During the past year, the City of Eugene has attempted to encourage development downtown. The most recent major effort was an extension of the urban renewal district, which was defeated soundly in the election last November. While downtown development successes have been rare, other areas of Eugene have been very successful during the recent past.

Jean Tate and Hugh Prichard will present a case for modifying our existing land use code downtown. Both believe that tight restrictions force developers to look elsewhere.

Jean Tate is a former real estate agent who was a principal in The Tate condominiums. The Tate is a six-story, high-density residential building that many believe is exactly what should be built downtown. Jean will describe the challenges she faced and her success in overcoming them.

Hugh Prichard is a Eugene developer who has worked on a number of successful projects. Hugh was a principal developer of the Broadway Place mixed-use apartment and retail building. This project was completed in 2000, one year before Eugene changed a number of development codes that Hugh claims make development near the city center virtually impossible.

Please join our discussion of how we can get our downtown back on track.

Our first question will be asked by downtown grocer and business owner George Brown.