Laserfiche WebLink
first Trivia Night at Willamette High School as a fund raiser. The event was well- attended. He <br />congratulated the foundation for the work it did. <br />Mayor Piercy noted the recent presentation regarding Connecting Communities. She added to Ms. Ortiz's <br />remarks about the Opportunity Eugene Task Force by saying she believed the members of the task force <br />were dedicated to finding a solution. <br />B. WORK SESSION: <br />Urban Goat Keeping <br />City Manager Jon Ruiz introduced the item, a work session on urban goat keeping requested by Mr. <br />Brown. Mike McKerrow of the Planning and Development Department presented on the City's current <br />regulations for the keeping of livestock. City Attorney Emily Jerome was also present for the item. Mr. <br />McKerrow reported that if certain conditions were met, goats were allowed on R -1 (low- density <br />residential) lots of 20,000 square feet or more. Each goat required 5,000 square feet, so an individual <br />with a 20,000 square foot site could keep up to four goats. He acknowledged such lots were much larger <br />than average and were becoming fewer in number over time. Mr. McKerrow noted that Springfield's <br />regulations were similar to Eugene's. He shared information about the regulations of Seattle, Portland, <br />and Berkley, which allowed goats on residential lots. Councilors asked questions clarifying the details of <br />the presentation. <br />Mr. McKerrow noted that the Climate & Energy Action Plan and Food Security Scoping and Resource <br />Plan spoke to the topic of urban agricultural and called for revisions to Eugene's code to facilitate <br />additional urban agricultural opportunities. The draft Envision Eugene proposal also called for the <br />removal of barriers in the permitting policy to allow for urban agriculture. He believed the City's policy <br />direction supported further exploration of the topic. He suggested the code could be amended to facilitate <br />urban livestock as part of the code amendments required to implement the recommendations coming from <br />Envision Eugene. <br />Mayor Piercy solicited council questions and comments. <br />Mr. Brown reviewed the statements of purpose from the Seattle, Washington and Lacey, Washington <br />codes governing goats, which were the most cogent of those he researched. <br />Mr. Poling supported going forward with changes to the code that enabled urban goat keeping. He had <br />some concerns about enforcement given the challenge the City faced funding animal control. He asked <br />how other communities enforced their ordinances. <br />Ms. Taylor believed if the code was changed that individual goats should be licensed. She observed that <br />many people ate goats and asked if the slaughter of goats would be allowed inside the city limits. Mr. <br />McKerrow said the codes he had examined did not speak to that issue. Ms. Taylor recommended staff <br />look into the topic. <br />Mr. Zelenka suggested the council place miniature goats in their own category without a property size <br />restriction and cap the number allowed in a manner similar to dogs. He recommended that the City also <br />consider regulating pot belly pigs. City Manager Ruiz anticipated that could be addressed during the <br />Envision Eugene code amendment process. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council February 27, 2012 Page 2 <br />Work Session <br />