Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Councilor Bettman explained that she had pulled the May 14 minutes in order to gain clarification about a portion of the document. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of the min- utes from the May 14, 2007, work session passed unanimously, 7:0. 3. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Manufactured Dwelling Park Closures; and Amending Sections 2.1060 and 2.1086 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4948, an ordinance concerning manufactured dwelling park closures. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to amend the title and the pro- posed ordinance to add a new section 2.1088 to the Eugene Code, 1971, to read: “No manufactured dwelling park owner may refuse tenancy on the basis of a manu- factured dwelling’s age or size if the same size or similar age as the prospective ten- ant’s dwelling. Manufactured dwellings are of similar age if they are constructed within 10 years of each other.” Councilor Bettman said she considered a prohibition on older homes to be a form of discrimination and not a quality issue. Councilor Solomon stated that she had served on the committee that reviewed the issue and helped to prepare the proposed ordinance language. She said the motion was not part of the recommendation and she believed the amendment would be detrimental to it. She felt some of the unintended consequences of the amendment could be that park owners could choose not to renew leases at all rather than be forced to accept something that could compromise the quality of the park. In response to a question from Councilor Ortiz, Councilor Solomon affirmed that there were manufactured home owners serving on the committee. Councilor Ortiz noted that manufactured home parks were located in both her ward and in Councilor Solomon’s ward. She acknowledged that some of her constituents were concerned about whether they would continue to have the ability to stay in their homes. She said she would not support the amendment. She believed that there was good representation in crafting the proposed ordinance by mobile home residents and that there had been a lot of work done on the ordinance already. Roll call vote; the amendment failed, 5:2; councilors Bettman and Taylor voting in favor. Mayor Piercy related that a request had been made regarding an amendment to allow appeals to go before the City Council. She said the ordinance included the option for an appeal to the Hearings Official. She reported that the City Attorney had advised against such an amendment as it would create a potential for a standard of deviations among similarly situated persons. Councilor Solomon recalled testimony given by Troy Brooks, owner of Songbrook Manufactured Housing Park, at the public hearing regarding the mobile home park that used to be located by the Ferry Street Bridge. He had pointed out that the mobile home park was now gone and a large hotel stood in its place, MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 3 Regular Meeting