Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Committee for Sustainability, reiterated the request to extend the timeline for Envision Eugene so that the council could incorporate the recommendations of the Eugene Climate and Energy Action Plan. She said the recently released draft of the plan contained recommendations about planning for a future with reduced fossil fuel availability that focused on areas such as natural resource protection, local agriculture, land use, neighborhood design, and transportation. Irving Weiner , 88500 Greenhill Road, owner of Aqua Serene, was concerned that Lane Transit District was going to take part of the garden center behind the business through eminent domain should the option to run the new EmX route along Amazon Canal be chosen. He was concerned that this option would take half of his business away, which would cause him to lay off employees and possibly consider retirement. He had looked at the issue because initially he thought what could be wrong with mass transportation. As he looked further into it he felt that given that the buses ran on diesel fuel and that because the fossil fuel supply was waning and the Gulf of Mexico spill was so costly, the prices would rise significantly and the buses would be expensive to operate. He wondered why they would not consider electric buses. He predicted that by the time the bus would be "up and running" the diesel bus would be obsolete. He thought they could do a better job with a smaller bus. He added his observation that the buses that went down West 11th Avenue were never more than half full. th Brent Woodrich , 2700 West 11 Avenue, owner of Auto Craft, stated that the Amazon option for the EmX route would affect the back side of his building and the West 11th Avenue option would affect the front side of the building. He related that the dirt along Amazon Canal was soft and he questioned whether it could be bolstered to the point of being able to support large vehicle traffic. He said if the West 11th Avenue option was selected more businesses than just his would have to close. He would not be able to handle the volume of cars that he was currently handling and if this was the case, he would have to lay people off. Lisa Anderson , 1230 Arthur Street, also wished to testify about the potential EmX routes. She said if the Amazon route was chosen it would "decimate" her neighborhood. She provided the council with maps of the area. She described the tranquility of the area. She remarked that one would not find people driving in her neighborhood unless they lived there or were lost. She had spoken with most of her neighbors and many thought they would move if the EmX line went through their neighborhood. She considered her neighborhood to be unique. She said part of the council's job was to help preserve neighborhoods and asked that they consider taking a walk through her neighborhood. She noted that Councilor Solomon had done so. Marshall Gause , 2520 Van Buren Street, requested that the City suspend enforcement of Eugene Code 9.525, which specified the two-chicken limit. He had looked at the City's web site and found the Eugene Food Security Scoping and Resource Plan, which recommended keeping eight hens for a family of four. He related that his family had five hens and had received a letter from the City that required them to reduce their flock to two hens or they would face a $450 fine for each day they were in violation. He stated that they used their chickens for meat, eggs, and they were a big source of compost for them. He said the hens mowed their grass, kept their weeds down, and ate bugs. He noted that they had found a foster home for three of their hens. He commended the enforcement officer, Donna Nowakowski, who had been very "conscientious and helpful." He related that she had talked to the neighbor who had complained and had inspected the chicken coop and determined that it was clean and not odiferous. He said she had decided to suspend enforcement, so the flock had been returned. He asked the people who were present who were in support of suspension of the policy to raise their hands and many people did so. th Ron Doerr , 3012 and 3082 West 11 Avenue, Ward 8, stated that his family owned a business at the addresses listed. He said if the EmX was routed along 11th Avenue it would be devastating to his business; it would cut off a large part of the footprint. He stated that LTD had indicated that it could help relocate the business, but he questioned how this could be successfully undertaken given that the business had been in its current location since 1957. He had also observed that the buses were not full. He echoed concerns expressed that the buses would be obsolete before the system could be put into place. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 24, 2010 Page 3 Regular Meeting