[NLC] Working Groups, Committees: NLC August updates

[Heidi Beierle]

NLC COMMITTEE & WORKING GROUP UPDATES August 2009

NLC Committee on Sustainability (NLCCS)
Infill Compatibility Standards (ICS)
Communications & DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT
Neighborhood Empowerment Initiative

NLC COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABILITY
The NLCCS met on Thursday, August 13. Several practical matters were settled
regarding participation in the Lane County Fair, the Eugene Celebration and
the neighborhood bike tours. We went ahead and agreed to share a booth with
the Mayor's Carbon Challenge and BikeLane Coalition during the Eugene
Celebration. Some discussion took place regarding the Neighborhood Summit
results document, in particular about water catchment and EWEB. This
discussion will continue next month. We also looked at several more
additions to the Speakers Bureau.

Kathy Saranpa

INFILL COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS

Although I was out of town for our last Task Team  meeting, I know that the
Task Team successfully passed the two motions proposed by the Multi-D
Committee: 1) a statement to the City Council expressing support for
adopting ordinances to reinstate the emergency MiCAP amendments concerning
building height and parking, and 2) a recommendation that the Planning
Commission move forward on amendments to reduce parking requirements for Low
Income, Senior and Disabled Subsidized Housing.

Some working groups are continuing the work to refine recommendations which
have already been approved by the PC in preparation for taking to City
Council.  Other working groups are being formed based on earlier work
sessions with the PC.  As mentioned in last month's report, the work
continues, with involvement from staff, TT members and other community
members who have relevant knowledge, to prepare final work to present to the
City Council.

There is one remaining Task Team meeting on September 14th.

Sue Prichard

COMMUNICATIONS WORKING GROUP & DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSN
Downtown:

We're planning our September General Meeting:
Update on the EWEB Riverfront Project. Info on how to get involved in the
process.
Update from Jeff Petry on how the pilot free parking program downtown is
going for the city.
Presentation from George Brown on why he doesn't support urban renewal.

In terms of the communication committee I've had no real response from other
NLC'ers and I don't think I'll be able to devote much time to it until maybe
November at the earliest.

William Kennedy

NEIGHBORHOOD EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE
Neighborhood Empowerment Committee

DRAFT Meeting Summary

August 5, 2009


Staff Representatives: Cindy Clarke, Carolyn Weiss, Rene Grube, Jason
Dedrick, Larry Hill, Kathy Madison, Michael Kinnison, Isaac Markehe,  Keli
Osborn

Neighborhood Representatives: Jan Wostmann, Carleen Reilly, Anastasia
Sandow, Marcella Monroe, Alan Buck, Bernie Corrigan, Barbara Mitchell, Steve
Lamb

Guest: Majeska Seese-Green, Heidi Beierle, Randy Prince

Summary Notes

a request was made to have the meeting notes distributed earlier so that
edits could be made prior to the meeting. Meeting notes will be forwarded to
the group no later than the Wednesday after the meeting. The group will have
one week to provide feedback with the final summary sent out a week prior to
NLC.

Neighborhoods Communication Subcommittee Update:

Several months ago a subcommittee was formed to look at the funding and
guidelines and policies for the publications for neighborhood associations.
The subcommittee has begun meeting again and includes Majeska Seese-Green,
Jan Wostmann, Barbara Mitchell, Steve Lamb, Randy Prince, Michael Kinnison,
Sarah Medary, Cindy Clarke, and Laura Hammond.  All present were supportive
of keeping the existing subcommittee members as they are.   The group is
focusing on:

    * A recommended increase in the portion of the neighborhood budgets
dedicated for event support.
    * Clarifying acceptable expenses related to events
    * Expanding the use of the neighborhood budgets to include expenses
associated with public information and outreach beyond the printing and
posting of paper publications.  This includes defining public information
and outreach activities that the funds could support.
    * Reviewing newsletter guidelines related to oversight of content and
revising as necessary to provide consistency and clarity for the City and
editors.



The subcommittee recommendations will need to be reviewed by the larger NEI
Committee, NLC and potentially the City Manager and City Council before
finalizing changes.

What’s Next for NEI?

A revised copy of the Neighborhood Empowerment Action Plan Update was
distributed with all items listed in the “Updated Highlights” column that
have been implemented italicized. It was noted that the NEI has made
significant progress on the items listed in the Action Plan and that several
goals have been met.

All were appreciative of the value that NEI has brought and would like to
continue to build the trust and collaboration built through the NEI process.
As NEI was not intended by Council to be a long-term commitment, the
discussion for what the best use of the group’s time and the best format for
further discussions included:

    * NEI is a valuable working group; NLC is not intended to function as a
work group.
    * NEI is an opportunity for staff and neighborhoods to interface and
continue dialog on policy direction through subcommittee work (e.g.
Neighborhood Communications Subcommittee) and help provide oversight and
updates to the Action Plan.
    * SNAPs is an example of a program that may benefit from NEI involvement
and review.
    * Prior to NEI Jan W sent an inquiry to the NLC listserve asking if
those on the listserv felt that neighborhoods were sufficiently empowered to
end the NEI process.Many respondents felt that we were just getting started
but did feel that progress had been made from 4 years ago.
    * There is desire, especially from the neighborhoods, to continue the
dialog that has resulted from NEI with similar frequency.
    * This may be an appropriate time to reflect on accomplishments and set
new goals. NEI was formed at Council direction with an emphasis on land use
planning. While land use is still a topic of significance, progress has been
made in this area and it may be time to look at other neighborhood issues
including transportation, community policing, neighborhood boundaries, etc.
    *   There was interest in the committee serving as a primary point of
contact for senior staff in various departments to connect with neighborhood
leaders.
    * Meeting frequency was discussed. Some felt that monthly was too
frequent others felt that quarterly meetings would not be timely for some
issues.
    * A subcommittee will be formed to identify the focus for the new group
or NEI. The subcommittee will:
          o Meet prior to the regularly scheduled October meeting.
          o Identify and define a scope of work and/or focus areas.
          o Bring proposal to the NEI meeting on October 7th.
          o Those interested in participating or that have thoughts on scope
of work should contact Michael Kinnison.




Next Meeting:

October 7, 2009; 3:00 – 4:30

Singer Room, Eugene Public Library

    * Meet with Information Services Division to discuss the Telecom Grant
    * Review and discuss proposal for proposed working group
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.designcommunity.com/pipermail/nlc/attachments/20090824/943076f2/attachment.htm