CC Minutes - 09/24/07 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Bettman thought the amendment irrelevant to the issue of drinking and driving and the danger to public health. In addition, drinking at games created a huge enforcement issue for the Eugene Police Department, which the amendment that had been offered did not address. The revised ordinance would compound that problem. She did not want to set up an expectation among Duck fans that drinking and driving was condoned by the City because it was willing to make an exception to the existing law. Mayor Piercy reiterated her belief that drinking should be stopped after the third quarter thereby making the situation safer for the community. She invited the council to amend the motion thusly. Mr. Lidz said that Chief Lehner had pointed out that there was another reference to ending drinking two hours after the game was completed within the ordinance itself. He suggested the motion could be amended to amend section 1 of the ordinance by substituting the word “when” for the phrase “two hours after.” That would replace the phrase “two hours after game” in two places; one in the existing ordinance, and one in the proposed amendment. Councilors Ortiz and Poling accepted the amendment. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Taylor and Bettman voting no. Councilor Zelenka said the wife and children of a dear friend were killed by a drunk driver and he understood what happened to people and their families when people decided to drink and drive. It was a big societal issue that would take more than action by the Eugene City Council to eradicate. He had observed tailgating at Autzen Stadium and believed that most people behaved responsibly. Those that did not created a problem, but he did not want to penalize many people to punish a few people. Councilor Zelenka acknowledged the City’s lack of enforcement capacity in regard to the current law prohibiting such drinking, and suggested the next best thing the council could do was to regulate it. He believed the proposed ordinance was an appropriate regulation and wanted the area regulated to be as small as possible. Councilor Zelenka had asked staff to find out where people were tailgating and it appeared they were divided between Centennial Loop and the Autzen Stadium area. As that was the area where tailgating was happening, he supported the boundaries, despite his initial objection. Councilor Zelenka said he did not think the City’s actions would increase drinking, but rather would regulate it. Councilor Clark offered a friendly amendment to include the businesses immediately adjacent to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the south, so the boundaries included those lots adjacent to the street not now included in the map. He said it seemed arbitrary to exclude them. Councilor Pryor determined from Sergeant Pete Kerns that there may be tailgating in the area identified by Councilor Clark but an assessment done by the department did not produce any pay for use parking lots, which was the focus of the ordinance. Councilors Pryor and Ortiz declined to accept the friendly amendment. Councilor Clark wanted to treat all businesses in the immediate area in the same manner and said it appeared the ordinance differentiated between those residents who paid and those who did not. He thought the council would face the same problem it faced now in regard to enforcement if it excluded that area. The City would have geographically isolated the issue. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 4 Regular Meeting