe development of future parking structures, including incentives for private sector development of a structure as part of a larger mixed-use project, be reflected in the implementation strategies. He observed that the Downtown Plan called for a trolley study and asked that the study also be included in CATS as an implementation strategy. Mr. Meisner thanked staff for completing a challenging project. He emphasized the importance of acknowledging the need for objective and specific goals while recognizing the fluidity of change, citing as an example the changing traffic patterns that resulted from relocation of the library. He observed that the piecemeal transition of downtown streets from one-way to two-way operation had actually slowed traffic. He expressed hope that the City could work with the State to explore ways to slow traffic on 6th and 7th avenues and better integrate them into downtown. He agreed that the subject of a trolley should be more actively stated and asked for information on the actual projected costs of converting to free parking, which would include the cost of enforcement of limitations. Ms. Nathanson addressed the proposed conversion of Willamette Street between 13th and 20th avenues. She said that pedestrian access across the south end of Willamette Street, where operations were two-way, was extremely difficult and the City had struggled to find ways to improve that condition. She commented that it would be very difficult with existing congestion and healthy commercial enterprises along the street to accommodate additional modes of transportation, such as BRT. She cautioned that the long-term impact of conversion of the proposed section of Willamette Street to two-way operation be considered in order to avoid a similar problem. Mr. Henry responded that the CATS did recognize that a larger and more comprehensive study of Willamette Street that would encompass Oak Street, Pearl Street, and Amazon Parkway was necessary and recommended that such a study be undertaken. He said there was a need to study several aspects of the arterial system and develop solutions that would relieve traffic cutting through neighborhoods. Mr. Pap6 commented that a consideration of angled parking downtown should be included in CATS, as well as consideration of a multi-modal transportation center. Mr. Henry replied that angled parking was included in Strategy 8.2 on page 41 of the document, but was somewhat problematic because of the right-of-way MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 7 Work Session needs associated with the backing space required. He said opportunities for angled parking would continue to be explored where feasible. He said the master plan for the train station did consider integration of various transportation modes. Mr. Pap6 asked that a multi-modal transportation center be specifically mentioned in CATS. Ms. Bettman remarked that many concerns could be addressed by a trolley which ran from the train station to the bus station on a continuous loop through the downtown area. She asked how staff would handle the council's comments and suggestions for modifications to CATS. Mr. Henry replied that staff would draft recommended changes to the document for the council's review, but was uncertain whether that would require additional time for public input before adoption of CATS. Associate Planner Allen Lowe com- mented that staff could provide an additional staff report addressing comments, questions, and suggestions that could be considered at a subsequent work session. Ms. Bettman stated her support for conversion to two-way operations and said she was pleased to see a study of access management planned for 2004. She asked what impact the Willamette Street conversion, particularly the signal changes at 18th Avenue and Willamette Street, would have on 19th Avenue, which was a residential street. Mr. Henry said staff did not anticipate that some of the fears of the neighborhood for cut-through traffic would be realized, but if it did happen, appropriate traffic-calming solutions would be employed. Ms. Bettman asked that staff respond in a memo that delineated the issue and suggested solutions. Mr. Kelly concurred with Mr. Lowe's suggestions that staff provide a written response to the council's comments which could be considered along with public testimony. He supported the concept of angled parking and said as a frequent cyclist, he had experienced as many problems with parallel parking. He said he also agreed that the greater number of conversions to two-way operation, the better it would be for navigating in downtown and the cost would need to be included in the mix of capital projects. He encouraged the City to consider a ;;Smart Park" program similar to Portland's for downtown. Ms. Taylor encouraged simplified parking instructions on privately owned lots. She said that pedestrian access on south Willamette Street was helped by the stoplight at 25th Avenue. She said a simple and inexpensive remedy for the Saturday Market and Farmers Market was the closure of one lane of Oak Street with removable cones on Saturdays and urged exploration of similar solutions, such as stop signs. She said she was more concerned with safety and slowing traffic than with moving traffic through an area quickly. Ms. Bettman said that moving traffic as fast as possible through areas that had businesses on the street was not necessarily in the best interests of those businesses, but getting traffic through safely was, so slowing traffic in those neighborhoods was a good idea. She said that earlier discussions of transit had made the point that transit language in CATS should not be exclusive and refer specifically to LTD because of the long-term nature of the document. She said there were transit services not available through LTD and new innovations could be available in five or ten years. She encouraged generic transit language as recom- mended by the Planning Commission +3. She highlighted Strategy 7.4 on page 55 which addressed l0th Avenue as a BRT route and said the language suggested that if the CATS was adopted, it was tacit approval for that route. Mr. Henry said the council was only adopting policies, not the implementation strategies. He said the City had pledged to work with LTD to reach a mutually agreeable solution to providing BRT service on l0th Avenue and vehicle access. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 8 Work Session Ms. Bettman asked if public feedback indicated a preference for BRT on 11th Avenue, rather than l0th Avenue, the strategy was malleable. Mr. Henry said the designation of 10th Avenue as a BRT route had been decided and what remained to be determined was whether 10th Avenue could be converted to two-way operation for vehicles along with BRT. Ms. Bettman said the language of the strategy needed to better express the intent and asked for additional information on whether the designation of 10th Avenue as a BRT route was still debatable. Mr. Meisner said 10th Avenue was the selected route for two-way BRT and the remaining question was whether vehicle operation would be two-way. He confirmed Ms. Bettman's point that transit language should be generic and not specifically identify the Breeze, but rather refer to a downtown shuttle service. He asked that staff, to the extent possible, provide written answers to questions before the public hearing. Mr. Kelly commented that the potential to lose on-street parking to bicycle routes was another of the balancing acts among various demands. He said that some communities mitigated the loss of on-street parking with small clustered surface lots and suggested that strategy be considered. Ms. Bettman remarked that clustered parking was used effectively in Portland and the lots were generally located behind buildings which were oriented to the street. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 1, 2003 Page 9 Work Session