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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/18/2003 Regular . MINUTES Springfield City Council Springfield Council Chamber-225 Fifth Street, Springfield Tuesday, February 18,2003 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Anne Ballew, Dave Ralston, Tammy Fitch, Stu Burge, John Woodrow' The meeting of the Springfield City Council was called to order by Mayor Sid Leiken. City Recorder Kim Krebs called the roll.' All members of the council were present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Leiken led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. . PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Request for Metro Plan and Gateway RefinementPlan Amendments Jo. No. 2002- . 08-243 and Jo No. 2002-08-244 (PeaceHealth) ORDINANCE NO.I-AN,ORDINANCE AMENDING THE METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN DIAGRAM BY REDESIGNATING U],> TO 33 ACRES OF LAND FROM MEDIUM-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL TO COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL AT THE GA TEW A Y MEDIUM-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL SITE AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. ORDINANCE NO.2-AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE GATEWAY REFINEMENT PLAN DIAGRAM AND TEXT BY ALLOWING COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL PLAN DESIGNATION AT THE GATEWAY MEDIUM-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL SITE TO . MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page I DESIGNATION AT THE GA TEW A Y MEDIUM-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL SITE TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY MIXED-USE COMMERCIAL ON THE SPRINGFIELD ZONING MAP; BY AMENDING THE GATEWAY REFINEMENT PLAN TEXT TO ALLOW FOR THE COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL METRO PLAN DESIGNATION TO BE AFFIXED UPON MASTER PLAN APPROVAL; TO ALLOW FOR THE MEDICAL SERVICES DISTRICT TO BE APPLIED TO UP TO 66 ACRES OF MEDIUM-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL PLAN DESIGNATION; TO ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HOSPITAL, ASSOCIATED MEDICAL, OFFICE, RETAIL, AND RESIDENTIAL USES; TO PRESERVE THE POTENTIAL FOR NODAL DEVELOPMENT; TO REQUIRE A MASTER PLAN TO BE APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. . Mayor L~iken opened the public hearing. Mayor Leiken welcorned all those present. He reviewed the order of the proceedings. Mayor Leiken noted that the hearing would not go beyond 10 p.m. If the council was unable to accommodate all speakers tonight, they would be called upon to speak the following night in the . order they signed up. Request to speak forms would not be accepted on February 19. Mayor Leiken noted that the written record would remain open until February 26,2003. The applicant would be allowed seven days for rebuttal. The City Council would reconvene the hearing for discussion and deliberation on March 31, 2003. Mayor Leiken emphasized that the hearing was being conducted under the broadest possible procedures for the purpose of public participation and information. Mayor Leiken encouraged councilors to write their questions down and have them ready at the conclusion of oral testimony. Mayor Leiken called on the City Attorney for comments. MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 2 . . City Attorney Joe Leahy indicated that if the council continued the hearing to the following night, those who hl;ld to leave early tonight would be able to speak; if all the speakers were heard and the hearing was not continued, they would be unable to speak but could submit written testimony while the record remained open. Mr. Leahy reviewed the council's code of conduct as it related to on-the-record hearings. He said that if the council made its decisions prior to hearing the facts or on facts that were not relevant to the criteria, the purpose of the hearing would be defeated. If the council made its decision on the record, the integrity of the land use process was maintained. He urged the council to refrain from comment until the public record was closed, and suggested a good "rule of thumb" was to treat the applicants as councilors would wish to be treated. Mr. Leahy said that the council should ensure that there Was no bias on the part of any member regarding the proposal. He'defined that bias as meaning the councilor had already reached a decision on the issue. If a councilor had made a decision and could not be fair, that individual should recuse themselves. . Speaking to the issue of ex parte contacts, Mr. Leahy said that councilors needed to put all the substance of any and all written or oral contacts they received regarding the proposal so that information was available in the public record for all those interested in the issue. That allowed people to recognize the information the council had and to rebut it. He noted the extensive controversy and news coverage that accompanied the application and suggested that if the council had been lobbied on any particular element of the proposal, it should place that on the record. General information did not have to be placed on the record because it was already in the record, giving all an opportunity to respond to it. Mr. Leahy asked the council to consider his remarks when it made its declarations of ex parte contact or conflict of interest. Mr. Leahy discussed ethics and the requirements of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) regarding the subject. He said that if a councilor or any member of his family would direct benefit as a result of the decision or avoid detrim~nt as a result of the decision, the councilor should not participate. If a councilor had a potential conflict, he or she should state so. He noted . MINUTES-Springfield City Council , February 18, 2003 Page 3 that no councilor to this point had indicated an ethical conflict to him with respect to the application. . Councilor Ballew noted she was the council representative to the McKeni:ie-Willamette Hospital Authority. Mr. Leahy indicated that was not a conflict. Councilor Woodrow indicated he worked for a company that did business with PeaceHealth, which bought advertising from his firm. He said that consultation with the State Practices and Standards Commission indicated that did not represent a conflict of interest. Councilor Fitch said that constituents at various community events visited with her generally on the subject but she heard nothing that was not in the record. Those e-mail contacts she received regarding the topic were in the record. Mayor Leiken declared ex parte contacts similar to those noted by Councilor Fitch. He noted that he had also met with PeaceHealth's chief executive officer Alan Yordy during the annexation agreement discussions between PeaceHealth and Springfield. . There were no other conflicts of interest or ex parte contaf:ts declared. Deputy City Attorney Meg Kieran reported that the hearing concerned a request to amend the Metro Plan Diagram and Gateway Refinement Plan Diagrarn and text to allow PeaceHealth to site a regional hospital and associated medical office buildings in the Gateway Refinement Plan area. She noted that the site in question was currently designated for medium-density residential (MDR) use. Ms. Kieran reported that process employed by the City was a hybrid of the quasi- judicial procedures set out in Oregon Revised Statute 197.763 and the Type 4 procedures from the Springfield Development Code, Article 3.100. She said that staff adopted the elements from each procedure that provided the most opportunity for public input and due process. She noted that the decisions for both processes must be based on evidence in the record and must be supported by findings supporting the decision and addressing the approval criteria. MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 4 '. . . . Ms. Kieran said that the council must rnake its decision based on whether the proposal satisfied the code criteria, which were mounted on the Council Chamber wall behind the council. She reviewed the applicable criteria, saying that the proposal must be consistent with relevant Statewide planning goals and it must not make the Metro Plan internally inconsistent. Ms. Kieran referred the council to the Metro Plan amendment criteria in Springfield Development Code Section 7.070(3), and the refinement plan criteria in Section 8.030. Ms. Kieran said that the applicable criteria would be addressed in detail by the applicant, the staff report, and testimony offered by interested parties. Those testifying should address the relevant criteria or those criteria they believed to be applicable. Any evidence not raised at the council level could not be brought up on appeal before the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Those raising issues must do so with sufficient clarity so that staff, the applicant, and the City Council could address the issue. She said that the council had traditionally allowed testimony not directly relevant to a criteria for the sake of public openness. However, it was the responsibility of the council to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant evidence and to address the criteria in its findings. Mayor Leiken called for the staff report. Colin Stephens of the Springfield Planning Division provided the staff report. He, called attention to a map in the council packet showing all the annexed property on the approximately 200-acre MDR site. He stated that the council was considering an application for a Metro Plan Diagram amendment to redesignate 33 acres from Medium-Density Residential (MDR) to Community Commercial zoning. The council was also consider Gateway Refinement Plan text and diagram amendments: one amendment was to allow rezoning of 33 acres frorn Medium- Density Residential to Mixed-Use Commercial (MUC), one amendment was to amend the text to allow 66 acres of Medium-Density Residential to be rezoned to Medical Services (MS) District, pending approval of the master plan, and one amendment was to amend the text to allow for the development of a hospital and nodal development pending approvalofthe master plan. Mr. MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 5 Stephens said that the application would replace the requirement in the refinement plan for a conceptual development plan with a requirement for a master plan, would preserve residential densities as planned for in the refinement plan and Metro Plan, and would allow for the implementation of nodal development at the site as envisioned in TransPlan. . Mr. Stephens said that the Planning Commission held three hearings and forwarded a recommendation of approval with three conditions: I) the proposed master plan must include a hospital; 2) if the hospital failed to gain master plan approval, the amendments would immediately sunset; and 3) the third condition was to limit the height of the hospital to 60 feet. Mr. Stephens said that staff supported the general ,?oncept in Condition 2, but recommended, alternatively that, upon failure to gain approval for the hospital, the council would initiate plan amendments to best accommodate development in the Gateway site, taking into account relevant conditions at that time. Regarding Condition 3, Mr. Stephens said that if the council choose a different height or deferred the decision to the master planning process, he wanted to be clear that the council's jurisdiction over the height issue would be retained during the master planning process. . Mr. Stephens reviewed staff-recommended text changes made since the Planning Commission took action. He said that staff recommended that Residential Implementation Action 12.1 be revised to remove "appropriate commercial" to make it clear only mixed-use commercial would be allowed. The other change was to Residential Irnplernentation Action 13.6, which allowed PeaceHealth to submit a rnaster plan application prior to the.City's nodal irnplementation, but preserved the ability to perform that implementation. Mr. Stephens noted that the applicant was proposing alternative language, which staff was examining and would analyze prior to making a recommendation to the council on March 31. Mr. Stephens clarified that the decision on the plan amendments regarding whether the hospital could locate at the site. If the decision was yes, the City would then receive and review the master plan and make decisions related to the design and configuration of the hospital and associated development. The decision was not about whether the hospital can or should be built MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 6 . . . . at the site. Mr. Stephens indicated all written testimony submitted during the Planning Commission review process had been made available to the council. All testimony received prior to February 13 was included in the meeting packet. He indicated that staff would forward any additional testimony received to the council on February 27, followed by the applicant's rebuttal. Mayor Leiken called for testimony from the applicant. Alan Yordy, chief executive officer of Peace Health, Oregon Region, 770 East 11 th Avenue, Eugene, thanked the staff and the council for their time and commitment to the process. He particularly thanked City Manager Mike Kelly and Cynthia Pappas of the Development Department and their staffs. He termed the construction of a new hospital a signature event in the life of a community. PeaceHealth had been aware that a regional medical center could not be built on four city blocks. Such a center required more space to house the many staff and support services that were needed. He suggested that the council was about to make a decision about both a regional medical center and about the level of medical service many people in western Oregon would have in the future. Mr. Yordy expected that in reaching its vision for the new hospital, PeaceHealth would create value for Springfield. He anticipated that property tax , revenues from the River Bend campus would nearly double the value of the current land use designation. A regional medical center also brought in money to the community from areas outside the community. He cited the federal Medicare program, philanthropic foundations, and employers outside the county as sources of those funds. Mr. Yordy said that it would require flexibility to meet the potential of the site. He said that PeaceHealth could not design a world-class facility in a 60-foot height limit. He said that because nodal development was still in its infancy, he recommended a dialogue between the hospital and the City about the issue in the context of the master planning process. Mr. Yordy said that such flexibility would provide the greatest opportunity for success at the site. MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 7 .... Mr. Yordy noted community controversy about the timing ofthe amendment and master " planning processes, but he believed that the timing of the processes was right. The plan amendments would provide clear direction to PeaceHealth about what was permissible before it submitted a master plan. He noted that PeaceHealth had prepared a conceptual master plan, which had been widely reported in the media and discussed with many people as the basis for some of the amendments before the council tonight. . Mr. Yordy noted PeaceHealth intended to honor late councilor Lyle Mr. Hatfield somewhere on the campus site. Mr. Yordy spoke of the long-time history of PeaceHealth to the metropolitan area. He said the River Bend campus was key to that future. ' Phillip Farrington, PeaceHealth Director for Land Use Planning, 677 East 12th Avenue, Eugene urged the council to adopt the Planning Commission's recommendations and approve the plan amendments. He said that much information had been submitted already, and he proposed to hit the high points. Mr. Farrington said that the application represented a dual campus strategy that . allowed PeaceHealth to retain and remodel the existing