02/22/1988 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e e e become more rebellious, and crime would increase. He said the most frightening impact, which he had heard expressed several times, was the anticipated rapid increase in vandalism citywide. Mr. Krummel said proponents of the ordinance had argued that problems would be eliminated by eliminating cruising. He said he suspected it was more true that problem behaviors might be eliminated in specific neighborhoods, but they were likely to spread citywide. Cheryl E. ZWillinger, 892 West 23rd Avenue, spoke on behalf of the Eugene Commission on the Rights of Youth and in opposition to the ordinance. She referred to a memo submitted by the commission, and she reviewed major points of the memo. She said cruising-related problems should not be addressed in isolation of addressing the recreational and social needs of young people; current resources did not address the need for Friday- and Saturday-night recreation for teenagers, both in-school, or who supported themselves. Prior to the adoption of an ordinance, the commission felt that City needed to work with other jurisdictions, the private sector, and area youth to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at creating alternatives. Ms. Zwillinger said the City had failed to provide recreational resources for young people, and "The Gut" had met that need. She said it was unreasonable to assume that if cruising were taken away, young people would IIjust disappear or go home and play parcheesi .11 Ms. Zwillinger asked about the impact of the ordinance. She said no evidence existed that the ordinance would reduce crime, and it might only be displaced. Crime could increase because of further youth alienation and frustration, she added. She asked about the message that would be sent to young people by passage of the ordinance and said the response from many young people and parents was that the policy was anti-youth. She said the City could face increased costs if activities spread to other nei ghborhoods. Portland I s "Gut" had moved outside the city, and kids had started hanging out in parks, she said. She added that dropping liThe Gutll into another jurisdiction could create further friction between governments, and if liThe Gutll moved to an unincorporated area, less police protection would be available to young people. Ms. Zwillinger said the City could suffer short- and long-range economic losses as young people decided to spend their money elsewhere and as Eugene became known as a community that was unresponsive to young people's needs. She said the problems with cruising had been recognized by the commission and by young people, and that was the reason for the move to a non-residential area on West 11th. She said the youth commission felt that banning cruising without creating alternatives was short-sighted and wrong. Jon Silvermoon, 892 West 23rd Avenue, spoke in opposition to the ordinance. Mr. Silvermoon said he was a member of the youth commission, and the commission recognized that young people should be held accountable for any destructive or law-breaking behavior they might exhibit. However, he said, it was not cruising that affected the safety MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 22, 1988 Page 8