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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 02/08/99 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall February 8, 1999 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Pat Farr, David Kelly, Bobby Lee, Nancy Nathanson, Gary PapS, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor. I. CALL TO ORDER The February 8, 1999, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.; His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey presiding. II. NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES REDESIGN OPTIONS City Manager Jim Johnson introduced new Planning and Development Department Director Paul Farmer, who in turn introduced Richie Weinman, Housing and Neighborhood Development Section Manager. Mr. Weinman provided background information, saying that the Neighborhood Program was an important part of the City's citizen participation strategies. He noted that several past and current council members had come up from the program. He asked the council to: 1) consider the scope of the existing program and decide if it should be broadened to a "neighborhood services category"; 2) to clarify or affirm the mission and purpose of the program; and 3) to discuss and prioritize program options that improve the ability of neighborhood associations to encourage citizen involvement in City government. The scope and mission statements were read and suggestions were made by the council. Mr. Farr expressed concern that some neighborhood associations did not represent the neighborhood so it may not be possible for those groups to identify the neighborhood's position. Mr. Kelly suggested addressing that in the definition of "active neighborhood association." Ms. Nathanson offered alternative language, substituting "Identifying neighborhood opinions and ideas" for "Identifying and advocating the neighborhood's position." Addressing concern expressed by Mr. Pap8 about the City sponsoring social events, Mr. Johnson suggested the budget and other City processes as better venues for controlling how City funds are spent. The council discussed Ms. Nathanson's suggestion and invited Jon Belcher and Jan Wostmann, co-chairs of the Neighborhood Leaders Council, to comment. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 8, 1999 Page 1 5:30 p.m. Mr. Belcher agreed that the issue of neighborhood representation should be addressed when defining active neighborhood rather than by modifying the mission statement for all neighborhood associations. Mr. Wostman agreed. At Mr. Weinman's suggestion, the council agreed to return to the mission statement later and move on to other issues that might clarify the statement for them. Mr. Weinman reviewed the redesign options, followed by the council's discussion. Item I. Structural Reorganization of Neighborhood Associations The options for this item included: 1) define "Active" Neighborhood Associations; 2) change neighborhood boundaries; and 3) joint Neighborhood Leaders Council and City Council meeting. Item II. Increase Emphasis on Neighborhood Improvement Projects Mr. Weinman reviewed the options: 1) a matching grant program; 2) Neighborhood Association annual work plan and report; 3) an annual community needs program; 4) expand neighborhood block watches; and 5) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) involvement. Several councilors expressed interest in using CDBG funds for neighborhood matching grants. Item III. Strategies to Improve Communication with Neighborhood Residents The options under this item were: 1) increase newsletter funding; and 2) fund a Citywide newsletter. Mr. Pap~ ascertained that The Register-Guard could not "finely enough" distribute newsletters to specific neighborhoods. Item IV. Training for Neighborhood Based Organizations The options under this strategy were: 1) training for active neighborhoods; 2) neighborhood office space; 3) staff liaison pilot program; and 4) organize dormant areas. Item V. Neighborhood Empowerment and Improvement The options listed were: 1) involve neighborhood groups in land use decisions; and 2) adopt refinement plans for each neighborhood. Mr. Fart emphasized the importance of the program, saying that many of the "bumps in the road" the council has encountered could have been avoided had there been more input from the community at the outset. He asked if the cost estimate for changing neighborhood boundaries included staffing new neighborhood meetings. Mr. Weinman said it did not; it covers a study to determine if it would make sense to change those boundaries. Mr. Kelly echoed and agreed with Mr. Farr's comments, saying the program was a way to have a positive relationship between residents and their government. He said his highest priorities for the program were a combination of adequate newsletter funding and the active neighborhood MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 8, 1999 Page 2 5:30 p.m. criteria, followed by the matching grant program, organizing dormant areas, boundary changes, and refinement plan for all neighborhoods. Ms. Nathanson identified her priorities as follows: newsletter funding (or some sort of citywide report to the citizens); the matching grant program; and boundary changes. She made several suggestions as well: a liaison program between neighborhood organizations and service clubs or youth groups for hand-delivery of newsletters; other sources for matching funds, e.g., within other departments or donations from the private sector. Ms. Taylor's first priority was a citywide newsletter in addition to the neighborhood newsletter, followed by boundary changes and revitalizing active neighborhood standards. She was not in favor of distributing newsletters in the local paper, saying many people toss out the inserts without reviewing them. Mr. Lee asked Mr. Farmer to share his vision of the program at some point. He expressed appreciation for the City's website, calling it "quite excellent." Responding to his questions, Mr. Weinman said the $100,000 cost estimate for the matching grant program was for one year and neighborhood projects included a wide range of things, from art projects and playgrounds to traffic diverters. Mr. Lee