CC Minutes - 06/28/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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B. Work Session: An Ordinance Concerning the Emergency Code; Adding Section 2.1055; Amending Section 2.1990 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Declaring an Emergency Mr. Solin reviewed the contents of the emergency ordinances. He said that staff realized the need for ordinances allowing the City to declare a state of emergency, and had examined the ordinances of several cities for input to the City's ordinance. Mr. Kelly said that he did not want to micromanage in a crisis, but the ordinance granted extraordinary power to a single individual in the form of the City Manager, and he wanted to ensure that the law provided a mechanism for the mayor and council to be involved in decision-making. He was not satisfied with the implicit power mentioned by Mr. Klein, preferring to have the council's authority specifically delineated. Mr. Kelly said that the ordinance seemed to be incomplete, and there were a couple of references to the need for more legal research. Mr. Kelly referred to the ordinance provision granting the City Manager other power as needed, saying that it seemed overly broad. He wanted consultation with the mayor and council where possible. Mr. Kelly asked if Section 2.1055 implied that a private property owner would be responsible for cleaning up the debris from, for example, an airplane crashing upon their house. Mr. Johnson pointed out the word "may," adding that he did not envision such a situation. Ms. Obadal said that the ordinance referred to a situation where the party involved created the debris. Mr. Kelly asked that be reflected in the code. Mr. Pap~ questioned whether the definition of "emergency" could be tightened. City Attorney Jens Schmidt said that the definition mirrored the State emergency statutes. He said (2)(a) stipulated that findings of certain conditions must exist before the condition was declared. Ms. Nathanson said that the rules under which a state of emergency could be declared seemed to be focused on large-scale events such as a disaster or earthquake rather than small-scale events the City could handle itself through cooperative agreements with other agencies. She said that if the City could handle the problem on its own, the powers granted the manager were not likely be invoked. Mr. Johnson concurred. He said that the ordinance was directed at large natural disasters that required extraordinary action, not for incidents such as small floods. Ms. Nathanson asked for an example of the type of permits that might be issued under (j). Mr. Solin said that removal of underground storage tanks required a permit, and the City might want to expedite permits for removal of tanks in the case of flooding. Ms. Nathanson asked for clarification of (m); the City would pay market value for the item in question. Mr. Johnson said yes. Mr. Rayor referred to (g) on page 4 of the ordinance and asked if the term "to the extent allowed by law" should be added to the powers granted to the City Manager. He also asked if the law allowed citizens to carry explosives now. City Attorney Jens Schmidt said that (g) was taken from Portland's ordinance. Mr. Rayor asked staff to follow up on the legality of carrying explosives. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 28, 1999 Page 5 5:30 p.m.