CC Minutes - 08/14/06 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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M I N U T E S Eugene City Council City Council Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall August 14, 2006 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Andrea Ortiz, Gary Papé (participating by speakerphone), George Poling, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order and welcomed everyone to the meeting. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Greg Veralrud, 975 Oak Street, #625, Eugene, spoke to the independence of the auditor’s office and congratulated the council for finding a wise and reasonable approach. Marilyn Mohr, 1085 North Park Street, Eugene, requested that the council direct staff to halt the practice of extended street annexations in River Road. She said it was the City’s stated policy to pursue only voluntary annexations of private property; the new practice was outside of that policy and moved annexation from voluntary to involuntary. She said staff’s explanation of the new policy was neither convincing nor compelling. She asked councilors to carefully review the details outlined in the attachment to the River Road Community Organization’s advisory letter dated August 1, 2006, and, in addition, review the Santa Clara Community Organization’s advisory letter of May 2006. She said the new policy was creating hostility between residents in River Road and City government that many residents would like to move past. She believed that many councilors were committed to repairing that relationship and urged them to direct staff to halt the new practice of annexing street segments that went far beyond the boundaries of properties applying for voluntary annexation. th Gypsy James, 1851 West 10 Avenue, Eugene, said she lived very close to Martin Luther King Jr. Park th on the corner of West 10 Avenue and Grant Street. She said that neighbors were asking that measures be taken to make the park dry. She read into the record a petition from neighbors asking the City’s help in taking back their neighborhood park and submitted the petition and photographs of the park. th Rene Kane, 254 West 14 Avenue, Eugene, co-chair of Jefferson Westside Neighbors, thanked the council for its continued support as neighbors addressed several serious threats to the neighborhood’s stability and character. She thanked Planning and Development Department staff for their assistance in developing a simple yet sufficient approach to reduce the redesignated area’s vulnerability to damaging infill that could occur because of R-2 upzoning. She hoped the council would approve the actions recommended by staff in MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 1 Regular Meeting