CC Minutes - 02/21/12 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lauren Regan, Civil Liberties Defense Center, reiterated her organization's written testimony regarding its constitutional concerns about the ordinance. She suggested the ordinance failed to meet the tests of being the least restrictive means of dealing with a problem and being effective in actually solving the problem it was intended to solve. She believed the ordinance resulted in people being targeted for their economic status and appearance in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. She described the exclusion process and emphasized the burden it placed on homeless people. Homeless people were frequently excluded for 90 days and then charges against them were dropped. Jan Wostmann, Ward 3, supported the expiration of the DPSZ because 20 percent of those issued exclusions had their exclusions dismissed later. He said that the council would not accept such a high error rate in other areas. Claire Syrett, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon (ACLU), opposed the DPSZ because it infringed on the rights of the individual to travel and associate freely in public spaces without due process. She said there was no evidence that the zone helped make the downtown safer. The Eugene Police Department (EPD) seemed unprepared to provide the data the council needed to evaluate the program, although the deadline for that report had been known since the ordinance was established. Ms. Syrett said the community could not wait for the EPD to improve its data collection methods and called for the zone to end. Judges could already impose exclusion for criminal conviction, which could accomplish the council's goals without the process created by the zone. Michael Carrigan, Ward 7, said his organization, Community Alliance for Lane County, opposed the DPSZ because people were not being treated with dignity and respect. He maintained the homeless were targeted by the EPD and treated differently. He advocated for a downtown "inclusion zone" that was where all were welcomed. Joe Tyndall, Ward 1, opposed the DPSZ because of his belief it was targeted at the homeless and less well -off. He advocated for the establishment of a homeless camp based on the Occupy Eugene model as a more humane and effective solution. Sabra Marcroft, Ward 7, opposed the DPSZ. She suggested that parking meters rather than homeless people.and delinquent youth discouraged residents from coming downtown. She shared the story of a young homeless man who had been warned away from downtown by police. She suggested that such a zone caused decent people to lose self - respect, become marginalized, and turned them toward criminal behavior. Jean Stacey, Ward 1, opposed the DPSZ because it deprived people of due process. She believed there were better solutions. She thought the zone was being improperly directed against homeless people. She asked the council to let the zone expire. Charles Warren, Lane County, representing the Board of Directors of Midtown Business Associates, said his organization paid for private security patrols for the businesses it represented. The area was not included in the DPSZ although it experienced many of the same problems. His organization supported the DPSZ and urged the council to extend it. He said the monthly exclusion reports illustrated that those excluded were chronic, repeat offenders who were disruptive and in some cases violent rather than people who were down on their luck. Judges must approve the exclusions. He questioned what choice Eugene had in the absence of adequate jail bed capacity. Carol Berg Caldwell, Ward 3, read the council a poem in opposition to the continuation of the DPSZ. MINUTES— Eugene City Council February 21, 2012 Page 4 Regular Meeting