CC Minutes - 07/10/00 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Pap~ said that he appreciated the work done by staff, police and citizens. He said that he would support the ordinance because of the testimony of citizens who said that their children had been harassed. He said that the ordinance was the best step that could be taken immediately. Councilor Taylor opposed the prostitution-free zones and commented that if something was illegal it should be illegal everywhere. Regarding exclusions, Councilor Taylor said that it was a penalty before conviction and added that the problem would not go away just because someone was banned from a neighborhood. She said that the people had to still exist somewhere else. Councilor Taylor said that she would consider voting for a cruising ordinance for the entire city. She commented that if no one was cruising there would be less street business. Councilor Nathanson supported the ordinance. She commented that it was a quality of life issue and that the city had a responsibility to manage the quality of life for the majority of residents. She raised concern over trampling the rights of individuals and going beyond the law, but stressed the importance of doing everything possible to maintain quality of life. Councilor Rayor said that he took the plight of drug-addicted prostitutes very seriously. He supported the idea of going to the Human Services Commission to get more money for the ACES drug treatment program. He expressed a desire for the ordinance to be more harsh toward johns. He thanked those involved for their work on the ordinance. Councilor Meisner supported the ordinances as they were presented. He said his support was not conditional upon more drug court funding, although he would like to see that happen. He said that he lived in the neighborhood in question and had seen solicitation by prostitutes. Councilor Meisner commented that prostitution was not a victimless crime. He noted that the problem was located in a residential neighborhood, and urged citizens to walk that neighborhood so that they could better understand the problem. He said that if quality of life was not guaranteed to the central neighborhoods of the city the council would have failed and the inner city neighborhoods would fail. Councilor Lee said he would support the ordinances if he had a clear picture of the social service side of the equation. He said that his support would come when he could identify a sense of balance in how the social problem was being dealt with. He said that he had gone door to door in the neighborhood to get citizen input. He stressed that children were being harassed in the neighborhood and said that he would support ordinances as long as all the pieces were in place. Mayor Torrey said that it was important for citizens to remember that the people looking for prostitutes came from all over the city. He said that the ordinance was not casting aspersions at the people who lived in the area, but trying to do something to improve the environment of the area. Mayor Torrey acknowledged that there were social ills that caused prostitution but emphasized that those ills were not an excuse. He said that he was prepared to support all of the ordinances. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 10, 2000 Page 7 Regular Meeting