CC Minutes - 07/09/07 City Council Meeting

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M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall July 9, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: George Poling. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Joyce Berman , 2440 Charnelton Street, wished to address the proposed exceptions to the portions of the code that govern “tailgating” activities at University of Oregon home games at Autzen Stadium. She stated that along with the Boy Scouts, the Masonic Lodge, the BMX track, and the Elks Club, the Willamette Institute for Science and Technology (WISTEC), also known as the Science Factory, depended on parking revenue received on game days to fund its services. She explained that 27 percent of the Science Factory budget had been raised from game day activities in 2006. She averred that the “parkers” were well-behaved and the lot had been well monitored. She believed the most equitable solution to concerns about enforcement of the prohibition on public drinking would to be level the playing field by expanding the code exemption currently enjoyed solely by the stadium to include the surrounding non-profits who partner with the University to provide game day parking. She said the increased cost of complying with a possible permitting or licensing requirement caused the Science Factory grave concern as it would have a negative effect on an “already tenuous bottom line.” She underscored that the income brought in by parking was immediately used to provide direct services to the community’s families and children. She reiterated that there had been no incidents involving alcohol in the Science Factory lot, adding that they would continue to educate people about responsible alcohol use in their game day activities. William Ivanoff , 1810 Harris Street, #336, said he was not a member of the Lane County Home Builders Association. He believed that land developers and builders would have benefited had the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) been constructed as land values would have increased. He thought the WEP would have also benefited the people who live in Veneta but commute to Eugene. He averred that young families living at the edge of the City would spend more time in their cars instead of more time with their children. He commented that more parking garages in the downtown area also enabled people to live at the edge of the City. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 1 Regular Meeting