CCMinutes - 11/08/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Zach Vishanoff, Patterson Street, suggested that the housing standards were an outgrowth of "smart growth" policies that the City would employ to remove needed housing. He complained in general about the fact the University of Oregon was planning for its own property in a way that he did not support. Mr. Vishanoff's remaining comments regarded his general dissatisfaction with the City's planning processes. John Van Landingham, 335 North Grand Street, thanked the council for its service to the community. He spoke in his capacity as Chair of the Housing Policy Board (HPB), a body which recommended the City apply the ordinance to the City's affordable housing units but not charge a fee for those units. He said the Corvallis City Council made the same policy choice. He said the HPB believed the text used by the Corvallis ordinance was inadequate, and had recommended alternative text. Mr. Van Landingham thanked Councilor Pap~ and Councilor Kelly for their service on the HPB. Speaking as a lawyer for Legal Aid, Mr. Van Landingham said the State law did not provide a safe or affordable option for some tenants to force some landlords to make repairs. He maintained that the ordinance ~filled that gap." He indicated he had provided written testimony on that issue. He concluding by saying that he wished the State law was as effective as some maintained. David Hinkley, 1350 Lawrence Street, # 1, co-chair of the Jefferson-Westside Neighbors, said the neighborhood association had voted unanimously to support the ordinance at its last meeting. He noted that 48.2 percent of Eugene residents live in rental housing, and that number was growing. He regretted that a small proportion of landlords had created the need for the ordinance, and suggested that it was just a beginning as he believed there were other laws about landlord-tenant relationships that should be considered. David Hansen, 2738 Kismet Way, believed the rental association was sending a mixed message when it argued for education but then suggested the Corvallis program was essentially providing education. He asked what those individuals wanted. In regard to calls for slowing the process, Mr. Hansen said the council had taken its time, given that the issue had been under consideration since 1996. He said Corvallis researched the need for such a program for two years before passing the program. He said the coalition wished to avoid a similarly long adoption process. Kevin Matthews, 120 West Broadway, representing the Friends of Eugene, expressed his organization's support for the ordinance. However, given his organization's interest in adequate public processes, Mr. Matthews was concerned about the lack of public testimony from bad landlords. He pointed out that nobody had offered the council testimony to the effect that they were a bad landlord, and questioned whether the council should await that testimony, or whether it would have to represent their needs. Norton Cabell, 1456 West 10th Avenue, a property owner and manager, endorsed the inclusion of a sunset clause in the ordinance. He asked that the council amend the ordinance to recognize that not all damage to a property that is a code violation was caused by a landlord's action or inaction. Sometimes damage was caused by a tenant's action. He indicated he had submitted written text that allowed inspection staff to determine the source of the damage when deciding whether to penalize a landlord. Mr. Cabell said he was sure the manager would hire staff that would help protect tenants from those unscrupulous, uncaring, irresponsible landlords absent from the hearing, as well as landlords from the unscrupulous, uncaring, irresponsible tenants attempting to take advantage of a new system, who also had failed to offer testimony. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 8, 2004 Page 10 Regular Meeting