JOINT BOARD
OF COMMISSIONERS
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL
RIVER ROAD/SANTA CLARA CITIZEN COMMITTEE
WORK SESSION
September 18, 2002
5:30 p.m.
Commissioners' Conference Room
Commissioner Bill Dwyer presided with Commissioners Bobby Green, Sr.,
Anna Morrison and Peter Sorenson present.
Cindy Weeldreyer was present via telephone. Recording Secretary Melissa Zimmer was also present.
Mayor Jim Torrey presided with City Councilors Bonny Bettman, Pat Farr,
David Kelly, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Gary Pape, Gary Rayor and Betty
Taylor.
a.
PRESENTATION/Final Report and Recommendations of the River Road/Santa
Clara Urban Services Citizen Committee.
Jim Croteau, Principal Staff, River Road Santa Clara
Urban Services Committee, stated the committee had been meeting for the past
eighteen months. He noted the committee
was formed by joint resolutions that both the Eugene City Council and Board of
County Commissioners adopted in fall 2000.
He said the resolutions that were adopted gave the charge to the
committee to provide staff and elected officials with a local citizen
perspective on selected service delivery issues.
Croteau explained they were also charged with
reviewing a staff background paper to examine servicing issues and to act as a
liaison to community groups and individuals to keep them informed about the
urban service issues.
Croteau said there were ten service areas they were
going to examine such as fire, water, and public safety. He added they reviewed the background paper
and held a meeting with staff from that service area. He noted they brainstormed issues; themes, ideas that became part
of the report. He added they attached
Exhibit B as part of their material. He
noted that both the committee and staff struggled to condense people’s views
into one common report. He said the format of the report lists the executive
summary and background and goes through a series of themes.
Julie Fisher, Co-Chair, River Road/Santa Clara
Committee, explained they would be discussing the four major themes identified
by the committee: trust, voice, equity
and collaboration. She said their three
priorities for the future are establishing a transition manager, developing a
transition plan and creating a new neighborhood plan.
Fisher commented that River Road and Santa Clara are
in transition from a rural to an urban neighborhood and figuring out when to
provide services is difficult. She
noted the city’s decision in the 1990’s to annex properties as they are
developed has created a confusing and inefficient mess of services. She said members of the committee asked if
they could afford to have duplicate services in areas such as fire and
police. She said it wasn’t fair that
city residents in Santa Clara don’t have adequate access to a recreation
facility. She asked if County residents
have to abide by city land use codes when they have no political representation
in city government. She said the
answers to the question were urgent and important and they are committed to
pro-active change.
Fisher noted the city had made a significant
investment of staff time in the committee.
She said the group had a mutual respect for diversity and the basis for
trust, something that had been lacking between their neighborhood and the
city. She urged the elected officials
not to squander this unique opportunity to move forward with a transition plan,
transition manager and a new neighborhood plan.
Jerry Finnegan stated the area is suburban and
requires services at an urban level. He
said it is in the urban growth boundary of Eugene and it seems logical to be
part of Eugene. He said the residents
of River Road and Santa Clara would like to avoid paying the city level of
taxes. He noted their opposition to the
City of Eugene is that they attempted to annex the area through a policy of
conquest and supplying sewer service to the area to force annexation. He said this left the residents of the area
feeling besieged, vulnerable and unified. He noted in 1987 the County entered
into an agreement with the City of Eugene to manage planning and development
for the area. He said the residents
felt left out. He noted there were no
elected representatives to represent their interests. He stated the City of Eugene might be the best provider of the
services to the area but things need to be mended. He said the City of Eugene
would be well advised to recognize that the communities of River Road and Santa
Clara are unique and have special needs and the residents need to be treated
with respect. He said the citizens of
the area need to help plan for their own future.
Robert Bachelor, Santa Clara, recalled for the past
two years many changes have taken place without effective neighborhood
input. He said examples include housing
infill, tree removal and sewer installation.
He said the perception of the residents of Santa Clara/River is that
their needs take a back seat to other residents in the city. He said the lack of parks and recreation
opportunities in the neighborhood are poor.
He added there is no branch library in either neighborhood. He said the city residents feel that the
lack of these services is a reflection of the inadequate voice and
representation for their area.
