Item 3A - Approval of City Council Minutes

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confirmed by statistics. He recommended that the City develop an inclusive day center that welcomed the homeless. He supported the proposed ban on plastic bags. Randy Caine , Ward 1, supported the proposed plastic bag ban to avoid pollution of the oceans. He opposed the extension of the DPSZ. He said the City must address the types of issues that bring violent and criminal people downtown. He applauded efforts to increase opportunities for urban livestock husbandry in Eugene and encouraged the creation of more community gardens. Kimberly Gladen , Ward 1, spoke of the fiscal impact that recent vandalism at the Davis Restaurant would have on its employees. She said lost jobs in downtown had an impact on the entire community. She said Occupy Eugene talked about the fact transients left downtown for the Occupy encampment but Occupy Eugene conducted many protests in downtown, leading to bank and business closures that affected their employees. She recommended that Occupy Eugene participants wishing to protest the banks stop using credit cards and consider what products they consumed. She advised Occupy Eugene to broaden its focus and bother Phil Knight to bring manufacturing to the community, which could help reduce global warming. She said if people walked their talk, change would happen. Ashley Miller , Ward 5, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, expressed support for the proposed plastic bag ban. She submitted a letter of support from 60 local businesses and the Northwest Grocers Association. She repeated admonitions about the harms caused by plastic bags mentioned by others. She supported a five-cent pass-through fee because it reduced costs for business and created a disincentive for one-use paper bags. David Gerber , Ward 2, editor of the Oregon Vagabond, shared copies with the council. He believed the community could do better than the DPSZ. It should not need more downtown police, the DPSZ, or more jail beds. He maintained the community could police itself. The community needed jobs, which his organization provided. Alley Valkyrie , Ward 1, discussed the details of some exclusion orders she was aware of. She opposed the extension of the DPSZ because it was being used against people who committed minor offenses, including Ms. Valkyrie. John Monroe , Ward 1, traced the decline of downtown to the development of Valley River Center, made possible by poor decisions. Since then the community had been dealing with downtown problems. The DPSZ did not solve the lack of money to drive downtown business and the City should be stimulating business downtown instead. Majeska Seese Green , Ward 7, was opposed to the DPSZ. She shared some proposed changes to the ordinance. Art Bowman , Ward 2, shared a Boycott Bully Businesses flier. He averred that Eugene was getting a black eye nationally as a result of the DPSZ became radio personality Amy Goodman mentioned it on her show. He termed the zone a “lose-lose” strategy and said other downtowns were suffering similarly but did not have an exclusion zone. Moshe Immerman , Ward 1, opposed the extension of the DPSZ because he believed that the community was living in a police state. He believed judges rather than the police should be issuing exclusion orders. He agreed with the establishment of a no smoking zone. He concurred with the remarks of Ms. Syrett. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 27, 2012 Page 3 Regular Meeting