06/24/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall June 24, 1992 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Shawn Boles, Bobby Green, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette, Roger Rutan. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Randy MacDonald. The adjourned meeting of June 22, 1992, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. The council decided to forego Item I, except for the issue of fireworks in the south hi 11 s. 1. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER A. Fireworks in the South Hills e At Mr. Robinette's request, staff drafted two versions of an ordinance to control the use of fireworks in the south hills area given the increased threat of fire due to the unseasonably dry weather. City Manager Gleason explained that he authorized the use of staff time for this project after hearing concerns from the Mayor and two councilors. Responding to a question from Mr. Nicholson, City Attorney Bill Gary said that the problem with banning the sale of fireworks is that permits have been issued for the sale of fireworks for this year. Most of those permits are issued to charitable organizations and a ban at this point would likely lead to a lawsuit. City Attorney Bill Gary presented two draft ordinance options. Option 1 bans the use of fireworks inside the city of Eugene. Enforcement problems are addressed by saying that the penalty for violation of the ban is legal lia- bility for any damage caused. Mr. Gary said this is enforceable by a private lawsuit whose property is damaged or in a fire suppression suit by the City against the individual to recover the cost of suppressing a fire. Option 2 states that the use of fireworks within the city limits is declared to be an inherently dangerous activity. This option also holds the individual respon- sible for any damage by creating a private cause of action to enforce that liability. Both of the options hold parents responsible for the behavior of e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 24, 1992 Page 1 11:30 a.m. I.U,_. - ~.