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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/23/1986 Meeting (2) e e - M I NUT E S Eugene City Council City Council Chamber April 23, 1986 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Jeff Miller. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. The adjourned meeting of April 16, 1986, of the City Council of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER: APPOINTMENTS: ANNOUNCEMENTS: AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS A. Project City Pride, Project Flower Shower, Bicycling Newsletter Councilor Bascom said Project City Pride is successful and Project Flower Shower will be starting soon. She said flowers have already been planted around City Hall. Ms. Bascom said other councilors will receive copies of a newsletter for bicyclists. B. Alternative Transportation Modes Councilor Ehrman said she will present a report to the council on alternative transportation modes soon. C. Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program Referring to a memo dated April 1,1986, from City Manager Micheal Gleason titled "Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program," Councilor Holmer suggested the council discuss the topic at its next quarterly process session. He said the memo was comprehensive. D. Cal Young Neighborhood Newsletter Mr. Holmer said the April Cal Young Neighborhood Newsletter contained three pages of neighborhood school projects which will result from passage of a ballot measure sponsored by the 4-J School District. He said he supports intergovernmental cooperation, but the City should be careful about publicizing specific ballot measures of other jurisdictions. He said City publications should either describe all ballot measures for other jurisdictions or none of them. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 1 II. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL e A. City Council Minutes of: Dinner/Work Session and Meeting of February 24, 1986; Joint Meeting of March 13, 1986; and Lunch/Work Session of March 19, 1986 (minutes distributed) Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to approve the City Council minutes of February 24, 1986; March 13, 1986; and March 19, 1986. Roll call vote; the motion carried unani- mously, 7:0. B. Call for Public Hearing Concerning Unsafe Building at 2800 City View (memo distributed) Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to call a public hearing for May 27, 1986, to consider an unsafe building at 2800 City View. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. III. PUBLIC HEARING: CITIZEN PARTICIPATION REVIEW TEAM REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS (memo, background information distributed) e City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the discussion of the recommendations of the Citizen Participation Review Team (CPRT). Marjorie Beck of the City Manager's Office gave the staff report. She said CPRT was appointed by the council to review the City's major public information and citizen participation programs and policies. She said implementation of nine of the recommendations in the final report of CPRT require either changes in policy or increases in funds and staff. She asked the council for direction on those recommendations. Mayor Obie opened the public hearing. Richard Guske, 278 North Grand, is chairperson of the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC). He discussed the CPRT recommendations. Referring to the third recommendation, he said CIC members indicated that a quarterly, city-wide publication would be a good way to publicize a calendar of City events with hearing dates and times for intervention in City plans. Mr. Guske said the CIC did not give a high priority to the sixth recommendation, which concerns a voter's pamphlet. He said the intent of the formal public hearings in Recommendation #12 could be accomplished by informal public briefings and informational sessions. e Referring to Recommendation #16, concerning a change in the CIC role, Mr. Guske said a change in role may not be necessary. He said the CIC was created to review citizen involvement in land use planning, but many other departments want the CIC to review citizen involvement in their projects. He said the committee has drafted a document which identifies the elements of citizen involvement and is useful to those departments. He suggested an administrative procedure to establish a citizen involvement component which the CIC could then clarify for each City department. He did not know if the Planning Department would continue staffing the CIC. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 2 e e e Mr. Guske said the periodic review and adjustment of neighborhood groups suggested in Recommendation #24 is important because it could make the groups more effective. Marilyn Odell, 750 West Broadway, represented the Neighborhood Leaders. She said the Neighborhood Leaders gave the city-wide publication in Recommendation #3 a high financial priority. She said the publication should not replace neighborhood newsletters. It should give information about public hearing dates and issues before City boards and commissions. She said the publication could begin as a one-page insert in the Parks and Recreation Leisure Schedule. She urged the council to consider the publication. Referring to Recommendation #14, Ms. Odell said the City is implementing the recommendation by encouraging applicants, developers, and businesses to contact neighborhood groups before public hearings so that neighborhood concerns can be indicated before an adversaria1 relationship develops. Referring to Recommendations #18 and #19, Ms. Odell said the neighborhood leaders indicated that many people would apply for boards and commissions if encouraged to do so. She said sometimes people do not know that an incumbent will probably be appointed. She encouraged the councilor to find a way to notify people that an incumbent may be reappointed. Ms. Odell urged the council not to change the Neighborhood Organization Recognition Policy as suggested in Recommendation #22. She said the change would dilute public perception of the importance of neighborhood groups. She said CPRT received no proof that people do not express opinions on an issue because the neighborhood group has taken a position on it. Ms. Odell said the neighborhood leaders emphasized the importance of the full-time neigh- borhood liaison in Recommendation #25 and the importance of funds to improve the distribution of neighborhood newsletters suggested in Recommendation #31. She said many people do not receive newsletters. Steve Ade~, 1375 Bailey, said he understood that a variety of places as well as times or public hearings was suggested in Recommendation #12. He said holding formal public hearings in various locations is important because some people feel uncomfortable in the Council Chamber. Referring to Recommenda- tion #16, he suggested the role of the CIC be expanded to include a review of citizen involvement in the Police, Fire and Emergency Services Department, and the Parks Department. He said the Joint Parks Committee has only two citizen-at-large members now. He suggested two additional citizens at large be appointed. Referring to the statement in Recommendation #24 that "all areas of the City should be represented by neighborhood organizations if. . .", Mr. Adey said residents should be appointed to the Downtown Commission. He said residents would have different interests from those of the business representatives. There being no additional requests to testify, Mayor Obie closed the public hearing. Mayor Obie asked the council to comment on the CPRT recommendations that require policy changes or additional resources. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 3 e e e REC. 3 The City should establish a city-wide publication that is distributed quarterly to all households. We recommend that the Parks and Recreation Leisure Schedule be used, if possible. Ms. Schue said she would like more information about a city-wide publication because the City and the citizens need to communicate. Mr. Miller suggested the neighborhood newsletter, a city-wide publication, and a voter's pamphlet be combined. Ms. Bascom and Ms. Ehrman favored the suggestion that the publication begin as a one-page insert in the Parks and Recreation Leisure Schedule. Ms. Ehrman would like to get a response from the public before increasing the publication. Ms. Wooten suggested the Parks and Recreation Leisure Schedule be an insert in a city-wide publication. Mayor Obie summarized that the councilors would like more information and cost estimates of a city-wide publication. REC. 6 The City Council should consider publishing a voter's pamphlet. Mr. Holmer and Mr. Hansen said they supported Mr. Miller's suggestion to consolidate the voter's pamphlet with other publications. Ms. Schue said the council should decide very carefully what will be included in a voter's pamphlet if it is approved. Ms. Bascom noted that the CIe and neighborhood leaders did not give a voter's pamphlet a priority. Ms. Wooten said she was only interested in a voter's pamphlet if it could be incorporated into other publications. Ms. Ehrman wondered if only City issues would be included in the voter's pamphlet. Mr. Holmer responded that he had proposed an impartial explanation of City issues in a voter's pamphlet. Ms. Schue said an impartial explanation to some seems to be a biased state- ment to others. She said people perceive that statements written by City staff members are biased. She was not sure a voter's pamphlet is worth the hassle. Ms. Wooten agreed with Ms. Schue. Mr. Hansen said the pamphlet should be simple and rules are not necessary. He said the City provides explanations of City issues now. Mayor Obie summarized by saying the councilors will consider developing a simple, low-budget voter's pamphlet. REC. 12 Formal public hearings should be held at a variety of times to allow more people to attend. Mr. Hansen, Mr. Miller, and Ms. Ehrman said they would like to consider holding formal public hearings in other locations. Mr. Holmer said CPRT members were told that many people do not want to attend evenings meetings. He suggested the CIC consider the matter. Mayor Obie summarized by saying the councilors will consider holding meetings at other times and in other places. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 4 e e REC. 16 The City Council should expand the role of the Citizen Involvement Committee to include general City information and participation issues. Mr. Holmer said Recommendation #16 is very important because it would ensure an adequate, central focus to the City's citizen participation and public information programs. He said staff support for the CIC should not be increased and CIC members should not be overloaded if the role is expanded. Ms. Wooten said she would like the staff to recommend how the CIC can review citizen participation in all departments and estimate the cost. She said the CIC might develop, monitor, and evaluate a plan for each department. Ms. Bascom was interested in citizen involvement in the Police, Fire and Emergency Services Department and the Parks Department. She said working with citizens takes much staff time. Ms. Schue said the CIC has been very valuable. She said she would like staff comment about Mr. Guske's suggestion of an administrative process which would expand the influence of the CIC. In addition to a cost estimate, Mr. Hansen said he would like to know how much longer City processes will take if the CIC's responsibilities are expanded. REC. 17 The City Council needs to give clear charges to its ad hoc committees. Ms. Ehrman said a format for charges to ad hoc committees would be helpful. Ms. Bascom said a clear charge was given to the Tree and Beautification Committee. Mr. Hansen said he would like the charge to all ad hoc committees to include a termination date for the committee. REC. 18 The City Council should develop an implementation strategy for recruiting a diversity of applicants for boards and commissions. Ms. Ehrman said she would like a downtown resident appointed to the Downtown Commission. Mr. Miller agreed with Ms. Ehrman. Later in the meeting, Ms. Ehrman asked for a vote on the composition of the Downtown Commission. Ms. Wooten said the entire membership of the Downtown Commission should be considered by the council, but she supports a resident member of the Downtown Commission. Ms. Schue said a resident Downtown Commissioner probably would be a senior citizen and that person's input would be helpful. Ms. Bascom suggested the council indicate it is considering a resident Downtown Commis- sioner and refer the suggestion to the Downtown Commission for comment. She supported Ms. Wooten's suggestion that the entire membership be considered. Mr. Hansen said no changes should be made in the existing regulations because Ms. Freedman said six downtown residents could be appointed to the Downtown Commission now. Mr. Holmer said councilors apparently would be happy to appoint a resident, but it is difficult to recruit a resident for the commission. Mayor Obie suggested the councilors vote informally to indicate approval of direction to the staff to prepare a proposal to make it mandatory for the council to appoint a resident to the Downtown Commission. The motion carried 4:3 with Councilors Schue, Miller, Ehrman, and Wooten; and Councilors Bascom ~ Holmer, and Hansen voting nay. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 5 . e e Referring to Recommendation #18, Ms. Ehrman said it is very difficult to recruit diverse applicants for boards and commissions. Ms. Wooten discussed the problems of recruiting diverse applicants and the advantages and disadvantages of reappointing incumbents. She suggested the City emphasize recruitment during Citizen Participation Month in October. Ms. Schue said the number of women applying for boards and commissions has been increased by a Recruitment Night held by the Women's Commission. She suggested the City have such an event to recruit diverse applicants. Mayor Obie said he notifies appropriate organizations about vacancies on boards and commissioners. He summarized by saying councilors will welcome specific suggestions about recruiting diverse applicants. REC. 19 The process of citizen participation on boards and commissions is well served by making appointments that provide philosophical balance. Ms. Ehrman said a suggestion to include a statement about incumbents on applications was voted down at the council.s last process session. She will continue to pursue the issue at another meeting. Mayor Obie suggested the CIC consider a limit on terms people may serve on boards and commissions. REC. 22 To clarify that the City endorses the principle of one recognized neighborhood group per geographic area, but that all citizen testimony, whether from a recognized neighborhood group or from other parties is encouraged. . .Section 5(d) of the Eugene Neighborhood Organization Recognition Policy, adopted by Council Resolution No. 3746 on January 26, 1983, should be amended to read as follows (Bracketed material should be deleted. Underlined material should be added): The City Council. . .The neighborhood organization is then recognized as the official [voice of that neighborhood area] neighborhood organization for that area under the provisions of this Policy. .. Mr. Holmer said he supported adoption of the new wording. He said CPRT discussed the Neighborhood Organization Recognition Policy and the new wording was suggested by Carol Cogswell. He said identifying the neighbor- hood organization as the official organization will give spokespeople a definite status and will avoid the criticism of trying to identify a majority of l/lOth of one percent of the people in a ward who attend a neighborhood meeting as the official voice of the neighborhood. Ms. Wooten said CPRT was organized because some people felt that neighborhood organizations do not represent the neighborhoods. She agreed with the comments of the Neighborhood Leaders, and said changing the Recognition Policy will undermine neighborhood organizations. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 6 e e e Mayor Obie suggested the councilors vote informally to indicate positions on the reconmended change to "neighborhood organization for that area. II The vote was 3:4. Councilors Miller, Hansen, and Holmer voted aye and Councilors Bascom, Schue, Ehrman, and Wooten voted nay. REC. 24 Periodic review and adjustment, when needed, of all neighborhood group boundaries is desirable to promote more cohesive neighborhood organizations. Mr. Miller said a policy should indicate that all the neighborhood groups are treated equally. He wondered how neighborhood groups expand or divide. Ms. Beck responded that there are no existing provisions for a regular review of neighborhood group boundaries. She suggested the staff review the issue, and the councilors agreed with her. IV. REPORT ON PROJECT CITY PRIDE--PROJECT BLITZ/NEIGHBORHOOD SPRING CLEAN- UP Ms. Bascom said Bob Fenstermacher had hoped to address the council, but he had to leave. She introduced Cathy Czerniak of the City Manager's office. Ms. Czerniak said 27 businesses funded the neighborhood spring clean-up this year. In addition, Lane County waived the dump fee for the neighborhood clean up. She said the neighborhoods appreciated the project. V. REPORT FROM DOWNTOWN COMMISSION Mike Schwartz, chairperson of the Downtown Commission, reported that the Downtown Conmission has been implementing the Downtown Plan. He said projects include a $50,000 fund to leverage private funds for awnings which will pro- vide rain protection and define the street merchandizing area. He said the conmission is also discussing the Downtown Development Strategy, an action plan for downtown site development, public space improvements, the possible opening of Willamette Street between Eighth and Tenth avenues, a Centralized Retail Management project, the conversion of Willamette Street to two-way traffic from 11th to 13th, a Request for Qualifications for development of the property at 11th and Willamette, the McDonald Theater restoration, a redesign of the parking program, redevelopment of the Schaeffer Building, changes to the Park-Willamette building, barrier removal in the downtown mall, LTD transit station site, and new downtown businesses. Answering questions from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Schwartz discussed a study of down- town retail development by Don Miles. Mr. Schwartz said the removal of some trees and other barriers in the mall will provide more light in the mall and make it easier to move from place to place. It does not include the central plaza or the potential opening of Willamette Street from 8th to 10th avenues. He said the Downtown Commission will consider the design changes for Broadway on May 13. Responding to another question from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Gleason said the design changes will be presented to the council before they are approved. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 7 Mr. Hansen asked the staff to present to the council a memo which defines the ~ authority to approve expenditures in the downtown mall. Ms. Schue was sorry the council had not been invited to Don Miles' presenta- tion. She said the council should be involved in the project. Mr. Schwartz agreed with her. Mayor Obie thanked Mr. Schwartz for his and the Downtown Commission's work. ~ - VI. ORDINANCE CONCERNING THE SIGN CODE (memo distributed) Mr. Gleason introduced the discussion of the Sign Code. Jim Croteau of the Planning Department gave the staff report. He said the proposed changes to the Sign Code involve modifications to the Purpose and Description Sections; the variance process; an additional identity sign on street frontage in the Integrated Shopping District; approval of sandwich