CC Minutes - 09/10/07 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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3. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Consumption or Possession of Alcohol in Public Places, and Amending Sections 4.190, 4.990, and 4.996 of the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager Pro Tem Angel Jones asked Eugene Police Department (EPD) Captain Pete Kerns to provide a brief review of the proposed ordinance. Capt. Kerns recalled that staff had presented a registration scheme to be included as an amendment to the ordinance at a work session in July. He explained that pay-per-use parking lots could be provided an exemption to the public drinking ordinance on game days by registering, distributing handbills with rules, and by posting signage in the lots. He said with direction from the council staff some adjustments had been made to the map so that the area for the exception was limited only to the pay-per-use parking lots. He reviewed the map and explained which areas were included. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. th James Cunningham , 1190 West 26 Avenue, said he was “ashamed” of the City and the EPD for “advocating for public drunkenness.” He was also “ashamed” of the Mayor and council for considering the exemption to the ordinance. He stressed that it was well-known that alcohol was a dangerous inebriant. He believed the exemption for the Autzen Stadium lot should be revoked rather than expanding the exemption to others. He believed such an expansion would expose the City to lawsuits by relatives of innocent victims of drunken driving. He asserted that if any public drinking was allowed, it should be allowed everywhere. He urged the council to significantly strengthen the University of Oregon enforcement, should the exemption pass, and to require every driver leaving the parking lots to submit to a breathalyzer. He submitted his testimony in writing. Dick Mower , 768 Lochaven Avenue, co-chair of the Eugene Elks Antler Committee, stated that his organization held parking lot activities at the Willamette Institute of Science and Technology (WISTEC) and the John Serbu Youth Campus and had done so for approximately seven years. He said they received around $5,000 annually, all of which went into charities such as the Boys and Girls Club, the Mission family unit, St. Vincent DePaul holiday boxes, and disaster situations such as Hurricane Katrina. He related that Elks’ charities also supported the Oregon Eye Clinic and the Hearing and Speech Camps. He MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 5 Work Session