CC Minutes - 10/13/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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training times. Ms. Taylor said she had viewed a new police station in Centerville, Ohio, that had been funded completely by inheritance taxes. She suggested that was an idea for the council to pursue. Mr. Meisner indicated he would follow-up on Mayor Torrey's request regarding the school districts' involvement in the United Front lobbying visit, and suggested the two districts prepare some information about what services they had been able to save and rely upon with the new school levy that the community recently passed. B. WORK SESSION: An Ordinance Concerning the Downtown Area and Amending Sections 3.005, 3.344, 4.870, 4.871, 4.872, 4.990, 5.010, and 5.252 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Lieutenant Chuck Tilby joined the council for the item. Acting Police Chief Thad Buchanan and Linda Phelps of the Eugene Police Department were also present. Lt. Tilby provided background on the proposed ordinance, reporting that following the opening of Broadway and the demise of the downtown pedestrian mall, a consortium of private and public individuals involved in downtown issues had convened to discuss the implications of those events, particularly as they related to criminal activity in the downtown by various youth groups that frequented the area. Those participating in the discussions had been struck by the amount of adult criminal predation on youth frequenting the mall and Park Blocks. Lt. Tilby said those groups frequently had a negative impact on people seeking to use downtown and the Park Blocks; causing people to feel as they were not in a safe environment. After business hours, the Park Blocks were used for drug dealing, prostitution, and low-level gang activity. The activity then relocated to the Broadway Plaza, in part because it was not governed by park rules as were the Park Blocks. Lt. Tilby said that some of the activity then migrated to Monroe Park. Lt. Tilby said that another problem the consortium considered was the placement of newspaper distribution boxes. Such boxes were appearing all over the downtown and one installation frequently engendered the placement of additional boxes, which were chained to lamp posts, trees, and bicycle racks placed in curb cuts and the right-of-way. The boxes created a barrier to pedestrian passage, particularly to those with disabilities. Lt. Tilby reported that at the urging of private sector agencies such as Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI), Downtown Events Management, Inc. (DEMI), and various social service providers, a task group was formed to review and redefine the mall regulations. The task group included representatives of various City departments, DE1, DEMI, Lane Transit District, Farmers Market, and Saturday Market. The group worked with the City Attorney's Office on the ordinance before the council. Lt. Tilby said the goal of the ordinance was to provide the City with the tools necessary to provide a safe environment for patrons and residents of downtown in a manner consistent with the long-term goals of the private and public sectors. He said that essentially, the ordinance applied the prior mall ordinance and mall rules to a larger physical area that was a compilation of smaller public gathering places, sometimes as small as a sidewalk. Mayor Torrey called for council questions and comments. MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 4 Work Session