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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chamber--City Hall October 25, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Scott Meisner, Gary Papd, Nancy Nathanson. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Julie Van Amerongen, 5045 Nectar Way, spoke on behalf of the Nectar Way Neighborhood Association in support of purchasing the 38-acre parcel bordering Nectar Way and Dillard Road. She described the property, which included some old growth trees and seasonal wetlands. She said a developer had purchased the property for $325,000 and was willing to sell it to the City for $600,000. The property had been recently appraised at $430,000 and this had just been submitted to the property owner. She conveyed the neighborhood's interest, should the property owner not react favorably to the appraisal, in working with the City and possibly with other organizations to create a contingency plan for the acquisition of the property so that it could be added to the Ridgeline trail system and be protected into perpetuity for the citizens of Eugene. Benjamin McKechnie, 1462 Hilyard Street, representing the Eugene Citizens for Housing Standards (ECHS), recalled the group's push to adopt a rental housing program based on the successful system in the City of Corvallis. He noted that the program in Corvallis had been selected as a model, out of many, in part because it had not caused any noticeable increase in rents in that city. He stated that there was, in fact, much support for the program there by citizens, landlords, and elected officials. Based on research, he asserted that complaint-driven programs were not nearly as successful and advocated for the adoption of a program based on the Corvallis program. Adam Petkun, 221 East Broadway, Apartment 165, also a member of ECHS, noted that recently, opponents of rental housing standards had argued that it was unnecessary and offered no new protections. He reiterated that tenants currently only have two options: 1) file a lawsuit against landlords in Small Claims Court; and 2) withhold rent. He stated that due to cutbacks in the courts, the former now took up to four months and was not available to all people and the latter could lead to eviction. He explained that State law allowed renters to withhold up to $500 for affairs of violations of State law and $1,000 in cases that involve serious health risks. He related that many repairs exceed the limit and that such repairs force renters to find solutions to problems they often did not have experience with. He reiterated that the creation of a rental housing code in Eugene would provide renters the protection they deserve. MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 25, 2004 Page 1 Regular Session