CC Minutes - 05/08/00 Work Session

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Ms. Taylor said the concerns she heard most from constituents were about bicycle lanes, specifically debris, such as leaves, in lanes that forced bicyclists out of the lane and into the street. Mr. Reinhard said that while staff worked hard to keep up with demand, leaf pickup was not as frequent as some would like. He said that in recent years the City had encouraged residents to compost leaves rather than leave them in the street. He acknowledged it was an ongoing conflict. Mr. Fart expressed concern at Mr. Reinhard's use of the word "under-regulated," saying that many people believed that many activities in the community were already over-regulated. He said that the City needed to ensure that people knew what to expect, but did not expect more than the City could reasonably deliver in terms of regulation. He suggested that if people knew what to expect, there would be no need for such a new regulation. Mr. Fart asked the council to keep those thoughts in mind. Mr. Pap~ arrived at the meeting. Mr. Meisner said that all the calls he had received about right-of-way complaints were from commercial and industrial businesses concerned about the loss of access to their establishments. He said that whether there was over-regulation depended on who one asked. He did not want to create new regulations, but currently the City did not require those with right- of-way permits to notify neighboring residents and businesses that their access will be temporarily impeded. He expressed the wish there was such a notice requirement. Mr. Meisner referred to the use of the parking strip, and said he understood it was legal for a property owner to eliminate grassed areas and cover the parking strip in front of their property with rough gravel. The gravel can spill over the curb into the street and onto the sidewalk, interfering with bicycle and pedestrian access. He was not comfortable with that fact. Mr. Kelly said that when he previously raised the topic he was not proposing new regulations. He was proposing to ensure that the regulations that existed were followed. His constituent contacts were not about permitted uses, but about violations of the law. He acknowledged that the issue was not a priority for the City but he believed it deserved some level of attention. Regarding the options presented, Mr. Kelly liked option 2, and suggested that having a single staff person responsible for the issue would be useful. He added that it would be useful for the City to have a "one-stop" shop for citizen complaints. He also suggested that staff track complaints to ensure that constant offenders could be identified and further action taken. Ms. Nathanson could think of three instances where staff follow-up would have reduced citizen inconvenience and the need for later action. She described each situation and said she was interested in more discussion of the appropriate follow-up in such situations. She suggested the fact use of the right-of-way was permitted may not be relevant to the issue if the permittee did not pay attention to the regulations governing the permit. Mr. Rayor agreed that the City did not seem to have a central location the public could call if residents witnessed a violation. He did not like options 3 or 4 because each required staff resources, and suggested that the issue could be the focus of an educational program. In response, Mr. Reinhard said that there were some simple things that could be tried, such as brightly colored fliers inserted in the Permit and Information Center newsletter. He said that option 3, while requiring additional resources, would give the City a better idea of what the actual problem was. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 8, 2000 Page 2 Work Session