Hilyard campus while developing the River Bend site using the MS district. The application furthered the nodal development by providing an opportunity for housing and employment in one location with access to transit. The application would maintain the existing surplus of needed residential housing, conforming with State Goal 10, and it would help reduce the City's existing deficit of cornmerciallands, in conformance with State Goal 9. The application would establish a trip allocation plan to ensure that transportation capacity would be preserved. It would also ensure public access to and along the McKenzie River. The provisions in the refinement plan providing protection to the river were also retained as part of the proposal. Mr. Farrington asked that the council consider implementation action 13.6 and the proposed, height limitation. He thought it premature to impose the height limitation because the council could consider that issue through the master plan process. He thought the condition was MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 8 . ...... . . . unwarranted because it was intended to protect the Cobutg Hills view shed but it was imposed without regard to point of origin. Mr. Farrington said that the limitation was also made without making the determination that such a height limitation would actually preserve the views. He said that PeaceHealth did photo simulations suggesting that those views would not be obstructed, but he reiterated it was early in the process to make that determination. He said that it was also rather arbitrary too because it was imposed without consideration of the function of the proposed hospital and its impact on service delivery. Mr. Farmington said that PeaceHealth wanted to be able to take advantage of the amenity values the site. He noted the improved clinical outcomes associated with enhanced settings for medical care, information about which was submitted into the record. Speaking to Implementation Action 13.6, Mr. Farrington suggested that the text preordained the location and application and of the nodal development overlay. PeaceHealth wanted to take advantage of the flexibility the master planning process would afford. Rather than rely on a one- size-fits-all set of standards, PeaceHealth hoped to be able to propose alternative measures to achieve the same ends for nodal development. He noted that alternative text was submitted. Mr. Farrington concluded by saying that PeaceHealth believed the appropriateness of applying the MS designation had been previously established. He said that PeaceHealth also believed there was no need for an amendment to TransPlan as a result of the application, as had been previously argued in testirnony. Jim Hanks, JRH Transportation Engineering, 4765 Villa Plaza Loop, Eugene, rerninded the council that PeaceHealth agreed to provide funding for several improvements as part of the, development of the River Bend campus. He enumerated those projects, which including funding of the Gateway-Beltline intersection construction, funding half the construction costs and most of the right-of-way for the Pioneer Parkway extension, and funding for capacity improvements at the interchange of Pioneer Parkway and Highway 126. Mr. Hanks noted that all those projects were deemed necessary in TransPlan before PeaceHealth decided to move to River Bend. He pointed out that ifPeaceHealth was not planning to move to the site in question, none of the MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 9 " .a... improvements would be funded. . Mr. Hanks said that the Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) developed by JRH Engineering was the result of more than a year's collaboration with the staff of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Springfield, and Lane Transit District. That collaboration resulted in substantial changes to the plan. Mr. Hanks said that the analysis concluded that with the mitigation outlined in the report, including a trip cap of 1,840 peak hour trips, the PeaceHealth development would not cause any transportation facility to exceed its adopted mobility standard. He said that the analysis was sufficient to convince 1-5/Beltline Decision Team to approve the 1- 5/Beltline interchange project. Before voting, the team wanted assurance that hospital would not cause intersection to fail during its design life. He noted that the team included former City Council Christine Lundberg, Eugene City Council David Kelly, and County Commissioner Bill Dwyer. Mr. Hanks said that the traffic study and trip cap assumed full development of all land in the vicinity of Peace Health, including full development ofMDR property that would remain after the rezoning requested. Regarding the letter submitted by County Commission Peter Sorenson to the council, Mr. Hanks . indicated he had prepared a written response to address each issue raised by the commissioner. Mr. Hanks said there was no need for a TransPlan amendment, as had been argued. All the proposed improvements were in TransPlan and were funded. He said that the TIA was very conservative, and did not rely on trip reduction from future nodal development. It was based on trip generations in typical suburban hospitals in the northwest that lack the aggressive transportation demand management (TDM) programs that PeaceHealth has. However, he anticipated that nodal development and the hospital's TDM programs would reduce trips, and there would be a substantial diversion of trips to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. That meant that future traffic conditions were likely to be better than that shown in the TIA. Mr. Hanks concluded that the evidence would show that the application conformed to the requirements of State Goal 12 and the State Transportation Planning Rule (TPR). It was also MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 10 . ...... . . . consistent with local implementing transportation policies in TransPlan and the Metro Plan. He offered to make himself available to answer questions. Mike Robinson, a land use attorney representing PeaceHealth, discussed Goal 12, Transportation, and the TPR. Regarding Goal 12, Transportation, he said that the goal and TPR r required that the City was satisfied that at the end of an application process, it would end up with a safe transportation system that was not over capacity at the end of the application process. Mr. Robinson noted that the applicant had to demonstrate no significant effect, or that the desired level of service (LOS) standard would still be met. If there was a significant effect, mitigation must occur as mandated by the TPR. PeaceHealth proposed to lirnit trips to no more than the current designation would allow so the mobility standard would be no further reduced. Hesaid that the result of the application would be the construction of approved transportation improvements without generation of more traffic than the system could accommodate. Mr. Robinson noted PeaceHealth's work to satis.,ty the TPR requirement for collaboration with transportation providers. He concluded that Goal 12 and the TPR were satisfied. Regarding Goal 10, Housing, Mr. Robinson said the goal was straightforward. It required that there be adequate land for housing, and it was satisfied if the community could demonstrate it would be rnet after the application was approved. He noted relevant case law- the Woodburn and WaITington cases- and reported that LUBA had concluded that there must be substantial evidence showing the goal would be met. The evidence in this case was the fact the bulk of the site would retain the MDR designation and Gateway Refinement Plan (GRP) Residential Element Implementation Action 12.6 required that the master plan accommodate the anticipated level of housing on the site. Mr. Robinson offered to rnake hirnself available for question.s. th . Steve Pfieffer, 1211 SW 6 Avenue, was an attorney representing PeaceHealth. He made three points. First, the application before the council represented a series of