CC Minutes - 05/11/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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George Boehnke, 2040 Willamette Street, stated that he believed the ordinance had positive value, but that it did not include adequate provisions for enforcement. He expressed a concern that overnight use of streets near property for sale reduced the value and saleability of the property. He suggested that provisions for limitation of the number of vehicles in a specific area, that overnight use of specific areas be prevented, that City-owned parking lots be used, and that City employees be required to walk or use alternate modes of transportation to work. Henry C. Rippel, II described his education and employment and stated that he was homeless and lived in his automobile. He said he had had a positive experience staying overnight in church parking lots. He suggested that sleeping be permitted in cars parked in the downtown area, that homeless persons are generally distrustful of police, that some industrial areas were not appropriate for persons to park overnight, and that homeless persons tended to congregate because of the sense of safety it provided. Mary Ann Holser, 2670 Cresta De Ruta, stated that she supported the extension of the ordinance. She suggested that the City seek increased funding to support development of additional affordable housing and skill development programs. John Hubbird, 888 West 8th Avenue, commended the City Council for adopting the ordinance and suggested that it be extended after it was revised to deal with concerns raised by businesses and property owners in industrially zoned areas. He also suggested that alternate revenue sources be developed to support programs for homeless persons. He recommended that the ordinance be changed to designate specific Iow-impact industrially zoned areas for overnight parking. Dick Briggs, 80 West 23rd Avenue, stated that he believed two-thirds of the ordinance was working well, but that his experience illustrated the problems of the balance. He described how enforcement of provisions of the ordinance were not possible, how the ordinance lacked a provision for limiting the number of vehicles in a single location, and how he was frustrated with the need to regularly remove trash from his property left by persons sleeping overnight. He recommended that the ordinance be amended to provide that no overnight parking was permitted within 250 feet of sanitation facilities, and that vehicles parked overnight were required to be separated by 200 feet. He encouraged businesses to "adopt" homeless families parking near their property. Robert J. Riggs, Post Office Box 11685, stated that he was co-manager of the St. Vincent de Paul "Eugene Service Station" which provided daytime sanitation, laundry, and telephone services for homeless persons. He said that he believed the ordinance was a positive statement of support for homeless persons and recommended that it be extended with "fine tuning." Raul Sanchez, 2101 West 10th Avenue, stated that he was a owner of a business located in an industrial area frequently used by persons sleeping overnight in vehicles. He said the presence of the vehicles had caused him to lose business, created trash problems, and resulted in abuse of his mail box. He urged the council to correct the problems. Gordon McGraw, 2090 West 7th Place, stated that he was opposed to continuation of the ordinance. He described his experience with burglaries and vandalism at his business in the industrial area since the adoption of the ordinance. He said he was concerned about the small MINUTES--City Council May 11, 1998 Page 7