CCMinutes - 04/12/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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lied to him regarding the reclassification of the neighborhood streets to collectors. Marcella G. Moore, 2812 Friendly Street, asked the council to vote against the recommendation to designate Storey Boulevard, Friendly Street, and Crest Drive as collectors. She predicted people would be hit by cars and die. She said she and her husband had lived at their current residence for more than 20 years and enjoyed both the urban feeling and the rural feeling of Friendly Street. She asserted that the intersection of 28th Avenue and Friendly Street was already dangerous. She thought repaving the streets and adding sidewalks would give pedestrians a false sense of security. Cathryn Tredway, 2820 Friendly Street, opposed the reclassification of her neighborhood streets. She called it a "tax disguised as an improvement." She averred it would not improve the quality of her life and would cause a significant financial hardship. She predicted the safety of her family and neighbors would be compromised by the increased speed and privacy would be lost by sidewalk placement in her yard. She felt taxpayers would be better served by patching potholes, installing more stop signs, directing traffic to existing arterials, and enforcement of the speed limit. Robert Kris Millegan, 39830 McKenzie Highway, Springfield, said he was organizer and coordinator of a Eugene event that was part of a world-wide event that sought to legalize marijuana. He stated there had been a march and rally each year for the last four years, but this time he intended to organize a rally. He objected to the 25-person permit requirement and asked under what authority the City of Eugene could supercede the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. He also questioned the right of the City to arrest, charge, incarcerate, and cause financial loss to a person for possession of marijuana. He called marijuana a "gift from nature's God." He asserted that cannabis possession statutes were "void admissio." He noted that the prohibition of alcohol had required a constitutional amendment. He said his civil rights were inalienable and he had a religious right to use marijuana in accordance with his spiritual- ity. He provided his testimony in writing. Jim Hale, 1715 Linnea Avenue, asked if the City had an alternative site planned for the hospital, should the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) site not work out. He also asked if there was an alternative plan for the EWEB site, should the hospital choose not to locate there. He requested the City Council to ask EWEB to move on with its plans to relocate to western Eugene. He asserted that Eugene no longer needed EWEB. He thought the vacated EWEB yard could be sold as commercial space and the building could be used for the City's Central Services Department and City Council meetings. He felt EWEB represented a redundancy in functions that were already being provided by the City. Beth Hjelm, 920 Crest Drive, urged the council to vote against the plan to make Crest Drive a collector. She cited the minutes of the most recent Eugene Planning Commission meeting and asserted commission- ers' questions were not answered. She noted that Commissioner Duncan had asked how street assessments would be made and that another commissioner had asked for an explanation of contextual-sensitive design standards. The former had remained unanswered and the latter had been deferred as staff had responded that this was a neighborhood decision. She cited Commissioner Lawless' concerns regarding erosion as another unaddressed issue. She related that Commissioner Rusch had asked staff to compare and contrast other collectors and also how the change could be considered less safe to the neighbors and what the disjoint was between what was being heard from the neighborhood and what was being heard from staff. She said Commissioner Belcher asked for parking information and an accident history. She underscored that the decision should be a neighborhood decision and the council should summarily reject the recommen- dation because the neighborhood did not want or need the change. Vikki Stea, 130 Crest Drive, asked the council to vote against the plan to reclassify Storey Boulevard, Crest Drive, and Friendly Street as collectors. She noted that Wayne Morse Ranch was a park for all citizens and was used by busloads of children in the summer and hundreds of families in the spring and fall.