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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 04/27/09 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room—City Hall—777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon April 27, 2009 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, Andrea Ortiz, Jennifer Solomon, Alan Zelenka, George Poling, George Brown, Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Ms. Piercy related that she and City Manager Jon Ruiz were scheduled to meet with Amtrak officials to discuss rail service. A Ways and Means Committee Meeting would be held on May 1, in Eugene, and she planned to offer comments. She noted that several City departments were twittering. She said a report from the Police Auditor had identified the need for First and Fourth Amendment training and certain protocols; the Eugene Police Department (EPD) was following up on those matters. Mr. Clark stated he attended an April 2 meeting of the Beltline Citizens Advisory Committee, which would be forwarding recommendations to the council in two months. He and Mr. Zelenka had met with the Police Auditor to discuss directions from the council. He served on joint elected officials subcommittees related to economic development, Metro Plan jurisdictional issues and ambulance service areas. He attended a meeting with Santa Clara residents to discuss their Spring Creek restoration work and a meeting of the Cal Young neighborhood. Mr. Brown reported on his attendance at a Human Rights Commission (HRC) meeting, an EPD awards ceremony and a Crest Drive Neighbors meeting. He said the HRC was planning a human rights summit with community stakeholders. Mr. Poling congratulated those who received awards at the EPD ceremony. He said the Travel Lane County board met the previous week at the atrium building at the Lane Events Center and voted to authorize the commencement of negotiations to open the Gateway Adventure Center in the Gateway area near the Best Buy store. It was expected to open in January 2010. Mr. Pryor described a recent incident in which his son, who was standing on the sidewalk, was struck by a car that had run a red light. He said his son suffered a broken leg and the accident highlighted the problem of people who ran red lights. He said there had been over 400 red light accidents in a year and that represented a community problem. He did not want to see someone die because of the epidemic of red light- running and felt it was critical that the City revisited the issue of increased enforcement. Ms. Ortiz said the joint elected officials meetings on ambulance transport were focused on how to fund critical services with diminished revenue from Medicare. She announced there would be a Eugene Water & Electric Board open house on April 30 to discuss its construction activities in West Eugene and solicit MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 1 Work Session public feedback on the Seneca cogeneration biomass plant. She said the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency was going through its budget process and staff felt the agency was fiscally sound and would not require additional financial contributions. She said Lane Education Service District was hosting a gathering of employees of color from local jurisdictions and agencies and the public was invited. Ms. Taylor said the Human Services Commission was grappling with a financial shortfall. Crest Drive neighbors were still concerned about the street assessment process. She said that safety concerns went beyond red light-running and should be broadened to include pedestrian safety in all types of situations. Mr. Zelenka attended a Lane Workforce Partnership meeting at which there was discussion of a help hotline for people who had lost their jobs. The number was 682-7200 and the partnership had received almost $2 million to assist people who were unemployed. He also attended a meeting of the Center for Advancement of Sustainable Living, a student-operated organization that was constructing a house as a model for sustainability. He said the Sustainability Commission reviewed a sustainability triple bottom line tool developed by staff to provide that information to the council about issues it was considering. He said the tool was being piloted during the summer and would be implemented in the fall. He met with a citizen group about the impact of deconstruction of the old Interstate 5 bridge and construction of the new bridge and rerouting of bike paths during construction activities. He said questions were raised about management of 40 acres of compensation land in West Eugene that the Oregon Department of Transportation was using to offset dislocation of park land during construction. He was interested in more information on the subject. Ms. Piercy extended her sympathy to Mr. Pryor and his family regarding his son’s accident and said the council would be happy to have a discussion about red light-running. She had received a call from the Vice- President’s office to discuss how the City was using its stimulus funds. Mr. Ruiz congratulated Becky Carlson of Public Works who was selected as the American Public Works Association administrative manager of the year. He assured the public that City staff was monitoring the swine flu situation. He was continuing to visit neighborhood associations. The budget had been forwarded to the Budget Committee and a budget message sent to all employees. He was meeting individually with Lane County commissioners to discuss issues of mutual interest. Mr. Clark said he initially requested a work session on the subject of Civilian Review Board (CRB) membership, but since there was currently one vacancy that the Police Auditor was anxious to fill, it was an appropriate time to discuss expansion of the board to add two more members. Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to direct the City Manager to provide the council with the application materials from the last Civilian Review Board re- cruitment and to place on the May 11 agenda the appointment to fill the currently open position from the last applicant pool. Mr. Clark remarked that there were a number of good applicants from the last recruitment process. Mr. Poling asked if the application materials would be limited to those that were forwarded to the council for consideration or include all those who had applied. Mr. Clark said he did not have a preference and the council could make that determination. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Zelenka supported expanding the CRB to seven members and opening another recruitment process for the purpose of appointing three members at the same time. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to substitute a motion to expand the Civilian Review Board to seven members and to direct the City Manager to seek applications for the three open positions, including the two new ones, on the Civi- lian Review Board and to schedule appointment of all three as soon as practicable. Mr. Clark commented that the Police Auditor had indicated it was difficult to train more than two new members at the same time. Mr. Pryor said he would support the auditor’s preference to train a smaller number of new CRB members. He felt it might be easier to use the full list of applicants to fill the current vacancy. Ms. Taylor preferred to re-advertise for applicants for the current CRB vacancy and objected to expanding the board to seven members. The substitute motion failed, 5:2; Mr. Zelenka and Ms. Ortiz voting yes. The main motion passed, 6:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved (a) to expand the Civilian Review Board to seven members; (b) to direct the City Manager to seek applications for the sixth and seventh positions on the Civilian Review Board, and (c) to schedule the appointment of the sixth and seventh members as soon as practicable. The motion passed, 6:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. B. WORK SESSION: West Eugene Collaborative Recommendations Emily Proudfoot, Public Works Department, highlighted the history of the West Eugene Collaborative (WEC), as described in the agenda item summary. She introduced WEC members Rob Zako and Larry Reed to present the collaborative’s recommendations. Ms. Solomon arrived at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Reed said the WEC’s goal was to begin the process of creating a shared community vision for West Eugene. He identified WEC members who represented diverse perspectives and came together in a collaborative effort to develop an integrated vision that incorporated transportation, land use and the environment. Mr. Zako explained consensus and the WEC’s group process that was designed to give everyone a “win.” He identified the aspects of transportation, land use and the environment that were considered during development of the following eight principles: 1. Improve efficiency of the transportation network 2. Increase public transit 3. Enhance pedestrian paths and bikeways MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 3 Work Session 4. Intensify development appropriately 5. Relocate some land uses 6. Enhance open spaces and natural resources 7. Enhance natural watershed 8. Enhance appreciation of and connections to natural resources Mr. Reed said the multiway boulevard recommended in the first principle would consist of three compo- nents: a through-going traffic-carrying area in the center of the street, a transit-carrying area and local access areas on each side of the street. He described design elements of a multiway boulevard and said the concept was a keystone to the overall vision for West Eugene because it provided a connection between traffic, carrying capacity and land use to the benefit of both and helped the community move away from strip development. Mr. Zako noted there were areas in West Eugene that were zoned industrial, but owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and were clearly natural areas that would not be used for industrial purposes. The WEC felt those lands should be zoned to reflect their actual use. He said transportation, land use and the environment intersected in West Eugene and it was important to link them in a vision for that area that would create a great place to live, work, shop and recreate. Mr. Reed said next steps in the process included public involvement, technical analysis and planning and program. He stressed the importance of agreement between the council and the community on the multiway boulevard concept. Mr. Zako added that broad public support was necessary to assure that something happened in West Eugene. Mr. Reed reviewed the technical analysis and planning and programming activities that would support the WEC’s vision. In summary, Mr. Zako said the WEC was offering its recommendations to the council and community in the hope that they would promote action toward addressing the challenging problems in West Eugene. He said some recommendations could be implemented quickly; others would need to be part of a new City and regional planning process that was collaborative and integrated. Ms. Piercy thanked those who participated in the WEC and provided support for its efforts. Mr. Clark also thanked WEC members and staff. He was pleased