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<br />ATTACHMENTF <br /> <br />friends of eugene <br /> <br />31 October, 2005 <br /> <br />Mayor and City Council of Eugene, Oregon <br />c/o Planning Division <br />99 W. 10th Avenue <br />Eugene, OR 97401 <br /> <br />re: Friends of Eugene Comments on Minor Land Use Code Amendments <br />City Council Public Hearing <br /> <br />Dear Mayor and City Council, <br /> <br />Many of the current staff-proposed Minor Land Use Code Amendments (MLUCAs) are <br />indeed minor. Too many are not. It is deeply problematic, confusing to the public, and <br />perhaps ultimately deceptive to promulgate a long series of small policy changes under <br />the guise of, and public process appropriate to, making simple corrections. <br /> <br />The business-as-usual attitude that seems to have allowed these amendments to be <br />pushed forward to this point with little to no actual general public involvement, and <br />over the repeated sincere objections of public interest participants, is also deeply <br />discouraging. <br /> <br />It appears to be inaccurate to say "the Planning Commission held a series of public <br />work sessions" as stated in the Findings of consistency with statewide planning Goal <br />One. It is also misleading to say that "any amendment which posed a concern with a <br />commissioner was allowed limited discussion (ten minutes)" when that was typically the <br />entire agenda time allotted for a whole batch of proposed amendments. <br /> <br />This is a description of the minor code amendments process, quoted from a staff memo <br />to the Eugene Planning Commission (Nystrom 2005.0214): <br /> <br />"The Planning Commission accepted the following format for review of the Minor <br />Fixes: <br />Establish a standing agenda item on Planning Commission schedule for the next <br />few months. <br />Place a bundle of suggested amendments (10-15 per agenda) on consent calendar <br />(or similar format) for each meeting. <br />Suggested amendments will be in form of narrative direction, not specific code <br />language. <br />Allow minimal time on each agenda for staff explanation of any amendments, if <br />requested by Planning Commission. If the majority of the Commission has <br />concerns with a particular item, that amendment will be pulled from the agenda <br />and included with Key Amendments. <br />Planning Commission will accept the staff recommendation of those remaining <br />items. <br /> <br />Friend of Eugene -10/31/05 - Page 1 <br />