policy choices in implementing the broad goals and policies established through the Metro Plan and refinement plan. The council had choices for implementation. Mr. Pfeiffer acknowledged that changes were proposed to the refinement plan, and said the council would hear from those who would argue nothing should be changed. Some would argue that the council was bound to the existing MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 11 - document. He disagreed. A comprehensive plan was a dynamic document. Mr. Pfeiffer said what was appropriate ten years ago may no longer be appropriate today. . Second, Mr. Pfeiffer spoke to the process issues that had been raised. He said that the process being employed, that of the home city making the decision, was established by adopted policy, and the council had been so advised by its legal counsel. He pointed out that the County and City of Eugene were welcome to offer comments. However, the process was established and this was not the venue to change it. Third, Mr. Pfeiffer referred to the November 18, 2002, letter sent to the Planning Commission by staff of the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), and said the letter had been extensively rebutted by the applicant. To date, the applicant had not heard back from the department on the issue of the goal compliance issues the department maintained were raised by the application. Mr. Pfeiffer noted that a subsequent letter from the DLCD raised no goal compliance issues. He reported that discussions with DLCD staff indicated that its concerns did not regard goal compliance, but rather the applicant's planning recommendations. The DLCD was calling now for full nodal treatment, significant residential up zoning, and recommending that the hospita~ be required to be in a commercial zone. Those were not goal compliance issues, but rather site-specific planning recommendations related to whatDLCD staff characterized as "good planning." While he questioned whether it was the role of the State to offer such site- specific planning recommendations, he did not thinkJhe State had made a case that the , application would violate any State goals. . Mayor Leiken called for testimony from the public. Susan Ban, Director of Sheltercare, 1062 Main Street, Springfield; said that PeaceHealth had been a good community member and partner for her agency. It provided services no other provider could. Her agency worked with an increasingly aging and indigent population without medical insurance, and PeaceHealth had worked with Sheltercare and other community providers to fill and close the gap to serve those populations. Ms. Ban said that many of her agency's clients had mental health problems and the capacity of the existing mental health system was MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 12 . . . . inadequate. It was her hope that PeaceHealth's move to River Bend would create more access to services for that population. As a member of the Lane Transit District Board, Ms. Ban said the board believed that in the future the community would need new paradigms to resolve its complicated transportation problems. She suggested that PeaceHealth was helping to resolve those problems with its large contributions toward the public transportation infrastructure. Peter Sorenson, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, Board of County Commissioners Chair, submitted copies of a letter dated February 5, 2003. He said the letter, which was to the council from the board, was prepared by County staff from various departments and adopted by the board. Mr. Sorenson said he wanted the council to consider the letter as being from him individually as well. He thought it important his South Eugene constituents had a voice in the decision before the Springfield City Council as they were affected by the decision. Mr. Sorenson asked if the proposed trip caps would be codified, verified and enforced, particularly in relation to Project 606, the 1-5/Beltline interchange. He said that project was on the constrained list in the 20-year TransPlan. Project 727, the Highway I 26-Pioneer Parkway project, was not on the constrained list but was on the futures list. He said that even if the applicant provided the funding, could the project be constructed without an amendment to TransPlan approved by all parties to the plan to move it to the financially constrained list. Mr. Sorenson acknowledged the difficulty of this decision, which is why the board expressed support for and requested a rnulti-jurisdictional commission to discuss siting of new hospital facilities. George Poling, 1574 Coburg Road, #114, a resident of the Willakenzie area and a member of the Eugene City Council, urged the council to approve the River Bend site for the new PeaceHealth facility. He looked forward to the hospital as a regional facility for the fast commute and the attention his family would receive from the hospital. He had heard from many MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 13 constituents who supported the rezoning ofthe site. He said that all people in the community should work together to support progressive endeavors that improve the community's quality of life. Mr. Poling believed the master plan process would address many of the issues that had been raised. He thought staff was adequate to address the issues that would arise in the master plan review. He said that the infrastructure improvements being proposed were needed by the entire region, and they would facilitate access to care for the entire region. . Dennis Shine, 2923 Game Farm Road, Springfield, said his road was impacted by traffic for which it was not designed. He said that Game Farm Residents Association were told that improvements would be done when traffic on the road reached a limit that had now been exceeded for some time. He said that PeaceHealth's development proposal had ramifications for the problems. Mr. Shine said that one option for relieving traffic on Game Farm Road was the extension of Pioneer Parkway, and that he agreed that would not happen without PeaceHealth's money. Mr. Shine said that he had discussed the development proposal with Mr. Yordy and as a board member of Lane Community College had thanked him for PeaceHealth's contributions to the . college's Nursing Program. He said that he shar~d his concern that if Pioneer Parkway was extended and traffic lights were included on the extension, Game Farm Road would have the same problems it did now because people would avoid them and would travel on his road at high rates of speed, endangering residents attempting to cross the street to get their mail. Mr. Shine noted that residents along the street would have to give up part of their properties for the extension, and wanted to know if that tradeoff was made, the problern would be alleviated. Mr. Shine suggested that the City Council consider renaming the extension of Pioneer Parkway extension in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At this point in the meeting, City Clerk Kim Krebs read the ordinances by title. Jennifer Solomon, 2005 Linnea Street, Eugene, a member ofthe Eugene City Council, spoke in MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 14 . . . . her role as a hospital volunteer, mother, and a northwest Eugene resident. She noted her service on the foundation board of Sacred Heart Hospital. She said that for many residents of her ward, the new hospital would be closer and more convenient than the current hospital site. Ms. Solomon said that Springfield's policy makers should make their decisions based on established criteria and should resist the temptation to delve into matters beyond their control. She believed the Springfield council would be fair and even-handed in its treatment of both local hospitals. Ms. Solomon said that the hospital had outgrown its current campus. She pointed out that the hospital proposed to move only a few mile from its current location. Ms. Solomon believed that the proposed River Bend site was the best site for a centrally located new hospital and that PeaceHealth had addressed the issues that had been raised. Bonnie Ullman, 3350 Oriole Street, Springfield, representing the Game Farm Neighbors, asked, the council to deny the application as she did not believe the TIA had decisively demonstrated that a trip cap would be sufficient to mitigate the traffic impacts of a regional hospital. She asked what happened if the hospital development without any further development exceeded the trip cap. Did that mean there would no further development or would more zoning amendments be submitted to supercede the trip cap? If there was no more development, where would the residential development intended to be located on the site go. Ms. Ullman was concerned that emergency vehicles would not be able to serve the area because of worsened traffic conditions. Ms. Ullman said that the Commercial Lands Study suggested an increase of commercial acres to 10 to 15 specific acres to accommodate nodal developrnent. Ms. Ullman asserted that Article 41 of the Springfield Development Code regarding the nodal overlay was not meant for regional destinations but for pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods that would satisfy the TPR. She believed a nine-story hospital would be destination for vehicles from across the region. Ms. Ullman said that an analysis done by EcoNorthwest of nodal feasibility suggested that Springfield could support one node of this size. She did not want to exclude downtown from benefits of nodal development. She further expressed concern that Springfield did not have the fire and emergency equipment needed to fight fires at a nine-story hospital filled with nonambulatory , MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 15 occupants. . Carol James, 1428 Olympic Street, Springfield, objected to the applications because of its potential impact on the viewshed; its location near a scenic waterway; its potential impact on the transportation system; its location on land designated for MDR; its location in an area where the refinement plan called for neighborhood commercial development; its location near the edge of the urban growth boundary which could increase vehicle miles traveled and negatively affect streets local government could not afford to maintain; its location "as far as possible from those poor, elderly and disabled in the community"; and its reliance on the yet unfunded BRT segment. Ms. James criticized City officials, the City Attorney, and City staff for being "so open for business that the deal was done on the day it was announced" and for failing to consider the impact of the PeaceHealth move on the McKenzie-Willarnette Hospital. She criticized the lllayor for suggesting that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital should be treated like any other business. She suggested that the City and its staff had forced McKenzie- Willamette Hospital "into the arms" of a for-profit partner, resulting in its move to Eugene and leading to increased health care costs for all. . Dr. Rich Hicks, 3958 Southridge Drive, Eugene, a surgeon, supported the move of Peace Health to Eugene. He addressed several misconceptions, including that hospital automatically bring doctors, which they do not. Doctors use safe cost-effective, safe hospitals. He said that there were a large range of hospital types. What was being proposed was a regional rnedical center. The community had a community hospital in the form of McKenzie- Willamette Hospital. Dr. Hicks said that people seem to believe there was conspiracy to move the hospital out of Eugene. That was not the case. He said that rebuilding in Eugene was not the thing to do. Dr. Hicks said that the issue was not a contest between two hospitals; they were both needed. Sacred Heart can provide some services that McKenzie- Willamette Hospital cannot. He asked the City to give the . hospital the tools to do the job and the results would be a great regional medical center. Alice Verret, 3195 Wayside Loop, Springfield, said area neighbors closely followed the development of the refinement plan and it represented the work of many people. She asked that MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 16 . . . . the refinement plan not be discarded and that its recommendations be followed, particularly as they concerned transportation. Ms. Verret believed that the hospital would increase traffic beyond what was forecast for the area. She said that the site proposed for the hospital was to be MDR and neighborhood commercial, which was not what was being proposed by PeaceHealth. , She said that the intersection at Beltline and 1-5 would not be improved for several years. The intersection at Pioneer Parkway and Highway 126 was already congested; she asked how hundreds or perhaps thousands of more automobiles could be added to that facility. Ms. Verret said that Springfield already had an excellent hospital. She asked the council to respect the Gateway Refinement Plan. Sister Monica Heeren, 3434 Centennial Boulevard, Eugene, former administrator of Sacred Heart and former PeaceHealth president and currently executive director ofthe Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, spoke of her experience around space planning for the hospital, and noted her regret that the hospital had not expa!1ded onto the current site of the Valley River Center as was previously proposed by a former administrator. In hindsight, that appeared to be a visionary recommendation. Sister Monica endorsed the two-campus approach being proposed by PeaceHealth. She said that the new regional facility would better serve the community. The hospital needed the additional space the River Bend site provided, and it offered a beautiful natural space for healing. Sister Monica asked the council to approve the application. Sister Monica briefly discussed the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic and noted the hospital's importance to that effort. Anne Heinsoo, 35 LorieCourt, Springfield, said that the decision on the application should not be a Springfield decision alone. She believed that the decision should have been considered by a much larger group of regional decision makers that included representation from the City of Eugene, Lane Board of County Commissioners, the neighborhood association, Willamalane Parks District, DLCD, and local health care providers. She noted that the City of Eugene had developed a list often potential hospital sites, and asked where those possibilities were when PeaceHealth and the City of Eugene were differing over the Hilyard campus. Ms. Heinsoo MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 P age 17 objected to the fact that Mr. Sorenson's remarks were limited to three minutes because of the, importance of the issue to Lane County residents. She called for protection and preservation of the River Bend site as a park because of its beauty and ecological importance to the community. . Christine Lundberg, 127 Woodlane Drive, Springfield, a member of the Beltline Decisions Team, addressed the issue of traffic. She said that the team had voted in on a series of plan decisions, and one such decision addressed PeaceHealth and the impact the development would have on the area. The Beltline Decision Team unanimously approve the plans and placed a trip cap on it so there was some control on the proposed development and the number of trips. Ms. Lundberg said that one could discuss how the trip cap was implemented, but she and others on the team would never have voted to approve the final Beltline Decisions Team document if she thought that the development or a land use change in the area could not be accommodated. She said that the team specifically considered the issue of whether a development the size being proposed could be accommodated. The team agreed that it could be accommodated in the area. Ms. Lundberg pointed out that the City had control over what occurred. She said that the development could fit into what was planned, rather than the other