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article he had written based on his vision of conversion of the EWEB steam facility into a “Live Steam Museum.” He submitted his testimony in writing. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, approved of Mr. Snyder’s proposal. He reiterated his unhappiness with the demolition of the former cannery, noting that he had gone to the site prior to the construction of the courthouse and “gathered artifacts.” Mr. Vishanoff circulated copies of an article. He asserted that Nike paid no taxes and reiterated his opposition to the University’s plans for a basketball arena. Betty Snowden , PO Box 5166, Eugene, testified in support of a payday loan ordinance. She said as a business owner she supported a friendly business climate, but not at the expense of low-income citizens. She disliked that payday loan businesses frequently charged an interest rate of 500 to 700 percent. Laurie Trieger , 2710 Polk Street, stated that payday loans were short-term, high-interest rate loans marketed to cash-strapped consumers. She cited statistics that indicated that in 13 years, the number of th such lenders had grown from 200 to over 25,000 and Oregon was the 14 most saturated state for payday lending. She pointed out that of the 31 licensed payday lenders in Lane County, 16 operated in Eugene and the most common annual percentage rate was 532 percent. She explained that a person could borrow $300, could roll over that amount three times according to law and, within 10 weeks could pay $240 in fees for that loan. She stated that the State Legislature enacted payday loan reforms to address some aspects of the industry’s practices, but a strong need for city-level reform still existed. She said it would be 14 months before Oregon consumers would be protected by the State from predatory loan terms. In an effort to provide immediate relief to consumers, many cities used a model ordinance to establish basic protections that were complementary to and not a duplication of the State law. She related that one of the few current requirements to access a payday loan was that a person be employed. She understood, from her work at Food for Lane County, that more than one-third of all households in Lane County that receive emergency food boxes have at least one working adult. She stressed that with rising health care, utility, and housing costs, Lane County’s working poor struggled to meet their basic needs. She cited a 2004 Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services survey indicating that 30 percent of all payday loan consumers borrowed money to purchase groceries. She stressed that these people were “your neighbors and mine.” Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, a board member of the Southeast Neighbors and the Chair for Vision for Intact Ecosystems and Watersheds (VIEW), stated that three planned unit developments (PUDs) were slated for the southeast neighborhood. She reviewed a number of the PUDs in the South Hills over the last few years. She asserted that the geology and hydrology reports were generally a “rubber stamp.” She said neighborhood groups were “forced to raise funds” to hire geologists and hydrologists. She alleged that three recent PUDs were all on “landslide mass.” She wondered why there was not better oversight in the Planning Division. She felt the Planning and Development Department (PDD) only received reports from the developers and those reports went unchallenged. She suggested that PDD and the Fire Marshal were unwilling to address the issues. She commented that one PUD, Green Valley Glen, was planning for 14- foot-wide roads, which she considered to be a fire hazard. Ben Ennis , 80 North Monroe Street, representing Leadership Adventure Education Direction (LEAD), stated that he had been a part of LEAD for two years. He said LEAD was a local non-profit organization serving low-income teenagers in Lane County. He stated that the mission of LEAD was to develop the leadership skills of low-income teenagers to empower them to address community problems and change the MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 8, 2006 Page 2 Regular Meeting