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

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Mr. Fart asked about a situation where a child sneaks alcohol at a family party. Mr. Schmidt pointed him to the phrase "knowingly allow." Mr. Rayor referred to (a) on page 1 of the ordinance, and recommended the reference to the University of Oregon be struck. He said that alcohol abuse was an issue in all areas of the community. Mr. Rayor asked that "or is present and in control" be added to 4.131 to reflect situations in which apartment managers hold parties in vacant units. Mr. Rayor referred to the penalties for violating the ordinance and said they were too high for college students to pay. He suggested the penalties for violations of 4.191 and 4.908 be lowered to $1,000. Mr. Kelly asked that staff included the statute number cited when referring to State statute. Mr. Kelly concurred with Mr. Rayor regarding the reference to the University of Oregon. He said that it was inappropriate to single out a single institution in a citywide ordinance. Mr. Kelly shared some of Mr. Rayor's concerns regarding fines, and noted that the State fines for the two violations cited by Mr. Rayor were higher. Regarding the fine for violation of Section 4.131, Mr. Kelly said that the State statute differentiated between first and second offenses. Mr. Schmidt noted that the original draft was reviewed by Municipal Judge Wayne Allen, who had specifically requested the text that appeared in the ordinance. Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Rayor's suggestion to strike the reference to the University of Oregon. She was also concerned about the fines, and said they should be eliminated. She was concerned about their impact on college students. Ms. Taylor asked if the City did not have laws on the books to address egregious violations. Sergeant. Stronach said that the laws currently exist under State statutes, and staff was proposing to incorporate them into local ordinances for more local control. Marilyn Nelson, Municipal Court Administration, said that staff had discussed the fines with the judge, and understood the suggested fines were maximum fines for the most egregious situations. The ordinances were intended to provide the maximum flexibility for the court. For example, if other alcohol-related charges were involved, the judge could review that history before making a decision. She said that the judges had discussed other remedies outside of fines to address such situations, such as attendance at the Victim Impact Panel in lieu of a maximum fine. Mr. Pap~ said that students needed to face the same penalties as other individuals. He asked that the ordinance be structured so that it had the needed specificity for criminal codes. Mr. Schmidts referred him to page 2 of the ordinance and said that the State law could be cross-referenced. Ms. Nathanson said it was important that the council have good findings to explain its reasons to the public. She did not think the findings in the ordinance were sufficient. She said that alcohol abuse in some cases was a private matter, and if the ordinance was addressing parties and mob behavior, that should be specifically mentioned. Regarding Section (b), Ms. Nathanson said that the language was awkward, and asked that it be revised to define the offenses referred to. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 28, 1999 Page 7 5:30 p.m.