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

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an applicant's word when it came to the technical aspects of an application. She stated that the applicant recently submitted an application to modify its plans and neighbors suspected the modification to include air conditioners that would be in violation of the noise ordinance. She related that the applicant denied the neighbors' allegation, but the neighboring citizens hired an acoustics engineer, who found evidence of air conditioners in the site plan. She said Associate Planner Gabe Flock told her the applicant had changed his plans in response to public testimony about noise. She related that Mr. Flock stated the applicant would most likely be granted a modification that would provide him an additional 18 months before the site review approval expired. She asked Mr. Flock if it was allowable to change plans after plans had been submitted and Mr. Flock replied that there were a number of cases in which plan changes had been made mid-process. She alleged that the applicant lied about proposed changes that would not have met criteria had they been openly stated in the application. She said the neighborhood hired, at its own expense, an expert to "expose the lie." Instead of denying the applicant's request for modification, the Planning Department was now working with the applicant to remove the portions of the application that would not have met the criteria. The applicant was still granted the requested extension. She questioned the legality of this. She asserted that, had this fallen under Lane County Code, the entire application would have been revoked as a result of the applicant's action. She urged the Mayor and City Council to revise the ordinance, stating the citizens of Eugene deserve an ordinance that required a rigorous independent technical review of cell tower applications and provided for adequate setbacks from residences. She noted that the County ordinance provided for a 1,200 foot setback. Bruce Miller, P.O. Box 50968, circulated copies of information he wished to share with the City Council and City Manager. He expressed a great deal of concern that the University of Oregon student newspaper was not adequately reporting the cuts in funding to the University of Oregon at the state level. He criticized the student newspaper. Mr. Miller urged Mayor Torrey to consider being Dean of the Business School. Darlene Schanfald, 1624 East 23rd Avenue, spoke regarding the cell tower ordinance, noting she had assisted in the development of a cell tower code in Washington, her former place of residence. She related that she had worked with a University of Washington expert who, through more recent research, had come to believe that cell towers were a danger to the health of people. She expressed concern, as a neighborhood resident who also worked in the vicinity of the University of Oregon, that the placement of a cell tower on Hayward Field posed a health threat to both people and the migratory birds. She recommended the code be updated to require that experts look over applications prior to approval. Additionally, she felt the proximity of the University Child Care Center posed a health hazard to children housed there during the day. Janetta Overholser, 30300 Cottage Grove Lorane Road, Cottage Grove, related the plight of more than a dozen stray cats. She related that she received a call from a nursing home that, due to an abundance of stray cats, had developed a problem with fleas. She said she had all of the cats she could take care of in her house and did not know what to do. She commented that the City Council had taken the choice away from all of Lane County by the City's refusal to contribute funding to the cattery. She stressed that the Greenhill Humane Society accepted only owned cats and strays from the City of Veneta, by contract. She reiterated that stray cats had no where to go, though money had been spent to build a new cattery. MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 3 Regular Meeting