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HomeMy WebLinkAbout240410 WSMINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 April 10, 2024 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Matt Keating, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Lyndsie Leech, and Randy Groves Mayor Vinis opened the April 10, 2024, work session of the Eugene City Council in a virtual format. 1. WORK SESSION: Review of 2023 Implementation of Bond Measure to Fix Streets and 2024 Pavement Management Report City Manager, Sarah Medary, introduced Principal Civil Engineer, Katie Marwitz, who presented the citizen Street Repair Review Panel (SRRP) 2023 Annual Report and Pavement Management System Report. Councilor Discussion: • • ■ Councilor Groves -asked if Council will have the opportunity to provide input on the Franklin Boulevard Project; asked how much input Council will have over decisions that have already been made. Councilor Clark -noted the community feedback regarding the Franklin roundabouts; stated he is not in favor of having many roundabouts on Franklin and wants to vote on them; asked how much advanced notice is given to those impacted and where an impact schedule can be found; asked how communications and updates are shared; asked if there is a centralized online location for impact updates. Councilor Semple -noted appreciation for the City's focus on carbon impacts of projects and on roads being more accessible, walkable, and bikeable; noted concern for impacts on residents and businesses; noted community complaints regarding the downtown swales' concrete use and impact on road space; asked how the swales are funded; indicated her support for the swales as they provide clean water. • Councilor Zelenka -stated he likes the swales as they are good for the environment and enhance infrastructure; noted the current downtown construction is difficult to navigate; noted the success on the road bond is threefold: (1) promises made, promises kept (2) the City had a specific list of what it was buying and people were supportive (3) everybody benefits equally; indicated rough equity is a necessity for continued voter support for road bonds; expressed interest in progress tracking for traffic deaths and asked where the information is located; asked for a Vision Zero synopsis. • Councilor Leech -noted excitement in seeing the projects come to fruition; asked whether bond funding in the future could pay for the repair and jurisdictional MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session April 10, 2024 Page 1 transfer of County streets into City streets; noted the River Road corridor is one of the City's highest crash corridors. ■ Councilor Keating -noted the Vision Zero 2019-2020 Report indicated 50 percent of severe crashes in 2019 and 2020 killed or severely injured people while walking and biking; noted desire for illuminated crosswalks in the Amazon and Hilyard corridors; asked if the City reached its goal in renovating sidewalk ramps and if there are resources to improve other sidewalks or for traffic calming measures; asked if there is a plan to delay construction between different progress points on Franklin Boulevard to limit impacts on surrounding businesses and neighborhoods. ■ Councilor Clark -asked for a maintenance backlog estimate on unimproved roads in the City; asked if streets can be brought to a City standard without creating a local improvement district; asked if community members had been assessed $15,000- $20,000 each to have road curbs added to address water issues; noted support for a larger voluntary annexation plan in the River Road and Santa Clara area before adding to the City's expenses with County roads. ■ Councilor Groves -suggested before the next road bond goes out, Council form a subgroup to work on equity of road project distribution; noted he does not think lane miles is a fair measure as some wards have smaller lane miles while also having more heavy freight truck travel. ■ Councilor Keating -noted he is unaware of what the public process was for the Franklin Boulevard project as it started before he was on Council; asked what the public process will be like for Franklin Boulevard. 2. WORK SESSION: River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan Adoption Package City Manager, Sarah Medary, introduced Principal Planner, Terri Harding, who provided an overview of the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan Adoption Package. Councilor Discussion: ■ Councilor Clark-stated general favor of the Neighborhood Plan; noted the area is still a mix of County and City area and voluntary annexations could transition households into the City; asked if there is data from outreach that delineates the number of County residents from City residents who gave public input on this; noted concern with the division of the Planning Commission on parts of the project; asked how many Code Amendment suggestions were driven by County versus City residents; noted County residents have reasons to use the City's Library and other services, but he wants to be sensitive to the City residents' needs. ■ Councilor Evans -asked if there was previous discussion on what could not be improved due to jurisdictional issues for Division Avenue; noted the City currently has jurisdictional issues deciding what the City and County are each responsible for improving. ■ Councilor Leech -noted her support for the plan; noted the area is primarily industrial and the carve-out makes sense for what the City wants to see for the neighborhood and River Road corridor; noted community concerns with the parking; noted many parking officers are only functional during the day; noted MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session April 10, 2024 Page 2 concern with achieving the desired impact from commercial and mixed-use property if there is not a proper mix; asked if incentives can be created for commercial spaces. ■ Councilor Groves -noted support for the plan and motion; noted parking is one of his major concerns, specifically reducing the requirements for off-street parking and for narrow, unimproved streets that have drop-offs; expressed interest in having a concrete plan to address parking concerns and preventable issues; stated he does not want the plan to be delayed. Motion: Councilor Keating, seconded by Councilor Groves moved to direct the City Manager to revise the ordinance attached as Attachment B to exempt properties located along River Avenue from the proposed changes in sections 1-3 of the ordinance and to return the revised ordinance for action. Vote: 8:0 PASSED Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 1:22 p.m. Katie LaSala City Recorder (Recorded by Natalie Venhuda) Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session April 10, 2024 Page 3