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bill. He suggested that should the council act to regulate the industry, the action would keep the momentum going and would give strength to the supporters of stronger regulation of the industry. He underscored that people in crisis were very vulnerable. He said while a crisis such as a hurricane was very visible, the crisis of being poor was much less of an attention-getter. He asserted that it is easy to ignore a problem that is not part of our daily experience, such as what happens in the payday loan industry when fees equal 520 percent interest on an annual basis. He said someone was making money at the expense of others and such practices were making things worse for many residents of Eugene. He acknowledged that the city of Eugene was made up of people of many faiths and offered a reading from the Christian Bible, Psalm 72. th Rene C. Kane , 254 West 14 Avenue, co-chair of the Jefferson/Westside Neighbors, asserted that a Metro Plan redesignation of the area to Medium Density Residential R-2 jeopardized the area and put it at risk of being developed with “poorly designed infill.” She related that representatives of the neighborhood association spoke with the Eugene PDD and awaited response. She related that the recent memorandum from the PDD director to the council had no suggestions to prevent the damage that inappropriate development might cause, nor any steps to fully implement the Jefferson/Far West Refinement Plan policies. She said this type of development would destabilize the neighborhood. She asked, on behalf of the Jefferson/Westside Neighbors that the City Council take swift action to oppose this change to core neighborhoods by calling a temporary moratorium on zone changes. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to extend the Public Forum by 57 minutes. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. th Paul Conte , 1461 West 10 Avenue, commended the council for doing a great job in December of protecting 14 blocks of the Jefferson/Westside neighborhood. He declared that the neighborhood was now “about to lose 15 blocks” to similar destructive infill. He suggested that “common sense” would indicate that an action allowing an intense multi-family development in an area of single-family neighborhoods should not be “handled this way,” regardless of a policy in the Metro Plan. He recalled that according to the PDD memorandum, staff testified to the Hearings Official in December 2004 that they were unclear about the maximum density of the area and that local refinement plan policies were ambiguous. He said the Hearings Official also found that many of staff’s interpretations of policies for a zone change were wrong. He asked why staff had not brought these unresolved issues before the council. He asserted that “staff had done nothing” to fully implement the policies that require protection of the character of this neighborhood. He alleged that residents were left “to fear the worst.” He thought it was essential that the council step in and provide temporary shelter for this “heritage neighborhood” while work was completed and appropriate standards were put into place. th George Stathakis , 935 West 8 Avenue, chair for the Wayne Morse Youth Program, stated that the program had operated on the Wayne Morse Terrace in front of the Lane County Building for 14 years. He said electricity had recently been cut to the plaza and a heavy police presence had been brought in. He felt this could be an opportunity to improve the image of the Eugene Police Department (EPD). He stated that there had never been a uniformed officer at the Saturday free speech event, but seven uniformed officers had been present the previous weekend. He agreed that it was good to “deal with the negative things” but said it was better to enhance the positive things. He underscored that the young people involved in his program were doing precisely what the Wayne Morse Free Speech Terrace was designed for. He recommended that EPD be encouraged to create a friendlier image and that one officer who could get to know who the “bad eggs” were be assigned to the plaza. He also requested that the council speak to the Lane Board of County Commissioners on behalf of the youth program so that electricity could be restored. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 8, 2006 Page 4 Regular Meeting