Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Broadway. He did not see random or unfair enforcement of the ordinance but instead witnessed officers addressing bad behavior and crime. David Hauser , Ward 1, representing Downtown Eugene, Inc., supported the continuation of the DPSZ. He believed it was one of many important public safety tools. The DPSZ created consequences for chronic offenders in the absence of adequate jail capacity and temporarily displaced persistent violators from downtown. The Eugene Police Commission and Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce had expressed support for the DPSZ. Mr. Hauser feared that ending the zone would stifle improving conditions downtown and send the wrong message. He recommended the council extend the sunset provision to give the community a chance to reassess the cumulative impacts of all downtown tools. Steven Michael Todd , Ward 1, opposed the extension of the DPSZ. He questioned why people were criminalized by sleeping. He hoped the council did not extend the law. Art Bowman , Ward 2, opposed the DPSZ because he feared it would ultimately be used against activists expressing their First Amendment rights. He asked the council to end the zone. Brian Michaels , Ward 1, opposed the DPSZ as an attempt on the part of the City to “try to throw people away.” He suggested that it was more cost-effective to spend money on portable toilets rather than jails and law enforcement. Tom Kamis , Ward 1, said while the DPSZ was not the best tool, it was a tool to address the problems caused by repeat offenders, who were not represented at the hearing. He said the zone was needed because of the lack of adequate jail capacity. Michael Gannon , Ward 7, recommended the City and business community look to the Asian Festival and Oregon Country Fair as models for housing the homeless in self-maintained communities. Curtis Surpless , homeless, suggested the ordinance would be challenged in court and the taxpayers would bear the cost of the legal fight. He hoped that the council let the ordinance expire. He averred that some of the people who had been excluded from downtown had been spending money in downtown businesses but apparently had not been spending enough. James Black , Ward 3, opposed the DPSZ. He suggested that instead, the City establish an inclusionary zone. He believed the money used to enforce the zone could be better spent. Janet Brown , Ward 4, shared some statistics about the use of the ordinance between October 2008 and June 2010. She believed that all citizens benefited equally from the ordinance. Ongoing reductions in jail capacity suggested it did not make sense to end the DPSZ. Ms. Brown said the ordinance was not about homeless, discrimination, or status; it was about behavior and accountability. She asked the council to support a two-year or more extension of the ordinance. Kimberly Gladen , Ward 1, said downtown had unique problems not shared by other areas of the community. She believed that prior to the exclusion zone, the downtown looked like a “war zone.” People were threatened and harassed under the guise of free speech. She termed the DPSZ a “time out” for repeat offenders and asked the council to extend it until conditions improved and citizens did the right thing and supported a homeless shelter. Betty Snowden , Ward 1, supported extending the DPSZ because it was effective in deterring downtown crime. She maintained the EPD had employed the tool sensibly. Her family had a business downtown MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 21, 2012 Page 6 Regular Meeting