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Mr. Poling pointed out that in the City of Veneta alone there had been over 900 housing starts approved <br /> recently and 120 of them were under construction. He averred that most of the people who lived out there <br /> had moved from the Eugene/Springfield area because of high housing prices but still worked in this area. <br /> He underscored that West 11~' Avenue was not the most desirable way to get into town. <br /> Mr. Pryor called it an interesting collision between principles and practical consideration. He reiterated <br /> that it had been voted on twice. He averred that many elections were close and it did not matter that the <br /> vote was only a 50.9 percent majority. He felt he would be abrogating his responsibility as a councilor if <br /> he did not recognize the will of the voters, "by ever how slim a margin" the election had been won. He <br /> acknowledged that the WEP could be tied up for "years and years." He said no one should kid themselves <br /> that voting the WEP down at this point would kill the project. He insisted, as representative of the ward <br /> for which the WEP would mitigate transportation problems, that these transportation problems must be <br /> addressed and solved. <br /> Mr. Pape concurred with Mr. Poling, Mr. Pryor, and Ms. Solomon that the council should respect the will <br /> of the voters. Regarding the integrity and value of the West Eugene Wetlands Project, he understood <br /> there to be two very different qualities of wetlands and the wetlands that were north of the railroad tracks <br /> were of a lesser quality. He asked staff to speak to this. Mr. Corey deferred to Mr. Stiles. <br /> Mr. Stiles stated that in 1997 there was a qualitative difference in wetlands and there was a greater net <br /> takings of wetlands north of the railroad tracks but they were of a lower quality. He related that his firm <br /> was working with ODOT and with resource agencies to conduct a functional analysis. He said the final <br /> <br /> results were not yet available from that analysis. <br /> <br /> Mr. Pape asked if one reason for the difference in quality was that the railroad tracks had run through that <br /> area for years. Mr. Stiles responded that a whole spectrum of factors contributed. <br /> <br /> Mr. Pape said he was open to hearing alternatives but the voters had opposed it. He recalled a charette <br /> several years earlier that had reviewed alternatives and come up with no alternatives. He felt the decision <br /> <br /> had been vetted very well. He opined that in killing the project without consulting the County or the City <br /> of Springfield, Eugene was not being a good community partner. <br /> <br /> MINUTES-Eugene City Council October 26, 2005 Page 12 <br /> Work Session <br /> _ _ <br /> <br />