way around. . GregShaver, 1225 Water Street, Springfield, a member of the Springfield Planning Commission, said he was representing himself. He said that the commission's vote had been 4:2 in favor of the application; he had voted in opposition. Mr. Shaver noted that none of the commissioners opposed the conditions that had been opposed. He asked that the council consider those conditions if it choose to move forward and approve the application. Mr. Shaver said he was not anti-growth or anti-Springfield, but felt growth was good when it was appropriate. He did not think it was appropriate in this location. He believed the process had been "turned upside down"; normally, one evaluated a development proposal against what had been planned for and determined whether a change would make things better. Mr. Shaver advocated for retention of the existing refinement plan, which had been well thought-out and tried to anticipate changes. Those changes were to be limited to three areas of neighborhood commercial zoning, not 33 acres of mixed-use commercial. Mr. Shaver said he had submitted MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 18 . . . . written testimony and asked that the council particularly consider his suggestions for additional conditions. Lauri Segal, 120 West Broadway, representing 1,000 Friends of Oregon, said a Type 1 application review was a warranted response to the pending proposals given their regional impact and scale, as well as increased rate of change imposed on existing and future infrastructure. That change was not planned for in any of the City's guiding policy documents, efforts which enjoyed a high degree of community participation. Ms. Segal said that no consideration was given to the idea of forming an advisory committee of community members to update the refinement plan. She said that the City had initiated the refinement plan amendment process and had the discretion to have proposed text amendments that could have required a master plan prior to or in conjunction with the plan amendment proposals. Staff could have recommended provisions for addressing nodal development at that time, taking a proactive step toward preserving the City's right to establish its role in determining both the size and specific location of uses. Instead, the effect of the application would be the conversion of the refinement plan into a private development plan. She believed the changes being proposed were potential threats to community livability and economic viability and those threats had not been addressed or analyzed. . She called for the formation of a regional advisory committee to make the decision before the council because of its potential regional impact. Alex Bonutti, 901 Market Street, San Francisco, California, architect for PeaceHealth, said his firm specialized in designing health care facilities and was nationally recognized. He said that PeaceHealth's goal was to create a healing environment for patients, staff, families, and visitors at the River Bend facility. The facility being contemplated would require approximately one million square feet of building space and one connected complex. Travel distances to and from and internal to the facility for all modes must be carefully considered for efficiency of operation. Ease of access was important, and ease of access of the staff to the patients was also important. Because of the need for elevators to reduce horizontal travel distances, vertical stacking was essential. He said that shortening horizontal travel distances was essential to a fast response MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 19 time. Mr. Bonutti said that the facility was intended to serve the entire region, and its design ; needed to reflect that fact. . Tim Herrmann, 1965 Alder Street, Eugene, Manager of Emergency and Trauma Services at Sacred Heart Hospital, spoke to community misconceptions ambulance transport times. He said that time sensitivity issue related to emergency transport was when the paramedic reached the patient, not when the patient reached the hospital. Ambulance service areas were not an issue; they were designed for immediate response to patients at the scene. Mr. Hemnann said that the prehospital care in the community was exceptional. Mr. Hemnann addressed concerns that had been expressed regarding the potential ofhaviIig two trauma centers on the east side of the 1-5 corridor. Currently Sacred Heart Hospital provided the only Level 2 care in the area. McKenzie- Willamette Hospital was a Level 3, in compliance with Oregon Administrative Rules, trauma patients were bypassing McKenzie- Willamette Hospital and coming to Sacred Heart Hospital. Mr. Hemnann recalled the Thurston shooting incident, saying it was a testament to the quality of prehosital care, and noted that transit time from Thurston to Sacred Heart was exceptional at that time, and the distances between Thurston and . the River Bend site were about the same. Mr. Hemnann said that he was chair of the Sacred Heart Disaster Committee and believed the dual carnpus approach would give the area needed emergency service capacity in the case of a rnass disaster. Dr. Vernon Katz, 181 West 22nd Avenue, Eugene, vice chief of staff at Sacred Heart, voiced support for the application although he would have todrive farther. He underscored the importance of health care and the need to expand medical facilities. He said that more sophisticated medical services and technology were needed. Dr. Katz pointed out that more than one-third of the hospital's patients live outside the Eugene-Springfield area. He said that during the last year there were several times when there were no beds at Sacred Heart for new patients. He said that the application represented a deliberative approach to the development of a long- MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 20 . . . . term regional facility. He agreed that Sacred Heart was not a local hospital, and illness does not stop at I-5'. Dr. Katz said that the hospital was needed where it could best serve everyone. He believed that the River Bend site was a better site than the downtown Eugene area. It would have the capacity to expand and would enjoy easy access from throughout the region. He also believed that the hospital will be a recruiting tool for the best physicians in the area. The council took a ten-minute break. Roscoe Lawless, 7272 SW Jacktown Road, Beaverton, identified himself an architect and health care facility specialist. He said he had managed the licensing plans review for the Oregon Health Division, and was responsible for plans review for all Oregon hospitals. He was working as an independent consultant at this time. Mr. Lawless said he had been asked to critique PeaceHealth's proposal as a third-party. He was asked if the construction of a new facility was justified given the cost of construction. He said that the delivery of health care had radically changed over the past 20 years. Hospitals constructed 20 or 30 years ago could not have anticipated the change or physical requirements, such as increased floor-to-floor heights; it was difficult to get needed infrastructure in place in short floor-to-floor heights. Mr. Lawless said that the current hospital was not up to code, and it would be expensive to retrofit it seismically as life safety codes had changed considerably since its construction. He said that every facility had a life cycle cost and replacement was necessary. It was good to have flexibility in such facilities. Richard Attanasio, 2100 River Parkway, Portland, identified himself as a senior water resource consultant. He had done the hospital's McKenzie River Flood plan assessment. He reviewed his assessment, reporting that all Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards were satisfied. J Alice Wagner, 2250 Ducet Drive, Springfield, said she was employee at Sacred Heart and a resident of Springfield. She supported the approval of the application. She said that she was in charge of cleaning at the hospital and on