Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Clark, Mr. Hough explained that on Green Days people would be encouraged to burn cleanly, on Yellow Days people would be asked to burn less, and if pollution levels continued to rise it would become a first stage Red Day. He said there was a potential for between five and ten finable complaints. He noted that a first offense would result in a fine of $50, a second offense if it occurred within a three-year period was a $100 fine, and so on. Councilor Clark asked how many days the particulate matter had exceeded 35 micrograms per cubic meter in 2006. Mr. Hough recalled that there had been a couple of days that had reached that level. Councilor Clark asked if the City of Springfield and Lane County had adopted similar ordinances. Mr. Hough replied that neither entity had yet adopted it, but both would consider it soon. He added that the City of Oakridge had already adopted the new standards. Councilor Clark expressed some concern about the “drastic amount” of change to the standards the ordinance would bring. He felt to do so right before a cold winter would cause people to be fined for trying to keep warm. He acknowledged the desire to curb smoke and particulate matter in the airshed. Councilor Taylor thanked Mr. Hough for his input to the meeting. She supported the ordinance because it would promote the health of the community. In response to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Mr. Hough affirmed that the ordinance would make the Eugene law in accordance with the new Federal standards. Councilor Zelenka asked if the fine would ratchet up per occurrence. Mr. Hough reiterated that it would. Mr. Hough expressed appreciation for Councilor Taylor’s service on the LRAPA board. Councilor Ortiz asked how the ordinance would be enforceable. Mr. Hough responded that LRAPA received over 1,000 complaints on average per year. He had been impressed by the responsiveness LRAPA had exhibited to the complaints. He said typically there was a call to the complainant if additional information was needed, and if it was clear who was generating the source of the complaint, they made a call to that person explaining that concern had been registered, and to provide information on burning wood in a way that has the least impact on neighbors. He added that each complaint was different and sometimes it took more than one call to resolve them. He asked Sally Markos, a Public Information and Outreach specialist for LRAPA, to provide more detail. Ms. Markos explained that there was a dedicated complaint line. All complaints were recorded and there was a space on the complaint form to check if the person wanted a callback. She related that if there was more than one call about the same address, she and the other outreach person would visit the home. She said sometimes it worked and other times they would be met with opposition. She recalled that during her tenure in this position they had yet to cite anyone. She said the next step involved sending people to enforce the local burning ordinance who were trained smoke spotters and could read smoke opacity as it came from a chimney. Councilor Solomon asked if the smoke readers were the sole particulate measurement method. Mr. Hough replied that smoke reading was the same testing mechanism used to evaluate emissions from an industrial source. He added that smoke readers were required to pass a specific test to measure the accuracy of their readings. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Solomon and Clark voting in opposition. MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 26, 2007 Page 5 Regular Meeting