Bachelor noted the short-term solution would be to
take a poll to ask the residents of the area their opinion on different topics
affecting the area. He said in the long term, they wanted the city and county
to support their suggestion for a transition manager. He noted this position would be a bridge between the elected
officials and the neighborhoods.
Jay Bosevich said city residents living in the Santa
Clara/River Road area think they are not receiving their fair share, that other
parts of the city and county are receiving favoritism. He said although the people in the Santa Clara
area pay the same tax rate as a city resident, they do not get the same level
of service. He noted that police
coverage is incomplete and inadequate at times. He added the area thinks they are subsidizing improved service
for county residents that might live nearby that are not paying for it. He said the transition plan they are
recommending would address the inequities.
Charles Kittleson hoped the group would have continued
and careful collaboration in order to address the larger issues they discovered. He said the committee found that democracy
was being abridged in River Road. He
noted there are approximately 30,000 residents in the River Road/Santa Clara
area and they don’t have anyone living in their area serving on the city
council or the Board of Commissioners.
He said their concern is that majority rules are between urbanists and
ruralists.
Ann Vaughn, Santa Clara resident, Co-Chair, said they
are recommending the city and county appoint a high level staff position to
oversee the transition process. She
said the transition manager would serve as a resource and communication link
for the residents with city staff and elected officials. She noted the manager would supervise
studies, committees, programs and policies related to improving the urban
services in the area. She added this
appointment is a critical next step in addressing the issues that were
mentioned about representation and trust building. She said they recommended that the transition manager work with
the residents to develop a comprehensive transition plan incorporating the
themes and recommendations of the committee.
She said the plan should include a fiscal analysis of revenue and costs
related to urban services in the River Road/Santa Clara area. She noted that sharing information is a
trust building activity and they think that the more information they share
with residents will help in building trust.
She added the committee recommended that the outdated River Road/Santa
Clara Urban Facilities Plan be replaced with a new plan that focuses on issues
that are important to the community today.
Farr stated he was impressed by the hard work the
committee did in bringing this together.
He wanted to make sure they continue the process.
Kelly thought the next steps for the committee were
sensible. He supported a motion to move
the report forward. He thought in the
short term that a poll made sense. He
noted the recommended steps will cost money but the same patchwork system with
the Santa Clara/River Road is also costing money as well as aggravation. He thought it was worth spending the money
to solve this.
Meisner said he wanted the committee of the Santa
Clara/River Road area to hear the comments, prepare the recommendations and do
the work. He hoped in the beginning
that the committee could work through the various service areas to come up with
practical recommendations to solve some of the immediate problems. He noted none of the solutions were simple
or without cost but all recognize the responsibility of the taxpayers and the
elected officials. He said the
recommendation for a transition manager to assist developing a plan with the
committee’s help would make sense and would provide an opportunity for
professional staff and neighborhood residents to continue to make the
transition. He hoped they could use
some of the reserve funds for Santa Clara/River Road for a transition manager
Bettman hoped to see the community involved in the
issues. She noted in reading the
service area themes and proposals there were some inconsistencies. She asked the committee what they
anticipated from the elected officials.
Croteau responded the committee examined each service
area by itself. He said it was a group
of ideas that were generated.
Bettman asked how a transition manager might be
funded.
Myra Wyle said they didn’t have the revenues and costs
relating to River Road/Santa Clara. She
added that was why they were asking for a feasibility study. She thought the funds might be readily
available to initially perform the economic feasibility study.
Bettman was in favor of a feasibility study. She also thought the transition manager was
a good idea but she wanted to study it in terms of the entire budget. She noted when the city council looked at
their six-year forecast, they would not be creating any new services because
they couldn’t afford it.
Taylor asked if most of the committee would feel
resentment about annexation.
Finnegan noted that was an issue that was brought up
previously. He said that eventually
River Road/Santa Clara would become part of the city. He said it is already within the realm of the city with the urban
growth boundary. He stated the issue
long term is getting the transition into the city. He added for the short term the question is what to do with the
problems that currently exist. He noted
resentment came from the idea of being conquered. He said if the elected officials could work with the committee
that people would be friendlier and not as resentful. He said if the city comes off as honorable that the resentment
would fade.
Taylor supported a poll.
Ann Vaughn said their transition process is meant to
help enlighten residents in their area and have a collaborative effort with the
city. She stated they learned that some people in the city found they were
benefiting in areas they didn’t realize, and some who did not live in the city
realized how they were benefiting from some of the city services. She said communication, sharing information
and collaboration is what the whole transition recommendation is about.