boards; prohibition of banners, flags, and attention-getting devices; approval of community event banners and sponsor identification on them; and prohibition of searchlights in the Pedestrian/Auto Sign District; approval of identity signs on freeways or interstates; prohibition of signs in bus stops; minor changes in the enforcement provisions; no changes in the regulations for readerboards; and approval of the Highway-Oriented District and approval as exempting the existing 44-foot-high signs of three automobile dealerships on Goodpasture Island Road from the Sign Code height regulations. Mr. Croteau said changes to the copy on the high signs will not be considered replacement of the sign. He said the council discussed permitted sandwich boards on 13th Avenue west of Kincaid. He said the staff recommends that businesses in that area apply for a change to the Pedestrian/Auto Sign District if they wish to have portable signs. Ms. Wooten said changing the copy on a 44-foot sign is, in her opinion, changing the sign and should terminate the exemption from Sign Code regula- tions. Mr. Croteau responded that changes to the pole and frame constitute changes to the sign because plastic inserts are replaced frequently. Ms. Bascom said there are many sandwich boards in her area on private property which are easy to read. She said they should be permitted. Mr. Hansen said sandwich boards should be permitted throughout the community on private property if they are permitted in some areas. Mr. Miller agreed with him. Mayor Obie continued discussion of the changes to the Sign Code because it was getting late and the councilors seemed to want to discuss the matter at length. Ms. Ehrman asked the staff to supply the council with copies of the ordinance when the Sign Code is discussed again. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 8 e VII. METROPOLITAN MID-PERIOD REVIEW (memo, background information distributed) City Manager Michea1 Gleason introduced discussion of the Metropolitan Mid- Period Review. Planning Director Susan Brody gave the staff report. She said most of the proposed amendments to the Metro General Plan were tenta- tively approved by the council. She said the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) discussed the issues on which Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County did not agree and recommended a compromise. She said the compromise reflected Eugene's position except a few wording changes concerning Goal 5 resources and a completion date for the archeological working paper. CB 2880--An ordinance amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Holmer said he will vote in favor of this motion and against the next motion. e Council Bill 2880 was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Mr. Holmer said he was concerned about three changes which had not been identified when the council considered the changes previously. They were: 1. The amendment to Policy #36 on Page III-C-11 of the Metro Plan (page II-29 of the changes) which concerns ways in which newly identified natural resources or sites shall be addressed; 2. The amendment which will add Policies #6, #7, and #8 on Page 111-1-2 of the Metro Plan (page 11-37 of the changes) which indicates local jurisdictions shall develop a working paper and adopt policy guide- lines for resource management of archaeological sites and shall develop a list of experts qualified to assist with the identifica- tion and evaluation of archaeological sites; and 3. Changes to Chapter IV (Plan Review, Amendment, Refinement, and Jurisdictional Responsibility) (page 11-44 of the changes) which indicates the council will not be notified of refinement plans of other jurisdictions if the planning director decides that the plans do not conflict with the Metro Plan. . MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1986 Page 9 e Referring to his second concern, Mr. Holmer said a broad representation of experts should be included in the panel of people who review sites for regulation. He said a list of experts is not sufficient as the Historic Review Board has found out. Referring to his third concern, he said the council ought to consider and arrive at a decision about refinement plans of other jurisdictions. Mr. Holmer suggested the other councilors vote as they wish, but he said the council was being rushed and he had expressed his concerns. Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Holmer said he was not requesting that Mayor Obie continue consideration of the issue. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:1 with Councilors Hansen, Ehrman, Schue, Wooten, Bascom, Miller voting aye and Councilor Holmer voting nay, and the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance 19382). At 1 :37 p.m., Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting to April 28,1986. ~~~ Micheal Gleason Ci ty Manager . (Recorded by Betty Lou Rari ck ) BLR:pm/Mins16 . MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23,1986 Page 10