pointed out that a majority of City services are delivered at the neighborhood level and the program offered an opportunity to create a vision for a community- based government that empowers the community to help in using resources more efficiently. He said it also provides an opportunity to garner support for major projects such as TransPlan. The council returned its attention to the mission statement, agreeing with Mr. Weinman's suggestion to add the word "association" after neighborhood in the last bullet. The statement was not adopted and it was understood that the council would have other opportunities to refine the language. Councilors used dots to show their priorities of redesign options. The results are represented in the following tables: MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 8, 1999 Page 3 5:30 p.m. Mayor and each Councilor had 6 dots to prioritize proposed items. (53/54 dots used) I. Structural Reorganization of Neighborhood Associations I a. Mission Statements 1. Adopt neighborhood association mission Statement 2. Adopt service profile mission statement I b. Define active neighborhood [5 Dots] I c. Change neighborhood boundaries [8 Dots] I d. Joint Council/NLC Meeting II. Increase Emphasis on Neighborhood Improvement Projects II a. Matching Gram program $ ($100,000) [8 Dots] II b. Neighborhood Assn. Annual workplan and Report II c. Annual needs survey [5 Dots] II d. Expand neighborhood block watches [2 Dots] II e. CDBG involvement III. Strategies to Improve Communication with Neighborhood Residents III a. Increase newsletter funding $ ($165,000-325,000) [8 Dots] III b. Funding for citywide newsletter $ ($18,000) [8 Dots] I~ T ~g fo ~ N eighb ¢ rh¢ 6dB ~ Se dO rg a ~i ~ afl6 ~s iv a. Training for active neighborhoods IV b. Neighborhood office space [2 Dots] IV c. Staff liaison pilot program MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 8, 1999 Page 4 5:30 p.m. IV d. Organize dormant areas $ ($16,000) [5 Dots] V. Neighborhood Empowerment and Improvement V a. Involve neighborhood groups in land use [1 Dot] decisions V b. Adopt refinement plans for each [ 1 Dot] neighborhood $ ($150,000+ per plan) iii. METROPOLITAN AREAS RESIDENTIAL LAND AND HOUSING STUDY Jim Croteau, Planning and Development Department, said this was the council's first opportunity to review the Metro Residential Land and Housing Study, which was one of 18 State-mandated periodic review tasks. He indicated that many issues in this study were the same as those found in the Growth Management Study (GMS). He introduced the other members of the task team: Mr. Weinman, Clair Van Bloem of Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), and Robin Johnson of the City of Springfield. He noted that the study was unanimously recommended by the three local planning commissions. Mr. Croteau said that staff was prepared to hold individual briefings for members of the council. He provided background information and described the process leading to this evening's report. He said a public hearing before the Joint Elected Officials would be held either April 14 orApril 21, 1999. Addressing a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Croteau said the study included three documents: the specific changes to the Metro Plan; the supply and demand analysis; and a site inventory. He called attention to maps attached to the wall depicting land constraints, site inventory and service availability, and the urban growth boundary (UGB) and its constraints. Ms. Van Bloem presented the supply and demand analysis, including assumptions, projections, findings, and policy and implementation recommendations. In response to a question from Mr. Meisner, Ms. Van Bloem said the expected growth rate for the area was 1.7. Mr. Meisner wondered if the reflected 10 percent of single-detached in medium-residential was the best use of that land. Mr. Croteau rephrased the question: Should Iow-density be allowed in multi-family? Mr. Meisner expressed concern about continuing to allow development lower than the zoning density, necessitating redevelopment in the future. Addressing a question from Mr. Meisner, Ms. Van Bloem said infill not involving partitions was not factored into the figures for new units. Ms. Nathanson wondered if the study had included an analysis of the effectiveness of recent ordinances and other changes adopted by the council (e.g., allowing "skinny" streets) in starting MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 8, 1999 Page 5 5:30 p.m. to reach its goals for compact urban development. Mr. Croteau said it was too soon to analyze the results as those types of changes were adopted only in the last three years. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly, Ms. Van Bloem said an analysis of the market was not done in relation to the land available for redevelopment since it was not very much (58 acres). Addressing a follow-up question, she said 40 percent single-family detached projection included manufactured dwellings on lots; otherwise the percentage would be 45. Ms. Van Bloem concluded her report by saying the study showed that there was more than enough land to met future demand. In response to a question from Mr. Pap~, Mr. Croteau said one of the recommendations is to monitor the supply/demand for land annually. Mr. Croteau said the recent parks and open space acquisition measure will result in a slight adjustment to the supply. Addressing a question from Mr. Rayor, Mr. Croteau said the State mandates that the area show a 20-year supply of land at the time the analysis and periodic review is conducted, and that is why it is necessary to have a monitoring system and why the review is done every five to seven years. Mayor Torrey asked Ms. Nathanson to have the Intergovernmental Relations Committee keep the council apprized of any pending pertinent legislation. Mr. Fart noted the study was based on 1995 numbers and in 5 to 7 years, the 20-year supply of land would actually only be enough for 13 to 15 years. Mr. Meisner added that without adjusting some of the land use code policies, the supply could be down 75 percent in five years. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 8, 1999 Page 6 5:30 p.m.