Item B: Neighborhood Livability Working Group Report

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Neighborhood Livability Working Group SECTION II: BACKGROUND In March of 2010, nearly 40 people gathered for a Livability Summit organized by residents of campus area neighborhoods in conjunction with the University of Oregon. The Summit was in direct response to long-term pacts to their quality of life primarily from noise and other undesirable behaviors fueled by binge drinking youth. A variety of stakeholder interests were represented including neighborhood associations, city staff, elected officials, university administrators, and property management companies. The group heard stories about impacts from behaviors of concern, reviewed current efforts to address the problem, and discussed the need for creative solutions that recognize limited resources and competing priorities facing the police department. A recommendation was made to organize a group of stakeholder representatives to continue meeting to identify potential solutions to the problem. This resulted in the creation of the Neighborhood Livability Working Group. Program. Participation includes representatives from five main stakeholder groups: City, University of Oregon, neighborhood associations, property owners/managers and students (See Section I for a complete list of Working Group members). In the ensuing 14 months, the Working Group has accomplished a number of tasks: Created a Catalogue of Negative Behaviors and Impacts document that categorizes and explains the negative behaviors and impacts of living in proximity to the university (Appendix A). Gathered data on crime and other neighborhood characteristics to clarify current conditions and trends (see Section III and Appendix B and C) Assessed progress to date on implementing strategies recommended by the West University Task Force in 2003 (Section IV). Documented current efforts to protect neighborhood livability led by all stakeholder groups (Section V). This document reveals that a significant amount of resource and effort is already being devoted to this problem. Conducted research on best practices in other communities to identify potential strategies and assess potential effectiveness of ideas generated by the working group. This included Working Group member attendance at the 2011 International Town and Gown Association Conference. Identified potential new strategies (Section VI). Vetted strategies requiring City action with Municipal Court staff, City Attorney and City Prosecutor for consistency with current law and practice. Purpose of This Report and Next Steps This document is intended as a report on progress to date. It is not intended as a set of final recommendations for decision-makers. While all stakeholder groups have actively participated and , there remain differing opinions on the appropriateness and potential effectiveness of several of the strategies on the list. The Working Group still needs time to collect information and thoroughly discuss several of the strategies to try to address existing stakeholder concerns. There is also interest in a group of stakeholders continuing to meet to address livability issues and track progress on implementing proposed strategies. It is likely that some form of the current Working Group will continue meeting less frequently to address this need. 3 Page