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recourse of the landlord; Corvallis had not reported any problems related to tenant damage. He said the <br />language was too "fuzzy" to be included in the code and he could not support the amendment. He pointed <br />out that many units had multiple tenants and if one tenant caused the damage, then the others were faced <br />with a habitability issue. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said she could not support the amendment as it appeared to put the City in the position of <br />determining criminal culpability and the landlord had other remedies available. <br /> <br /> The motion to amend Section 8.430(3) of the ordinance failed, 7:1; Mr. Pap6 vot- <br /> ing in favor. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap6 said that he was concerned about the cost of the program, as were other councilors, and he had <br />not seen a satisfactory response. <br /> <br /> Mr. Pap6 moved to Section 8.440(2) to read: "For the purpose of offsetting the <br /> costs to the City associated with the enforcement of this code, the City Manager, <br /> using the process contained in Section 2.020 of this code, shall set an annual fee <br /> for each dwelling unit covered by a rental agreement. Such fee shall not be more <br /> than five dollars per unit through December 31, 2006." The motion died for lack <br /> of a second. <br /> <br />Speaking to the main motion as amended, Mr. Meisner said he had asked about the anti-retaliation <br />provisions of State law. He said that housing advocate John Van Landingham confirmed that State law <br />protected against retaliation on the basis of complaint by any local government. <br /> <br /> Mr. Meisner moved, seconded by Mr. Pap6, to strike Section 8.410(2)(d) that ex- <br /> cluded from coverage a single-family home or structure occupied by renters as <br /> well as its owner. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner said he first thought that such an exemption should be retained, but realized that an owner <br />was not going to file a complaint against him or herself. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Meisner's point and asked if staff had any concerns. Ms. Miller said she did <br />not object to striking the provision. <br /> <br /> The motion to amend Section 8.410(2) passed unanimously. <br /> <br /> Speaking to the main motion as amended, Ms. Bettman said one of the reasons that only anecdotal <br /> information was available was the lack of databases and the program would provide substantial data once <br /> it was in effect and the issues could be evaluated. She said she had seen the issue from both perspectives <br /> and was pleased that a locally enforceable mechanism was being created for minimum habitability <br /> standards that would provide a local remedy for the worst cases. On the issue of fees, she said those <br /> would be established administratively and the council would have an opportunity to respond or ask for a <br /> work session if there were concerns. She said that there already existed in the community databases to <br /> create an inventory and entities were willing to provide the information to the City inexpensively and that <br /> could be reflected in program fees. She suggested that the City Manager could be directed to pursue those <br /> options. City Manager Taylor expressed his willingness to explore those options. <br /> <br /> Ms. Taylor said she enthusiastically supported the program and it was a good step in the right direction. <br /> She thanked the students who initiated the campaign for a program and Mr. Van Landingham for <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 2004 Page 11 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />