03/14/1988 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 , . '" Mr. Gleason said staff concluded the ordinance is still enforceable under the two changes. e Ms. Wooten affirmed that the council reached a consensus last Wednesday to delay reconsideration.of the ordinance until staff could respond with draft amendments. She requested the council delay the matter until April 11 to enable staff to improve what she said is a flawed ordinance. She said council also agreed to wait until the Commission on the Rights of Youth can hold its meeting with car club representatives March 15. She said something needs to be done about the cruising problem. although there is no need to panic. Ms. Ehrman said she supports Ms. Wooten's request to delay the issue until April. She said she and Ms. Wooten spent several hours along Willamette Street the previous Saturday night. Although she said they did not witness criminal violations. she said they were able to understand how the situation can be confrontational between the surrounding neighborhood and the cruisers themselves. Ms. Ehrman said she hopes people don't see the request for a delay as an attempt to minimize the problem. She said the proposed ordinance is flawed and should undergo some revision. She said she disagrees in particular with the impoundment penalty and the restriction to two trips in two hours. She said she is worried about selective enforcement and the potential to single out one group of people. Ms. Schue said the cruising problem on Willamette Street is of such proportions that the council has to take action now. Ms. Schue said the situation on Willamette is similar to the whitewater races on the McKenzie River where the City prohibited the activity after people began to die in drowning accidents. e Ms. Schue said,~he sympathizes with the fun that youngsters have cruising and is agreeable to considering amendments to the ordinance. However. she said the problem has increased to the point where a dangerous confrontation is likely to occur. She said the neighbors. including herself. have had enough abuse. She said she has spent nine years trying to come up with a solution. Some of the solutions that have been implemented in the past are not feasible now because of the current budget shortage. She said the council can not deliver a message to the community that the problem is something that can wait. Mr. Miller said he agrees with Ms. Schue that the problems need to be corrected as soon as possible. Ms. Wooten reminded the council that the cruising situation is not a state of emergency. While there are some youngsters misbehaving. she said there is not a lot of illegal activity occurring along Willamette Street itself. She said she will not tolerate the harassment of neighbors anymore than other people. However. she said the current ordinance violates citizens' civil rights. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14. 1988 Page 6