CC Minutes - 01/27/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Nathanson discussed erosion and drainage problems in her ward and the adjacent ward to the east caused by new development being done uphill from existing development. She noted the correspondence the council had received regarding the Whitbeck property. As drainage patterns were changed by uphill development, people living downhill were impacted. Underground streams and springs change location, creating serious runoff problems. She was not satisfied that the Public Works Department was responding to the problem in a proactive and preventive way. Ms. Nathanson noted a situation in a neighborhood in Ward 8 that highlighted the problem of notice to planned unit developments with private homeowners associations. She said that it raised issues of notice and who was provided with notice. She said that sometimes the associations receive the notice and sometimes it goes to a City-sanctioned neighborhood organization. Ms. Nathanson asked staff to consider ways to reduce the continuing confusion over who receives notice. Ms. Nathanson reported she recently attended a Local and State Government Advisory Committee to the Federal Communication Commission, and the committee continued to be concerned about decreasing commission oversight of consumer issues. The committee met with the Industry Right-of-Way Working Group on a number of topics related to managing the public right-of-way. Mr. Pap8 reported on a constituent contact regarding an Attorney General's opinion that changed the State law regarding citizens' ability to live-trap racoons inside the city limits. He asked if the City could adopt an ordinance allowing such trapping and moving of racoons. Mr. Carlson said the City had no ordinance related to the trapping of racoons and he did think any relevant State law existed, but he would follow up. Mr. Pap8 thanked Eric Johnson and Public Works Department staff for cleaning up illegal camping sites just outside the city limits. That effort had yielded 900 pounds of debris. Mr. Pap8 requested that staff schedule action on the ordinances associated with the changes to the charter approved by the voters in November 2002. Mr. Pap8 invited all to the opening of the Ruth Bascom Bicycle Trail at noon on January 31. Ms. Bettman asked staff to check into whether four or more councilors actually represented a quorum problem. She endorsed Mr. Kelly's suggestion to videotape the public sessions. Ms. Bettman noted feedback she received from small business owners in downtown concerned about the perception of very high rents in downtown, possibly due to the fact there were so few landowners controlling the property there. She asked if there was data available for staff to do a cost comparison of downtown rents in Springfield and other areas of Eugene with similar zoning, as well as other comparable cities in Oregon, such as Salem. City Manager pro tem Jim Carlson indicated such an analysis would take more than two hours and it would require council agreement to initiate the work. Mr. Meisner noted that citizen John Brown had much of the information requested by Ms. Bettman. Ms. Bettman asked that staff put two hours of effort into following up on her question. Mr. Carlson said staff would request Mr. Brown to provide the council with the information he had available. Once staff had to start contacting brokers, he anticipated the effort would take more than two hours. Ms. Bettman asked if the Metro Partnership had the information she requested. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 27, 2003 Page 2 Work Session