07/21/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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.. Mr. Miller said the council needs some way to monitor the effect of ordinances. He suggested the council do it by reviewing appeal decisions e once or twice a year. He said the council could change the ordinance if the review indicated that the council's intent was not clear, and the council could permit a person to appeal again if the council changed an ordinance. Ms. Ehrman said the staff should notify the council of flaws in ordinances that appear during appeals. Discussing the Alder Street Market, Mr. Gleason said the issue really involved the Sign Code Bounda ry but it wa s less expensive for the applicant to appeal the denial of a variance than to apply for a boundary change. He discussed past practices and said the councilors directed the staff to eliminate the council from many appea 1 processes so that the council coul d concentrate on policy matters. He said there is much benefit in separating legislative and judicial decisions. It sa i d it is important to be consistent in reviewing policies, analyzing legislation, and allowing boards and commissions to be responsible for carrying out policies set by the council. Mr. Holmer discussed his suggestion for deciding if the council should hear appeals. He said reviewing the Alder Street Market appeal would have indicated a problem with the ordinance and the councilors probably would have decided not to hear the appeal. Mayor Obie said he is comfortable with the existing land use processes because the City I S land use policies are very good and the counci 1 e receives good feedback from the community on them. He is less comfortable with delegating responsibility for setting fees because the policies are less developed. He said that the council should not hear appeals when adequate policies have been developed. Commenting on Mr. Holmer's suggestion, he discussed past practices and said it was difficult for the council to decide whether or not to hear certain appeals. Ms. Ehrman suggested the council request a report every six months from the Hearings Officials about issues involved in appeals. Mayor Obie said some organizations hire people to shop or go through processes anonymous 1 y and report thei r experi ences to the governing board. He said it would be a way for the council to find out how systems are working. Mr. Gleason and several councilors liked Mayor Obie's suggestion. They said it would be similar to hiring auditors for the finance department. The councilors discussed several ways of monitoring processes. Ms. Bascom said dissatisfied constituents have been the council IS "shoppers." Mr. Miller said an audit could indicate whether the intent of an ordinance is being accomplished. Ms. Schue said unanimous "shopping" might work in some departments and not in others. She said the counci 1 se 1 dom changed e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Ju ly 21, 1986 Page 7