CC Minutes - 04/08/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Kevin Matthews, PO Box 1588, Eugene, submitted written material into the record. He commented that the Chamber of Commerce and the homebuilders association had met with City attorneys and staff since the remand of the Land Use Code Update. He raised concern, as a citizen intervener, that he had no notice of any meetings or received equal access to material. He said this was a mockery of public process. Mr. Matthews said the biggest potential problem with the proposed ordinances was that they created temporary loopholes in the code that would have permanent consequences. He raised concern over the gathering of a lawsuit culture in land use decisions being made in the City. Mayor Torrey urged the council to leave the record open for written material through April 19. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. Councilor Farr, seconded by Councilor Rayor, moved to keep the public record open for written material until April 19, 2002. Councilor Fart stressed the importance of allowing more time for public input. Councilor Rayor said he had too many unanswered questions before wanting to take action on the ordinances. Councilor Kelly raised concern that the postponement of action was an attempt to re-open all of the Land Use Code Update to debate and discussion. He said that for every day that passed, there was more development that was not in compliance with growth management policies adopted by the City. He stressed the importance of starting with re-adopting the parts of the Land Use Code Update that were not remanded back to the City. Councilor Bettman reiterated the need to reinstate the parts of LUCU that were not remanded back to the City. She commented that the homebuilders association and the Chamber of Commerce were trying to leverage provisions under threat of continuing legal action and trying to re-debate land use issues that were already settled. In response to a request for clarification of intended action from Councilor Pap~, Ms. Jerome said legal staff had meticulously gone through the Land Use Board of Appeals decision and responded to every single thing staff was instructed to do. Mayor Torrey raised concern over going through the process too fast. He said it was not in the best interest of the community to take action that evening. He noted that if action was taken that evening he would take the full 10 days allotted to him to consider whether to veto the ordinance. He said he would consider the veto, not because of the content of the ordinance, but because the community had not been given enough time to provide adequate input on the issue. He urged the council not to invite more legal action than was needed. Councilor Bettman reiterated her earlier statement that as much of LUCU as possible needed to be reinstated. She said the council could not capitulate over the threat of lawsuits. She said there was good sound legal advice and a process that would work that needed to be put in place. Councilor Farr said that his motion in no way opened up the entire code to debate but simply called for answers regarding the changes made at the request of the Land Use Board of Appeals. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 8, 2002 Page 11 Regular Session