07/14/1975 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mrs. Beal moved second by Mr. Murray to amend the ordinance by substituting 7:00 p.m. as the deadline for construction in place of 8:00 p.m. - Councilman Keller said he was opposed to the main motion - second reading of the council bill - because the Council was again in the position of making an important decision without input from the people most affected by that decision. He said he was concerned not only about the construction industry but also about other activities. For instance, summer programs in the parks, fall foot- ball games in the evenings - would a permit have to be granted for those activities? He wondered how noises created by animals would be defined. And how staff would go about determining violations of the ordinance as presented. He felt the rest of the community was being penalized for what was occurring in some areas. Councilman Williams questioned some of the terms in the proposed amendment, and Stan Long, assistant city attorney, explained that it was patterned after several ordinances that had been developed and on the books in other cities for a long time. He said this particular ordinance had been in effect in Eugene since 1971. Also, that at that time this approach was chosen rather than going to a decibel standard because of practical problems. He added that he believed this ordinance would stand constitutional muster although there was nothing along that line that he was aware of that had been taken to the Supreme Court. Assistant Manager said that use of decibel standards had been discussed at length on various occasions and at the present time studies in other communi- ties are being watched by PTr to determine how stlccessful they are. Until the outcome of those studies are available, he said. staff was reluctant to discuss that approach on a philosophical basis. Councilman Bradley said he did not object to limiting the hours of construction to 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., - but he did think there was insufficient criteria or guidelines on which to base determinations that violations were occurring. Councilman Murray brought the discussion back to the issue of hours limitation, saying he was not aware of any difficulty in dealing with the language as the ordinance was now written. Assistant City Attorney Long said there had been some noise cases prosecuted in municipal court without any successful challenges to his knowledge. He pointed out that the main operative provision when deal- ing with enforcement of the ordinance was deciding whether noises were un- reasonable, loud, or raucous. To this point in time, he said, that ordinance had been upheld. . Vote was taken on the motion to amend the ordinance, changing the hour from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Motion carried - Council members Murray, Beal, Bradley, Haws, and Shirey voting aye; Council members keller, Williams, and Hamel voting no. Mrs. Beal moved second by Mr. Murray to amend the ordinance by striking the words "construction excluding excavation." Assistant Manager expressed concern, wondering if that action would preclude addition of a room to a home as more than merely alternation or repair. Assistant City Attorney thought deletion of that phrase might limit alteranion or repair since addition of a room might exceed what was intended by "altera- tions." He suggested rewroding of any substantial change desired to avoid vague - language. Councilmen Murray and Williams and Mayor Anderson questioned the propriety of changing the wording in a Council session as well as the possible effect deletion of the phrase might have on rehabilitation of housing about to be undertaken by the city. With consent of the second, Mrs. Beal withdrew the motion. 7/14/75 - 4 ':3ryr.-