many there were more patients than beds. She worked hard to find other beds and arranged for bed turnover. Ms. Wagner said that the situation reached MINUTES-Springfield City Council F ebruaiy 18, 2003 , Page 21 the point where care was suffering because of a lack of beds. She said that the hospital had been an excellent employer and a good Eugene citizen. She believed it would be a good citizen of Springfield as well. . Dr. Gary LeClair, PO Box 10905, Eugene, introduced himself as the chief of the medical staff at Sacred Heart Hospital. He provided a partial list of physicians in support of the new RB campus. He reported that physicians were solicited for their support for the application and 73 cards of support were received in 48 hours. Dr. LeClair said that the new hospital was needed for the technology it could provide and the residents needed that technology to attract new physicians. He said that thehospital was operating at capacity and at long hours because it had no space to expand. He believed that the community was blessed that PeaceHealth had the money to construct and remodel the downtown site. Casey Woodard, 1215 Courtney Place, Eugene, a member of the Cottage Grove Community Hospital and the PeaceHealth Oregon Regional Board of Directors, said he was proud to be associated with those hospitals. He thought that the proposed move ofPeac~eHealth to the River Bend site was tremendous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Springfield. He suggested that, . having a single institutional use on the site meant there was a greater likelihood of maintaining the open space that there was if the site was developed with fragmented subdivisions. He said that PeaceHealth had committed itself to needed transportation improvements. Mr. Woodard asked the council to approve the application. . Artemio Paz, 86950 Cedar Flat Road, Springfield, supported the PeaceHealth proposal. He said the application was fundamentally a question of cornpliance with applicable State laws and goals. He suggested that the result could be a sensitive example of urban planning connecting a hospital overlay district and surrounding neighborhoods to the river. Mr. Paz noted the many State goals and City requirements that must be satisfied by the application. He asked the council to consider and emphasize the nodal development elements of the application and to consider the sensitive river front. MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 22 . . . . Sue Wolling, 85219 South Willamette Street, a nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital, acknowledged there was a need for a new hospital but she did not think the River Bend site was the correct location. She said that the cost of health care was born by the patient and family, and she was concerned that the River Bend site was a great place for a hospital on the face of things, but it would come at enormous cost to Springfield citizens in terms of traffic and the loss of the viewshed ofthe scenic river. Ms. Wolling said that the community was learning the value of planning, which is to make decisions ahead of time so the community was not at mercy of things it could not control. She believed that the comrnunity had already done that planning and it did not include the placement of Peace Health at River Bend. Ms. Wolling said that PeaceHealth was proposing to change those plans and was asking people to accommodate its development, which she termed "the height of arrogance." Roger Saydeck, 800 Willamette Street, Suite 800, Eugene, a member ofthe PeaceHealth Oregon Region Board, said he believed the River Bend site would give the community the highest standards of health care for the future. He said that the council would be told that Statewide land use laws prevent the location of Sacred Heart Hospital at the River Bend site or removed that decision from the council's purview, but there was no guidance in the Metro Plan, State goals, or Oregon planning law regarding where a new hospital must locate. , Hospitals were frequently sited in residential areas that were subsequently rezoned, as had happened with both Sacred Heart Hospital and McKenzie- Willamette Hospital. The community must look to local plans for guidance. He said the current site was too small and a new site was needed. Mr. Saydeck acknowledged the refinement plan did not anticipate a new hospital, but neither did the Metro Plan or any other local planning documents. The location for a hospital was not preordained by any planning. He said that because things had changed since the refinement plan was written, the law gave the council the ability to amend planning documents. Tom Boyatt, 644 A Street, lead staff on the project with the OregoRDepartment of Transportation (ODOT) noted his written testimony, which provided the council with ODOT's comments. He summarized his testimony's main points, noting the collaborative process that occurred between the applicant, ODOT, and the City. He said that ODOT reviewed the MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 23 September 2002 TIA prepared by the applicant and the applicant had responded to the input offered by ODOT staff. Mr. Boyatt said that the City of Springfield was responsible for analyzing the traffic data provided by the applicant and determining whether the proposed land use changes can be accommodated by the transportation system. To that end, several conditions regarding transportation had been approved by the Planning Commission. The first condition was a trip limit for the MDR land rezoned to MS and C; the second was a privately funded improvement to the east-bound 126 ramp and a ramp terminal signal. ODOT and City staff supported both conditions 1 and 2 and proposed implementation action 13.7. Mr. Boyatt noted that ODOT reserved the right to analyze and comment on any changes proposed to those conditions. . Greg Harris, 1251 R Street, thanked God for an organization like PeaceHealth that was willing to build a new hospital. He said that the state would grow and the hospital would be able to serve the entire region and the population that lived there. He believed that better doctors would come to the area because the hospital facilities would be state-of-the-art. Mr. Harris asked the council to approve the application. . John Hyland, 46840 McKenzie Highway, Vida, representing Hyland Construction, supported the application. He said that the hospital was very much needed. He requested that PeaceHealth be granted a variance on the 60-foot height condition as he did not think it worked for hospitals, given the infrastructure needed between floors. He said that more flexibility in the building height was needed. Mr. Hyland was also concerned that a height limitation would limit the green space on the site. He praised the proposed River Bend location and said the hospital could not be located in a better place. Robert Walwyn, 46840 McKenzie Highway, supported the PeaceHealth proposal. He was excited about the new hospital. As a professional engineer, Mr. Walwyn believed the height restriction recommended by the Planning Commission was a problem. If the building height was limited, the buildings would be pushed out horizontally, which affected the travel time for both people and equipment. In addition, open space on the site would be lost, and the efficiency of MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 24 . . . . operations would drop. The cost of construction would increase. Speaking to State Goal 13, Energy, Walwyn suggested that vertical construction was more efficient and helped the application to be in compliance with State goals. Clark Winston Cox Jr., 1085 Patterson Street, #9, Eugene, said he was a hospital volunteer. As a library volunteer, he would need the Bus Rapid Transit system to reach the new hospital site. He recommended that the council review the minutes of the Springfield Planning Commission meetings to learn more from the questions and answers of the commission and ODOT staff regarding the trip caps and how they