Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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ATTACHMENT C M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall October 22, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. 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. Gary Rayor , 2373 Washington Street, noted that he had been a practicing civil engineer for 33 years. He related that he had been asked by a Crest Drive resident who was a bicyclist to review the area streets. He said the design process governed by the Eugene Arterial/Collector Study indicated that for City-initiated projects, after input from affected property owners and other affected persons, the council approved the design that the City Engineer determined to be safe and functional. He recalled that the City Engineer stated that a safe and functional street design had 10-foot wide lanes and shoulders. He averred that the resolution under consideration was more of a plan change and was not in accordance with the Eugene street develop- ment standards, the policy on geometric design of highways and streets, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guide for the development of bike facilities, and it was not in conformance with the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Mr. Rayor questioned whether this was the correct way to amend the Eugene Arterial/Collector Study. He asked if it was wise for the council to consider less than the minimum City and national standards. He thought it would put the City into a potential liability situation. He underscored that the AASHTO codes were based on driver performance and one of the main tenets was “shy distance,” in that whenever a driver felt he or she was getting close to something, they edged over. He did not believe that anyone would be able to stay in a nine-foot lane when passing a bicycle. Robert Bolman , 882 Almaden Street, averred that Eugene’s children would be looking at their future in a world in which hundreds of millions of refugees would have their homes inundated with sea water. He predicted the world would become stricken with violence and famine in such a way that the tragic events in Darfur and Rwanda would seem minor. He did not want to hear excuses for inaction. He said the next generation would be “quite unimpressed” by such excuses. He had seen Secretary of State Bill Bradbury provide a slide show and related that an activist asked Mr. Bradbury if he would be willing to stop clearcutting on public lands. He alleged that Mr. Bradbury had “squirmed” and said the State needed funds for schools. He agreed that funds were needed for schools but he also thought they needed a viable world MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 22, 2007 Page 1 Regular Meeting