09/10/1984 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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;.> ,- the "affirmatively seek" language reflected the community opinion, stating - that the delegates had been chosen to represent a cross-section of the community. She said the language developed by the conference should be retained unless the council could state a clear reason for any change. Ms. Odell stated that the City Manager's Office had statistics reporting that women composed only 25 percent of the City boards and commissions, excluding the Human Rights Commis- sions and 4hose individuals serving on more than one commission. She sai d the 25 percent figure was unacceptable and must be affirmatively changed. She said the City Council must provide the direction to the boards and commission to recruit minorities and women to apply to the boards and commissions. She also stated that a study should be performed to determine the applicant flow rate as compared to the present representation. Referring to her own applica- tion to the Downtown Commission, she said two of the six applicants were women and that the nine-member commission currently had only two women. Ms. Odell felt that women were not applying to City boards and commissions because they were discouraged with the process. She said the City Council must affirma- tively act to seek representation by women and minorities. Richard Miller, 2460 Malabar, stating that he had previously provided testimony to the City Council, said the council should be considering the Community Goals and Policies document as developed at the conference. He felt that the revisions made by the Planning Commission did not reflect the opinions of the conference delegates. He cited Suggested Action 2.1 on page 2 regarding applicants to City boards and commissions as an example of the weakened language recommended by the Planning Commission. In addition, he felt that the council revision to delete the second sentence of Goal 4 on page 1 of the June draft would not adequately emphasize the need to temper economic development e with growth methods consistent with other City goals. Carol Cogswell, 1280 East 39th Avenue, referring to Policy 2.0 on page 13 of the June draft, felt that the change proposed by Dr. Love left out the con- c1 uding words "and for a diversity of wildl ife." She said the data base recommended by Dr. Love would limit Eugene to preserving only those areas that are important for rare, threatened, or endangered plants, birds, and animals. She stressed the importance of including the phrase mentioned or add the sentence "In addition, preserve areas of the city that are important natural habitats for a diversity of wildlife.1I Addressing the accompanying Suggested Action 2.1. Ms. Cogswell stressed the importance of establishing a process for identifying the natural habitats in the city prior to any development. Carroll Fentress, 3883 Blanton Road, stated he had not planned to testify but wished to respond to the testimony given by some of the previous speakers. He felt that the City would be limited in its actions by the numerous policies and suggested actions. While he felt the Community Goals and Policies document would be invaluable as a reference tool, he said the adoption of the document by the council would mean the approval of each item as City policy. He suggested that the document be carefully studied by legal authorities before adoption to ensure that the document does not abolish existing policies or establish unwanted future actions. He suggested that the council take some action less than full adoption of the document. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 1984 Page 3