Pape appreciated the efforts of the City of Eugene and
Lane County to form this committee. He
said if they were going to move forward, they would have to get past the sewer
system implementation. He added they need to follow through with dollars. He said the dollars are hard to come by but
he would work hard to get the dollars to implement the three recommendations
the committee came up with. He said
they have to listen to the residents in the area. He said they would do a disservice to the community if the report
is accepted and they don’t continue to interact, collaborate and follow through
on the recommendations that were put forth.
Morrison said because the committee produced something
on its own they have to educate people around what services they do receive and
how they are impacted. She wanted to
see the process moving forward. She
noted the dollars were the issue and Lane County didn’t put a lot into the
initial step. She asked if the polling
meant a vote of everyone in the area or a random phone survey.
Fisher responded their thought was more of a random
sampling of people. She thought it was
premature at this point. She said the
results of their work needed to be disseminated. She said a lot of people don’t know if they are in the city or
the county.
Morrison supported moving forward.
Kittleson said city actions caused problems in the
past with wrong assumptions about the point of view of the people. He said they weren’t sure their committee
was a good cross-section. He said they
wanted to get reassurance that they are a good representative sampling. He said a scientific sampling of some type
that provides valid information about the broad point of view in their
communities is what they are after. He
added they needed something more reliable than what they currently have to make
policy decisions.
Nathanson noted that the City of Eugene and Lane
County are following state and federal law with regard to land use, zoning and
environment issues. She added that not
everything was under the control of the City of Eugene or Lane County. She was interested in equity. She wanted to understand and help with the
issues of equity. She commented it
would be a challenge to redistribute resources to make sure they equitably
serve everyone in a fair manner. She
considered this report as a request for a beginning. She thought this process was remarkable. She asked the executives to consider whether
the efforts of this group could be submitted to either the League of Oregon
Cities or to a national organization (such as the American Planning
Association) as an example of an excellent process.
Green complimented the group on their work. He thought
the product was unique. He agreed with the group that there needed to be an
updated plan so when hearing officials make decisions, they are using current
information. He wanted the group to
stay involved so they could get an accurate reading on whether the group is an
accurate representation of the neighborhood.
He thought the trust level started when Croteau asked the group to write
the plan. He wanted to make this a
living document. He suggested taking
the recommendations and asking staff to assess the implications of the
financial picture. He said it has to be
folded into the budgeting process. He
stated whether people live in the area or not, what happens in the area impacts
everyone as people travel through the area.
He asked the elected officials to take this seriously and empower the
representatives to continue working on this process. He supported the recommendations.
Sorenson viewed this as a difficult problem. He said areas outside of the incorporated
cities should be handled consistently.
He said the problem was the area did not have specific unified representation
and that complexity leads to the difficulty.
He favored a random sample survey in the area. He was concerned that despite all of the work that went into
this, there are different voices and their perception of what is going on is
part of the educational process. He
thought they could get a better idea on how to approach the questions that
should be directed to city staff. He
didn’t think Lane County had the kind of money for an analysis. He added if the city acquires this section
then they should go slow with annexation.
He recommended having the citizens who are on the committee and the
elected officials have a public hearing for the purpose of gaining perspective
from the people that live in the area. He said from the Board of Commissioners
perspective, they have to make sure that people who live outside of cities are
treated equally in the process by which they become part of their nearest
city. He favored continued work by the
city government and the committee and the commitment of money. He favored in part a random sample survey to
gain perspective on the views of the public affected by this decision and a
public hearing to allow the public an opportunity to comment on the report.
Rayor complimented the citizen members. He wanted to see the cover of the report
have a Lane County logo as well as the City of Eugene, as it is a joint
advisory committee to Eugene and Lane County.
He wanted to make sure the residents know that the local governments are
trying to work together to resolve these issues.
Torrey stated he hadn’t made up his mind on what is in
the best interest for the people in the area. He noted there are things of
value that would be a benefit to the people of the area but the question is
whether they want them enough to pay for them.
He said if they don’t, there should be a discussion to decide whether
they should proceed. He stated he would
vote for the committee’s recommendations and he will work with Pape to try to
find the money. He said they need to do
this for all the people who live in the area.