could be enforced. He further recommended that the council discard the height limitation as being too limiting. Michael Robinson was not present when called to speak. Lisa Van Winkle, 91171 North Coleman Street, Coburg, said she was an employee of PeaceHealth but she spoke as a Coburg resident. She said that it hardly felt as though she was living on the urban fringe given the development that was occurring. It was only a matter of time before development filled in the area. Growth was moving west and north from Eugene and she thought that would continue. Ms. Van Winkle said she frequently traveled on Coburg Road and the 1-5/Beltline intersection, she did not find them overly crowded and felt planned improvements would allow the facilities to handle the traffic that the PeaceHealth development would generate. A Gateway location would give wider access to the entire region. Ms. Van Winkle believed that the Gateway site was an excellent location for a regional faCility. She termed the property in question gorgeous and said it would be a wonderful, healing location. She said its selection was visionary, and the community would be happy in the future. Larry Reed, 722 Country Club Road, Eugene, representing Arlie and Company, spoke in support of the amendments. He believed that the amendments met the applicable criteria and findings in support of approving the application could be made. However, Mr. Reed said that Arlie and Company did not concur with the floating node concept. He requested that the City Council give his company's property a Metro Plan Commercial designation and a Gateway Refinement Plan Mixed-Use Commercia~ designation. He said that his company was not MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 25 requesting a rezoning at this time and acknowledged the processes that the company must go _ through. He said his company hoped the plan designations would give the company it needed to do the master planning required. Mr. Reed said that the uncertainty of the situation meant that the company could not expend company resources to proceed with the design of its portion of the Gateway River Bend project. He said that without the commercial plan designation contemplated in Arlie and Company's annexation agreement with the City, the company would not be able to recover its investment or meet the financial obligations it committed to in the annexation agreement. He asked that approval of the amendments be conditioned on allowing Arlie and Company to start its master planning process. . Dr. Matt Fish, 1255 East 11th Avenue, Eugene, supported the siting of the proposed PeaceHealth at the River Bend site. He said that he had practiced medicine in the area for 29 years. He had the opportunity to work closely and successfully with both hospitals. Currently he was the medical director of the nuclear rnedicine laboratory at Sacred Heart. Dr. Fish said that the accelerated growth of scientific knowledge and technology will have an impact on all aspects of health maintenance and patient care. He said the hospital would provide a friendly, supportive environment that was patient- and family-accessible. It would also support the continued local availability of a growing number of leading edge health care treatments and practices. The facility would attract and retain high-caliber medical professionals. He thought the site in question was a natural fit for the facility. Dr. Fish said that it was large enough to accommodate the new hospital and retain the open space on the site. He thought the use would complement the uses that currently existed in the Gateway area. . Rob Handy, 455-1/2 River Road, Eugene, River Road Community Organization, objected to the PeaceHealth proposal because needed other needed traffic safety and capacity improvements in Lane County would be postponed. He specifically was concerned about improvements planned to Beltline that would be postponed. Mr. Handy asked how people in Eugene and western Lane County would get to PeaceHealth if they were stuck in traffic. He said that bridges on 1-5 were damaged, but there was no money to pay for the repairs. Mr. Handy disagreed with the TIA's contention related to the functioning of the eastbound onramp at Pioneer Parkway and Highway MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 26 . . . . 126. He believed that the master plan should be required before the amendments were appraved. Tom Bowerman, 33707 McKenzie View, Eugene, disagreed with the City Attorney that the testimony shauld be based an land use criteria. He believed the council had broad discretion to deny the application. He suggested that a nine-stary building on the McKenzie River would be in opposition to the community's small-town values and goals as expressed by the council. He did not think the application improved the prospect of his children calling Springfield home. It was his opinion that the hospital's sense of urgency was largely of its own making. 'Mr. Bowerman termed the hospital noncollaborative and said until it became collaborative it shauld not be allowed to change the Gateway Refinement Plan. He said the vision in the refinement plan shauld be respected for what it intended, which he characterized as a "world class new urbanism village." He said that the direction in the plan was preferable to what was proposed by PeaceHealth. He asked the council to deny the amendments and retain the adapted plans. He said that whatever uses were allowed, there should be height limitations. Rob Zako, 1280-B East 20th Av~nue, Eugene, WiIlamette Valley Transportation Salutians Advocate for 1,000 Friends of Oregon. He said that prior to the 200 I adoption of TransPlan, the TIA submitted by the applicant would have been adequate, but TransPlan imposed additional requirements related to the nodal development. Those requirements included achieving alternative performance measures for the number of acres zoned for nodal development, the number of new housing units and nades, and the number of new jabs and nodes. Mr. Zako said that the staff report indicated the amendments were consistent with the nodal development strategies. The staff argument was that even thaugh the City had not determined if nodal development was appropriate for part or all of the Gateway MDR site, the applicant prornised to develop in a nodal fashion, which would be evaluated later. Mr. Zako did not think the analysis adequate, suggesting an adequate analysis would examine the likely affects of the propased amendments as they related to the successful implementatian of the nodal developments strategies. He asked what impact the creation of new jobs and transfer of existing jobs would have on the transportation system and the viability of nodal development. MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18,2003 Page 27 Mr. Zakosaid the fact of the trip cap argued that the proposed amendments would increase reliance on the automobile. He informed the council that because the amendments were not demonstrated to be consistent with the nodal development strategy, it could not legally approve them. To approve them would require more detailed analysis, and that should occur now, not at some future stage. He submitted information regarding the Damascus project in Clackamas County as an example of the type of development that 1,000 Friends of Oregon preferred to see in Springfield. . Ms. Kieran asked the council to take action to allow the minutes recorder to include the explanation of ethics and bias and the declaration of ex parte contacts and conflicts of interest by council members as part of the public hearing. Ms. Fitch, seconded by Ms. Ballew, to allow the minutes recorder to include the explanation of ethics and bias and the declaration of ex parte contacts and conflicts of interest by council members as part of the public hearing. The motion passed unanimously, 5:0~ . ADJOURNMENT Mayor Leiken adjourned the public hearing at 9:51. Minutes Recorder - Kimberly Young MINUTES-Springfield City Council February 18, 2003 Page 28 .