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Mr. Laue said that he had received a contact from a constituent related to the nuisance <br />ordinance and the housing code. He said that he had mixed feelings about the need for a <br />housing code, although many more such instances might convince him one was necessary. <br /> <br />Mr. Laue thanked Ms. Swanson Gribskov for her service as Council President in a very difficult <br />year. <br /> <br />Mr. Tollenaar thanked Ms. Swanson Gribskov for her service as president and said that her <br />facilitative skills were very useful. <br /> <br />Mr. Tollenaar suggested that the council consider an amendment to the code regarding <br />commercial solicitation that stipulated "no soliciting" signs must be observed by commercial <br />solicitors. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Torrey, City Attorney Glenn Klein said that there may be First <br />Amendment implications to Mr. Tollenaar's suggestion. He said that the Oregon Supreme Court <br />had ruled on past attempts by communities to control solicitation; he did not think that Mr. <br />Tollenaar's suggestion was an infringement on the basis of those decisions, although he would <br />have to research the issue. He estimated that the research would take approximately one hour. <br /> <br />Mr. Laue, Ms. Swanson Gribskov, and Mr. Meisner expressed concern about putting a regulation <br />in place that the City had no funding to enforce or court capacity to prosecute. <br /> <br />Mr. Klein suggested that the council consider an ordinance revision that allowed a private <br />enforcement mechanism. While it might not discourage all solicitors, it would provide an <br />enforcement mechanism without involving the City. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said that the City could not legislate good manners. <br /> <br />Mr. Torrey concluded there was no council support to pursue Mr. Tollenaar's suggestion. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson asked that staff making presentations to the City Council be given the same <br />packet provided to the council to avoid confusion when references were made to page numbers. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson reported that the Council Committee on Citizen Involvement and Organizational <br />Change was soliciting ideas and comments about citizen involvement from participants in a <br />series of focus groups over the next two weeks. She hoped the committee could begin its work <br />from the viewpoint of what it was trying to accomplish. Ms. Nathanson indicated that the <br />committee would check in with the council on its work plan after the focus group process. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson said that she attended a recent meeting of the Active Bethel Citizens and heard a <br />very informative and useful presentation by Planning and Development Department staff <br />regarding the Land Use Code Update. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson indicated appreciation to Public Works Department staff for assistance on several <br />issues in her ward, including the City's current assessment practices. She noted the impact of <br />those practices on properties with double frontage and said that the resulting assessments were <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1998 Page 8 <br />5:30 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />