CC Minutes - 02/10/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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council that the ordinances were due to expire March 31, 1999. She introduced the officer assigned to the downtown mall, Scott Fellman. Lieutenant McDermed provided a presentation to the council on the impacts of the ordinances since their adoption in 1998, comparing crime statistics on the mall for 1998 and 1999. Officer Fellman described how the ordinances were implemented by the department. He provided statistics on the number of exclusions issued on the mall. Officer Fellman discussed the mall closure ordinance, reporting it had been violated rarely. Officer Fellman highlighted ongoing problems in the mall, including drug sales and use, graffiti and vandalism, and potential issues on the mall, including the proximity of the new library to the mall and the completion of the Broadway Place development. He discussed methods the department used to address those issues. Officer Fellman urged the council to retain and make permanent the mall exclusion and mall closure ordinances, saying they were an important tool in eliminating the problems of failure to appear at courts, preventing huge crowds from forming on the mall, and promoting responsible use of the public space. He noted a proposed revision to the mall closure ordinance eliminating an alley 160 feet off Willamette Street from the provisions of the ordinance, and a proposed revision to add one block of Broadway from Willamette to Oak streets to the mall exclusion ordinance. He also asked the council to include wilful violation of the mall rules to the exclusion ordinance. Mr. Lee suggested that crime rate comparisons of July to December 1997 and July to December 1998 indicated the crime rate had decreased by 30 percent. He asked how that was accomplished. Officer Fellman suggested it was the result of hard work. Mr. Lee asked why the ordinances were needed if the crime rate was falling. Officer Fellman said that his recommendation was based on the specific decrease in activity on the mall after the ordinances were enacted. Mr. Lee pointed out that all areas of the city had experienced decreases in crime. Officer Fellman said that the ordinances were not the only factor in reducing crime, but they had a significant impact and he did not think staff would have made the progress it had on the mall without the ordinances. He said that he would have to look at all areas more specifically to answer Mr. Lee's questions more fully. Lieutenant McDermed said that in other pads of the city the department had implemented other prevention-related measures to reduce the level of crime. She said that the mall was a unique area that required additional tools. Officer Fellman said that reducing crime activity on the mall may have reduced crime in other areas. Mr. Lee asked if the Municipal Court judge had thrown out any mall exclusions. Officer Fellman said one exclusion was thrown out because the officer was not notified of the hearing. Lieutenant McDermed added that the use of the ordinances was limited to the beat officers on the mall to ensure consistency in how they were used. Ms. Nathanson was pleased that the Municipal Court judge and staff were involved in the ordinance review. She suggested that staff would not have recommended inclusion of the willful violation of the mall rules in the ordinance unless it had experienced such violations. Officer Fellman concurred. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 10, 1999 Page 7 11:30 a.m.