CC Minutes - 02/23/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regarding the administrative rule, Mr. Papd asked if the 25 percent requirement was for opaque walls or for the open air portion of a facility. Ms. Osborn replied that it referred to the open air portion. Mr. Papd indicated that he would support increasing that amount to perhaps 50 percent. Mr. Pap~ supported the 25-foot buffer but was uncertain how it would be enforced. Ms. Osborn said it would be enforceable for congregating smokers but she did not think it would be possible to regulate smokers as they were walking by a building; however, public information could help promote compliance. Ms. Solomon wanted to be certain that the City was not taking away the option of having smoking areas. She felt bars and restaurants should have the choice and the option to build a smoking room if that was what their patrons wanted. Ms. Ortiz wished to stress that she was not against smoking or that smokers were bad people. She felt that smoking was a %ad" addiction. She appreciated that the council was having a good conversation about what was desired in such a facility. She supported making them as airy as possible and not forcing employees to breathe second-hand smoke. Ms. Bettman commented that the City had allowed the proliferation of these sorts of outdoor facilities and could be stuck with the ones that were already built. She asked if there was a way to temporarily discon- tinue issuing permits for their construction. Mr. Lidz commented that in the land use context, the City was required to issue or deny permits based on standards that were in place at the time the application was submitted. In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, City Manager Taylor recommended that the council come back after the break and finish addressing the item, at which time staff could present modifications to the administrative rule extrapolated from the council discussions on it. He did not think it would be prudent to issue a moratorium on permits, given that the action could take place relatively soon. Ms. Bettman said she was using up a lot of her time trying to define the issue and she had other comments to make. She felt she was not getting anywhere. She reiterated that the City may see a proliferation of permits. Ms. Bettman moved to discontinue issuing permits for outdoor smoking areas pending reso- lution of the issue. Mr. Kelly raised a point of order. He stated that a majority of the council would have to agree to override Mr. Poling's request not to take action. Ms. Bettman agreed to bring this item back. She asked staff to come back with language for a moratorium on the permits at the meeting scheduled for February 28. She reiterated that the key to regulation for her was not only the amount of available air but also whether employees were forced to enter into the smoking areas to serve customers or clean up after them. Mr. Kelly shared Ms. Bettman's concern. He felt a lot of the smoking areas were rooms for all purposes and intents because of the way the administrative rule was written or because an establishment disregarded MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 23, 2005 Page 3 Work Session