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<br />M I N U T E S <br /> <br /> <br />Eugene City Council <br />Public Hearing/Work Session <br />Council Chamber <br />777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon <br /> <br /> April 20, 2009 <br /> 7:30 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Andrea <br />Ortiz, Betty Taylor, George Brown. <br /> <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. He noted that Mayor Kitty <br />Piercy was representing the City in Portland at the National League of Cities Green Cities Conference. <br /> <br />1. PUBLIC HEARING <br /> An Ordinance Concerning Rental Housing Standards; Amending Section 8.425 of the <br /> Eugene Code, 1971 <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka opened the public hearing and reviewed the procedures for providing testimony. <br /> <br />Scott Smith <br />, Pond Lane, Eugene, Ward 5, spoke in opposition to the ordinance. He said he attended many <br />of the meetings of the advisory committee convened to make recommendations to the council on rental <br />housing issues and was surprised by the lack of attendance of tenants. He felt the ordinance revisions were <br />being driven by a vocal minority of tenants claiming to be self-appointed tenant advocates. He did not think <br />mold was a problem that rose to the level of an ordinance amendment. He said the existing rental program <br />operated with a surplus of funds and adding mold to the ordinance would not mean they were spent on better <br />service to the citizens of Eugene. <br /> <br />Regarding mold, Mr. Smith remarked that the ordinance did not recognize the fact that the majority of <br />household mold was related to tenant behavior and choices, such as use of ventilation fans, maintaining <br />proper heat in the dwelling, having aquariums or other sources of moisture. He agreed that leaks from <br />plumbing or roofs, which also caused mold, was the responsibility of the landlord, but that was already <br />covered in the code. He said the net effect of the ordinance would be to reduce the amount of affordable <br />rental housing available in the community. <br /> <br />Don Milligan, <br />Eugene, stated he was no longer in the rental business, but was representing someone whose <br />property had been destroyed by a tenant. He described the situation in which a tenant had rented property <br />for ten years and when he left the property was so heavily damaged it had to be demolished; the landlord had <br />lost her livelihood and was faced with the cost of demolishing the structure while still paying taxes and <br />insurance costs. He said a landlord rented for 60 cents on the dollar. <br /> <br />Jim Welsh <br />, Centennial Parkway, Eugene, representing the Eugene Association of Realtors, said many <br />realtors were also in property management and mold was a concern to them. He said mold was directly <br />related to moisture and felt the proposed ordinance took an appropriate approach by emphasizing education <br />and investigation, instead of direct regulation. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 20, 2009 Page 1 <br /> Public Hearing <br /> <br />