Item 3A - Approval of City Council Minutes

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be. She was interested in data that showed the impact of the zone and did not want to end the DPSZ until the council had seen that information. If called on to vote, she would not support a two-year extension. She was willing to extend the DPSZ for six months to get that data and work toward a better solution. Councilor Taylor did not think a six-month extension would improve the DPSZ. She termed the zone wrong and said it was something to be ashamed of. People were innocent until proven guilty. Councilor Taylor said that people were going to be somewhere and the City could not make them disappear. She advocated for an inclusive downtown and wanted Eugene to be known for including everybody. Councilor Taylor said there were already laws in place to address the violations that occurred downtown. She said if the City could jail people overnight for violating an exclusion order it could jail them overnight for the crime they committed. She did not want to spend City funds fighting a possible court challenge. Councilor Farr was concerned about the logistics issue raised by City Manager Ruiz. City Attorney Jerome pointed out that a six-month extension would be October 30 rather than September 30. She suggested that November 30, 2012 would be more realistic. The council accepted a friendly amendment from Councilor Farr to change the date the zone ended to November 30, 2012. Councilor Zelenka said it was not clear that the DPSZ was the reason for improved downtown conditions. He wanted to see better data about who was being excluded, the reason for the exclusion, and a characterization of the excluded. He was disturbed that so many of those receiving exclusion orders were homeless. He asked where the excluded individuals went and the impacts of that shift. He suggested that a way to test the DPSZ’s effectiveness was to end it. He could not support a two-year extension given that the zone was initially intended to be temporary. He supported the motion with the hope it was the last time the zone was extended. Councilor Brown said as distasteful as he found it, he would support the amended motion as a way to test the effectiveness of three more officers downtown and to get more data. He considered the motion a reasonable compromise. Mayor Piercy did not like to see downtown characterized as a place of exclusion. She wanted it to be a great place to be for everyone, including visitors and downtown employees. Roll call vote: The motion passed, 6:2; councilors Taylor and Clark voting no. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 9:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 27, 2012 Page 7 Regular Meeting