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Current City regulations in west Eugene, for example, exempted areas developed prior to having <br />the setbacks in place. There was community support for such an approach. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked if the Amazon headwaters was affected by the strategy, and requested <br />information about the status of the headwaters acquisition. Mr. Bj~rklund had no information on <br />the status of the acquisition. He believed that the strategy would only affect the headwaters if the <br />land became publicly owned. The strategy would not place any regulatory restrictions on any part <br />of the Amazon Creek. Ms. Taylor asked why auxiliary streams were not considered as important <br />as the river given that the waters all go to same place. Mr. Bj~rklund agreed that water quality <br />was important to salmon. However, the most direct impacts to salmon would happen in and along <br />the river where the salmon habituate, which was why high-priority regulatory activity was focused <br />there. Other streams were being addressed by the City's stormwater management program. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor thought the overlay approach very moderate and did not think it would be controversial. <br />She asked if environmental groups were involved in its development. Mr. Bj~rklund said that the <br />Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides had offered comments on the strategies. He <br />anticipated more outreach to environmental groups would occur. <br /> <br />Mr. Carlson noted that the City Council would hear its update of the Stream Corridor Program on <br />November 20. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner appreciated and supported the staff recommendation for more public outreach before <br />the habitat overlay district was developed. He said that the public needed to be brought along <br />and educated. He asked how the general public could be educated about noxious vegetation <br />given that the proposed strategy would apply to new development only. He asked how remedial <br />change could be accomplished. Mr. Bj~rklund said that part of the idea of adopting a plant list <br />was to draw some media attention to the issue, and to use that as a point of reference for <br />education. He said that it would take a sustained effort, but examples from other communities <br />indicated that the adoption of such a list got media attention and the attention of nursery owners <br />and the public. Mr. Bj~rklund said that citizens needed to start talking about the issues and <br />learning about how to address noxious plants on a daily basis. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner appreciated the staff effort and, while he trusted the media would publicize the City's <br />efforts, he wanted the City to take affirmative steps to provide information about noxious weeds <br />not just to the nursery industry but to neighborhoods as well. Mr. Bj~rklund said there were other <br />organizations working on the issue, such as the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon <br />Natural Heritage Program, that the City could partner with to do that education. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner said the City needed to make it clear that adoption of the strategies did not mean that <br />existing development along the river would be removed. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly concurred with Mr. Meisner regarding the need for neighborhood education. He said that <br />the City needed to both educate its employees on good internal practices and lead by example for <br />the broader public. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly was very supportive of all the proposed strategies. He said that there were many <br />benefits from the program beyond the benefit to the salmon, such as improvements to water <br />quality, improvements to the river as a public amenity, and avoidance of downstream impacts. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 16, 2002 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />