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Ms. Ortiz supported a reduction in the minimum lot size for keeping goats as well as differentiating <br />between full -size and miniature goats in the code. Speaking to the question of goat slaughter, Ms. Ortiz <br />recommended that the council not attempt to dictate what people did with their animals. She did not think <br />people would irresponsibly leave carcasses lying around. <br />Mayor Piercy suggested that anyone employing goats for food would have to meet minimum health and <br />sanitation standards. She hoped staff would consider both the regulatory aspect of the issue and what the <br />City was trying to encourage. If it City was trying to encourage food production, it should approach it <br />more holistically to ensure it produced the best results. She believed that might include incentives and <br />assistance to help people meet the standards the City established. <br />Mr. Pryor believed the council needed to keep in mind all possible outcomes. Some residents would keep <br />livestock as pets and treat them accordingly but others might wish to engage in animal husbandry. He <br />questioned to what extent the City wished to encourage full -scale farming on residential property, <br />particularly in a neighborhood context. <br />Mr. Brown shared the names of some other communities that allowed urban goats. He continued to <br />review the ordinances that seemed pertinent to Eugene and some of their commonalities. <br />Mr. Farr supported moving forward with changes to the code because he believed in the future it would <br />be critical for food production to occur close to those who consumed it. <br />Mr. Brown asked how many complaints the City had received about chickens since relaxing the ordinance <br />governing their keeping. He was not supportive of moving forward through the Envision Eugene code <br />amendments process because those advocating for changes to the code wanted to see action before people <br />began their spring preparations. <br />Mayor Piercy acknowledged that people were eager to move forward with more opportunities for goat <br />keeping. She wondered if there was some limited short-term action that the City Council could take to <br />address that desire. Mayor Piercy suggested that some smaller scale commercial uses might be allowed. <br />She did not want to close that door entirely. <br />Mr. Pryor wanted to hear more from staff about how the City would manage enforcement of the code if <br />revised to accommodate more opportunities for urban goat keeping. He also asked about enforcement <br />mechanisms and if fees or permits would be sufficient to underwrite those costs. He suggested that good <br />regulations made good neighbors. <br />Mr. Brown, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to direct the City Manager to have staff <br />research an ordinance in the very near future that would allow up to three goats [pygmy, <br />dwarf, or miniature] in no less than 400 square feet of permeable surface. <br />Mr. Brown believed the existing regulations worked for larger animals but not for miniature goats. He <br />said if the council moved forward with such an ordinance, people could begin to plan for spring. He <br />believed that those who advocated for goats were responsible people who would not enter into a decision <br />to purchase a goat casually and would be responsible for their care and upkeep. He did not want to wait <br />until next year. <br />Ms. Ortiz determined from Mr. Brown that his motion was specific to miniature goats such as pygmy <br />goats and Nubian dwarf goats. Ms. Ortiz favored language that limited the number of livestock animals <br />that residents could keep, such as two goats, or two rabbits, or two chickens. She was concerned about <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council February 27, 2012 Page 3 <br />Work Session <br />