with the recommendation to rezone lands in West Eugene appropriately for their actual use. He would require more information on multiway boulevards before deciding if that was a viable first step. Mr. Reed said the technical analysis would inform the planning effort. th Mr. Clark questioned why the principles did not include relieving congestion on West 11 Avenue. Mr. Zako said the principles were guidelines for achieving larger goals. He read the WEC’s mission statement adopted at the beginning of the process included the goal of facilitating movement of people and commerce from, through and to West Eugene and beyond. Mr. Clark said he was specifically interested in a traffic impact analysis that determined whether a multiway boulevard would move the desired level of traffic and future growth possibilities. He also wanted estimates of the cost of acquiring additional right-of-way. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Zako remarked that the WEC envisioned phasing in a multiway boulevard over several years and was concerned about the impact on existing property owners and the ability to acquire right-of-way naturally as properties changed owners. Mr. Reed added that the WEC’s intent was to address traffic and felt its recommendations would achieve that. He said a multiway boulevard was no less expensive than the West Eugene Parkway (WEP), but the WEP was a narrow, single-purpose transportation solution while the multiway boulevard incorporated all of the other elements that needed to be addressed, such as the environment, social justice and land use. Mr. Zelenka commended the WEC for its work and ability to reach consensus. He liked the direction of WEC recommendations and the inclusiveness of the process. He pointed out that Franklin Boulevard provided an example of a multiway boulevard in the vicinity of Walnut Station. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to accept the West Eugene Collabora- tive’s report and ask the City Manager to plan a work session or work sessions to discuss and plan for the potential implementation of the West Eugene Collabora- tive’s recommendations. Mr. Pryor stated that the WEC had consciously avoided taking the place of jurisdictions and agencies that were charged with the responsibility for developing final detailed plans. He said an important outcome of the WEC process was to develop guidelines that provided a good chance of success. He said short, medium and long-term recommendations offered opportunities to move forward with some immediate actions while developing long-range plans. The concept of a multiway boulevard gained acceptance from WEC members because it could be accomplished in the long-term and address the problems in West Eugene. He noted that the WEC process had been observed statewide and the model had gained the interest of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Ms. Solomon expressed an interest in immediate measures that could be taken to improve traffic flow on th West 11 Avenue. She noted that the WEC report had discussed inner and outer alternative routes and th asked how they would be improved to take traffic off West 11 Avenue. Mr. Reed said better signage would help direct drivers to alternate routes for avoiding congestion. He said improvements could also include signal timing, additional turn lanes and widened intersections. Rob Inerfeld, Public Works th Department, added that the City’s West 11 Avenue study would explore options for the main corridor and th inner and outer alternative routes enhancements were also being considered, including a roundabout at 5 Avenue and Seneca Street. Mr. Poling thanked the WEC for considering transportation issues between Veneta and Eugene and beyond. He echoed Mr. Clark’s concerns about a multiway boulevard and the cost of right-of-way acquisitions. He hoped that issues related to local access lanes would also be discussed in a work session. He referred to the WEC’s recommendation regarding rezoning of industrial land and noted there was also land zoned residential that would never be developed. He asked if the rezoning would occur before the City’s land supply study was completed or deducted from the inventory at a later date. He said dedicated transit lanes were difficult because of the City’s current building code and setback requirements that placed buildings th close to the street; that should be a concern with any redevelopment on West 11 Avenue. He questioned whether any changes to the building code to address the problem would apply only to West Eugene or be imposed citywide. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Reed said the intent was for the City’s land supply study to be completed before rezoning occurred. He said current setback requirements that placed buildings close to the street were creating problems because the City did not have a long-range vision for the street. Ms. Ortiz observed that there were a diversity of people on the WEC, but noted that only one was a business th owner on West 11 Avenue who would be impacted by the recommendations. Mr. Reed said that members had the responsibility to keep their constituents informed and considerable outreach to the business community occurred during the process. Ms. Piercy reiterated that the WEC recommendations did not represent a fast-track project. She said shaping a vision for the future would take time and benefit the entire community. Ms. Taylor commended the WEC’s work and recommendations. Mr. Clark asked how references to the WEP would be removed from all transportation planning documents. Mr. Inerfeld said the transportation system would need to be modeled with and without the WEP and then the City would need to demonstrate how transportation demands would be met in the future. He hoped to present information to the council in the fall. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. C. WORK SESSION Eugene Comprehensive Lands Assessment Jason Dedrick, Planning and Development Department, provided an update on the Eugene Comprehensive Lands Assessment (ECLA). He said land types associated with the study were residential, employment and semi-public and public lands. He said the key assumptions described in the agenda packet were the variables that would establish the land need and the council’s approval of those assumptions was requested. He said the objective of ECLA was to determine if Eugene could accommodate 20 years of growth, as well as respond to the requirements of House Bill 3337 by December 31, 2009. He said the methodology would determine the 20-year requirement for each land type and subtract the lands that were currently leaving the land needs. He reviewed the baseline or key assumptions contained in Attachment C to the agenda item summary. Mr. Dedrick reviewed the project timeline and noted the points at which the council would be provided updates. He used a flowchart to illustrate how ECLA fit within the City’s broader planning framework and other projects. Ms. Piercy asked what the ECLA advisory committee’s response to the key assumptions had been. Mr. Dedrick said the data was provided to the committee and staff determined a general sense of members’ opinions; there was no vote on the assumptions. In response to a question from Mr. Clark, Mr. Dedrick said that the land need determination had to be completed by December 31, 2009, in order to comply with HB 3337, but the timeline for the full ECLA project extended beyond that point. Mr. Clark said his interest was in assuring that the process used was the most defensible one for making decisions and the rationales were important to achieving that goal. He asked if the potential rezoning of land MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 6 Work Session in West Eugene would affect the assumptions. Mr. Dedrick replied that it would not have an impact because all of the lands in West Eugene, regardless of their zoning or plan designation, were already removed from the analysis as unbuildable land if they had wetlands on them or were otherwise constrained. Mr. Clark said there were ongoing discussions about the region’s future economy and questioned how the City could rely on ECLA data if it was not yet certain what its needs would be. He asked how the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan could be used to determine the need for parks and open space when it had been remanded and was not an official City plan. Mr. Dedrick agreed it was a challenging time for projecting employment needs. The study would use the state’s economic forecast of 1.4 percent growth for Lane County; using a different assumption would require a strong rationale to justify it. He said the PROS Plan could be used as part of the planning process to represent the community’s vision for that level of service. Mr. Clark asked why the PROS Plan had been remanded. City Attorney Emily Jerome explained that there was a provision in the City’s comprehensive plan that addressed the development and adoption of a parks plan. She confirmed that the plan could be used in the planning process without concern. Mr. Pryor commented that the agenda materials indicated a significant change in the percentage of single family detached dwellings, going from 84 percent in 2001 to 48 percent in 2008. He asked what explained that change in such a short period of time. Mr. Dedrick said a review of data over the past 20 years indicated a stable average of about 55 percent; the anomaly in the period from 2001 to 2008 would be discussed with the advisory committee. In response to a question from Mr. Poling, Mr. Dedrick said that constrained land citywide, not just in West Eugene, would be removed from the inventory. Mr. Zelenka remarked that HB 3337 only required an inventory of residential land and the council directed the inclusion of other land types. He asked if rezoning in West Eugene would have an impact on the analysis. Mr. Dedrick said there were some large parcels that were protected or constrained, but for purposes of the ECLA analysis it was not significant. Mr. Zelenka expressed concern with using historical trends to plan for the future. He asked if the process could define the future in terms of high, medium and low assumptions. Mr. Dedrick replied that land use decisions could not be based on aspirations; they had to be supported and encouraged by policies. He said the project’s focus was on obtaining reliable baseline assumptions that reflected sound numbers based on reasonable facts. He said once that was done, nothing precluded examining other scenarios, particularly if the inventory identified land needs. He was concerned that broadening the scope of the project at this point would jeopardize complying with the HB 3337 timeframe requirement. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to direct the City Manager to move forward with baseline assumptions so far, expressed as recommended values in column 2 of Attachment C, for the analysis of future employment land needs, resi- dential land needs, and public and semi-public land needs. The motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m. Respectfully submitted, MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 7 Work Session Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 8 Work Session