Two city councilors debated the pros and cons of a polarizing November ballot measure that would allow the city to spend an extra $40 million on the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan – a proposal aimed at revitalizing downtown Eugene – and extend the lifespan of the 70-acre downtown renewal zone from 2024 to 2030.
More than 100 people attended the debate at the Downtown Athletic Club, where Councilors Bonny Bettman and Alan Zelenka attempted to sway voters’ opinions on the issue. However, when the moderator asked if those who were undecided would raise their hand before the debate, only about 10 people fessed up to their uncertainty.
But Bettman and Zelenka squared off and presented their cases for the future of the downtown area centered near West Broadway and Willamette Street.
Bettman argued the proposed $40 million increase of funding “is a fantasy,” and the more accurate amount of $87 million will ultimately be spent on Eugene’s Downtown Renewal District. Bettman claims the money for this funding comes from diverted tax dollars that are being siphoned off from school and government services, and would reduce their revenues by $86.94 million over the next 23 years.
“The question is not whether or not to revitalize the downtown because I care about downtown,” Bettman said. “I think the question is, ‘What is the magnitude of taxpayer subsidy that is reasonable for this downtown development, and how do we weigh the magnitude of that subsidy against the loss of revenue to schools and essential city and county services?’”
The diverted money will come from Eugene School District 4J, Lane Community College, Lane Education Service District and the city’s and county’s general funds, according to Bettman’s anti-Measure 20-134 group Taxpayers for Sensible Downtown Development.
Bettman also shared anecdotes of meeting old friends who are downtown business owners. Both of these people desperately told her how they supported the measure because they felt the city “just has to do something about downtown,” Bettman said. She used this immediacy and rash decision making as an opportunity to debunk their sentiments and emphasize how “risky” the proposition really is.
“There seems to be an air of desperation about the rhetoric around this issue, and when people are desperate they make desperate choices,” Bettman said. “They don’t always make reasoned choices.”
Supporters of Measure 20-134 tell the opposite story, claiming the measure does not harm schools. Councilor Zelenka argued in favor of the measure and insisted that the issue is really “do we want to fix downtown or not,” because the two blocks in question are more rundown and have more vacancies than in the last 20 years. The area also has two giant holes that are “frankly embarrassing,” he said.
“Please don’t let anybody scare you and say there’s just got to be more to it than that,” Zelenka said. “I can assure you that if I or the Mayor (Kitty Piercy) thought that this would hurt schools, we wouldn’t support it – hurting schools is really just a red herring.”
Zelenka offered his vision for downtown: a “vibrant, 24-hour neighborhood” with “lots and lots of people.” In this imagined downtown, two blocks of West Broadway would be revitalized and include a 1/4 block open park, a McMenamin’s-style cinema, a grocery store, added housing and new businesses. To make this vision a reality, Zelenka says the city council needs an additional $40 million “urban renewal tool to make it work.”
A no vote on the measure will make their efforts unravel to the point that “it will take years to pull back together,” and Zelenka warned, “You can’t un-crack an egg once it’s cracked.”
It could be that most Eugene residents have already made up their minds, and this debate only cemented their opinions instead of offering anything new, said Darnell Mandelblatt, a member on the Board of Directors for the City Club of Eugene, a co-sponsor of the event.
“What seems to be really true is that people are entrenched in one way or another,” Mandelblatt said. “This is the most divisive issue we’ve ever looked at over the past five to seven years that I’ve been with the Club.”
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