Dwyer concurred with Sorenson about bringing the
report to a public hearing so the people who are impacted by the decisions
could give their concerns to the committee.
He thanked the committee for its work.
He noted there had been resentment and deception and hard feelings. He
hoped whatever the city did, they would make a commitment that it would require
the consent of those people that are going to be impacted by the decision to
move into the city. He said part of the
problem is the government tax policies and how they affect land
development. He said the committee
should continue to work with this but they need to honor the will of the people
who moved out of the city to a rural area.
He was concerned about trust of the committee in the transition manager
and how they would decide who would be that person. He suggested the group pick five or six people and decide whom
they want.
MOTION: move to direct the City Manager of the City
of Eugene to prepare a work program and proposed budget including possible
funding sources for the high priority recommendations as presented in the final
report and recommendations of the River Road/Santa Clara urban services
committee.
Kelly MOVED, Pape SECONDED.
Taylor suggested considering a public hearing where
all the residents could be present.
Bettman noted the residents of Santa Clara/River Road
haven’t had a chance to react to the report.
She wanted to hear that before they took any action. She wasn’t opposed to how much this would
cost to implement the recommendations.
Kelly noted that all the motion would do would bring
back to the City of Eugene and the Board of Commissioners a proposal to do the
three priority issues: a transition
plan, transition manager and an updated urban services plan. He asked how long it would take, who needed
to be involved and how they would pay for it.
Meisner supported the motion. He noted that both the written record and
the tapes of the meetings were a public session with substantial public
input. He added they were also well
advertised but they were not public hearings before elected bodies. He said the citizens of the committees
advertised them and it did bring people to the meeting.
VOTE: 6-2
(Bettman, Taylor dissenting).
MOTION: to move
to direct Lane County staff to work with the City of Eugene staff to prepare a
work program and proposed budget for the following high priority
recommendations for consideration in the FY 2003-2004 budget process:
1. Establishment of a staff person (Transition Manager) to oversee the River Road and Santa Clara Transition issues.
2. Development
of a Transition Plan incorporating the recommendations of the committees and an
economic analysis of the provision of urban services.
3. Replacement
of the River Road/Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan.
Green MOVED, Morrison SECONDED.
With regard to a public hearing, Green thought it
could be a recommendation. He noted the
citizens responded to a public process that was put forward some time ago. He said the group needs to be empowered and
the elected officials need to embrace the study and give staff direction to go
forward and bring something back. He
thought a public hearing at that time would be warranted.
Dwyer asked what they were transitioning into. He asked if a Transition Manager was someone
hired to manage the transition of the area into the city. He said the development of the plan that
incorporates the concepts is important and they have to do that. He said that Lane County had entered into a
transitional agreement with the City of Eugene where they relinquished all of
their rights and responsibilities as it relates to the development of the City
without representation. He said they
have to be careful to control the development within the urban growth
boundaries so the citizens have more of a say in the matter.
Morrison said a public hearing could be part of what
the staff brings forward. She would be
agreeable to that. She commented that
having a public hearing prior to having anything go out to the public is
counterproductive.
Green wanted Board support for the document. He wanted to wait to have a public hearing
so more people could weigh in. He said
people want to know what had been endorsed or accepted.
Weeldreyer supported the motion. She believed there needs to be more neighbor
to neighbor sharing so there is a community effort, not a city or county top
level approach. She said because the
area has demonstrated a strong desire to work toward a smooth transition, they
should be given the autonomy to work with the county and city in a way they
would come into the city for the future.
She noted there is currently a high level of trust and it needs to be
maintained as the recommendations get disseminated into the community.
Sorenson stated he wanted to make sure the people that
are in the city want this to happen and if they think it is a good thing for
the Board of Commissioners to be doing.
He didn’t think asking for a public hearing was out of line.
Green said the Board had the obligation to endorse the
plan by accepting it and giving staff direction to come back by developing a
work plan and proposed budget. He
wanted to know all the implications.
VOTE: 3-2
(Dwyer, Sorenson dissenting).
There being no further business, Mayor Torrey recessed the meeting for the City of Eugene at 7:20 p.m.
There being no further business, Commissioner Dwyer
recessed the meeting for the Lane County Board of Commissioners at 7:20 p.m.
Melissa Zimmer
Recording Secretary