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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/1987 Meeting .. M I NUT E S e City Council Dinner/Work Session Bon Sai Restaurant March 9, 1987 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Debra Ehrman, Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan, Jeff Miller, Rob Bennett. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Emily Schue, Ruth Bascom. The work session was called to order by City Council President Debra Ehrman in the absence of His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS e City Manager Micheal Gleason said the City staff has spent much time studying hazardous materials regulations. He serves on a State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) committee; Terry Smith of the Public Works Department has worked with the State DEQ and Department of Transportation (ODOT); and Ev Hall, Chief of the Police, Fire and Emergency Services Department, and his staff have worked with the State and Federal Fire Marshal's offices. Mr. Gleason said there is a great deal of legislation concerning hazardous materials and administration of the existing regulations is almost impossible. Mr. Gleason suggested four options for the council to consider. He said the council could: 1) do nothing about hazardous materials; 2) hire a technical expert who understands and can teach chemical engineering; 3) adopt City regulations that conform to State and Federal regulations and hire someone to enforce the City regulations; or 4) adopt regulations different from the Federa 1 and State regul at ions and hi re someone to enforce them. He recommended the council choose the second option and work with i ndustri a 1 firms to make the existing regulations work. Mr. Gleason said about 350 firms in the city are affected by the current State and Federal regulations and, if the council decides to hire a technical expert, he recommended the person help those firms meet the existing regulations. He said the program could be financed by a user fee. He displayed a copy of Article 80 (the hazardous materials code) that will probably become part of the Uniform Fire Code which Eugene usually adopts. He said Article 80 addresses mainly the storage of materials. It does not address transportation. Mr. Gl eason said experi ence i ndi cates that underground petroleum tanks provide the greatest risk to the community. He said the State has preempted underground storage issues but the regulations are not enforced. He said officials of small companies often do not know the regulations. e MINUTES--City Council Dinner/Work Session March 9, 1987 Page 1 '. e Answering questions from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Gleason said the City knows that companies are using hazardous materials because the State Fire Marshal's Office requires the information and because City staff find the materials during the City's business inspection program. He said the City needs to train Fire and Emergency Services personnel to identify hazardous materials and then to help companies solve the problems. He said the State and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do not enforce regulations very much. He estimated that permits costing $100 to $150 each probably would finance the City's hazardous materials program. Replying to questions from Mr. Miller and Mr. Rutan, Mr. Gleason said the City does not have a technical expert to enforce hazard materials regulations. He said the City would not have to adopt Article 80 as part of the Uniform Building Code. Chief Hall distributed copies of his March 9, 1987, memo to the Mayor and Members of the Council. The subject of the memo was "Hazardous Materials Regulations." He reviewed the memo and discussed adoption of the Uniform Fire Code. Mr. Holmer said most problems are caused by woodstove smoke, gasoline, and transportation accidents and the City has experts in those fields. Mr. Gleason said the most frequent problems are caused by improper storage and disposal of hazardous materials. He said many people do not know they are dealing with hazardous materials but they are very cooperative when they are told of the dangers. e Mr. Holmer said he appreciated Ms. Wooten's efforts to address the hazardous materials issues. He said the City needs to position itself to recognize and cope with the issues. He recommended approval of the second option Mr. Gleason presented. He said the City should develop expertise in both industrial and domestic hazardous materials as a part of its public safety program. Mr. Rutan agreed with Mr. Holmer's recommendation. Mr. Rutan said a technician/teacher could help prevent accidents and identify problems in the city. Then, the council could adopt appropriate regulations. Ms. Wooten said she favors hiring a technical expert and she strongly supports deve 1 opi ng an ordi nance that wi 11 requi re new or expandi ng busi nesses to obtain conditional use permits. In that way, the City will learn what materials companies have and the City will be able to require companies to train employees and to require an environmental audit of the site. She said businesses should locate in appropriate places and have on-site plans. She said she also supports development of an ordinance addressing transportation issues. She said she hopes to develop an inventory of hazardous materials eventually. Mr. Holmer agreed with Ms. Wooten's statement. He suggested the City's land use regulations be reviewed to provide for isolating the use of some hazardous materials. e MINUTES--City Council Dinner/Work Session March 9, 1987 Page 2 -. e Summarizingt Mr. Gleason said he will submit a fee schedule that will support a technician/teacher to the council. He suggested adoption of a program that will involve learning about existing regulations and how they are enforced, research about what should be done, and preparation of ordinances. He said adopt i on of such a program wi 11 result in the Ci ty havi ng the abil i ty to intervene when necessary. Ms. Wooten said she would like Mr. Gleason's suggestions to be incorporated into a hazardous materials management plan. In that waYt the council could implement the steps in the plan. She would like the plan to contain a chronology of an education processt an inventory processt a land use process, and ordinances that integrate State and Federal policies and regulations and that require new and expanding businesses to obtain conditional use permits for the use of hazardous materials. She emphasized that she does not want to create a burden for businesses or penalize industrial firms. She said she wants to protect the public in a complex environment. Summarizing again, Mr. Gleason said he will present to the council and the Council Committee on Economic Diversification an outline of a work plan that will include an inventory of firmst recommendations about feest an estimate of expensest and a timeline for the work plan. He said the hazardous materials issue is very important to businesses. Ms. Wooten and the other councilors agreed with Mr. Gleason's summary. Mr. Holmer suggested the staff communicate with the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. e Answering a question from Ms. Ehrmant Mr. Gleason said the State and Federal regul at ions probably requi re busi nesses to notify the City of hazardous materials but the City is not sure of its recourses. He said the City itself must obtain permits to handle hazardous materials. Ms. Wooten suggested City officials communicate with University of Oregon officials about hazardous materials at the university. Mr. Holmer said sometimes it takes a long time to identify the dangerous materials. For examplet asbestos was used for a long time in construction but it is now considered a hazardous material. II. REVISIONS CONCERNING CHAPTER 4 Bill DeForrestt Deputy Chieft Patrol Divisiont Policet Fire and Emergency Servicest reviewed proposed changes to Chapter 4 of the City Code. He said the Oregon Supreme Court decision in the case of City of Portland v. Dollarhide resulted in 34 Eugene ordinances being unenforceable. As a resultt many cases that would have been filed in MuniCipal Court have been prosecuted in District Court. He said the proposed changes will make the City Code conform to State laws and the City will be able to prosecute offenses in Municipal Court again. e MINUTES--City Council Di nner/Work 'Sess ion March 9t 1987 Page 3 ---. Mr. DeForrest said the proposed changes will repeal some gambling ordinances although social gambling will still be regulated and unlawful gambling will be prohibited. e Answering a question from Mr. Holmer, City Attorney Dan Barkovic said gambling cases involve much investigation and usually are prosecuted in District Court or Circuit Court. He also discussed changes in the ordinances concerning prostitution and nudity. Answering questions from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. DeForrest said the ordinance prohibiting nudity would not be enforced if it is obvious the offender is mentally disturbed. If such a person is a danger, the person is taken into custody on a mental hold. Mr. Barkovic said the proposed revisions do not significantly change the offenses that were prosecuted in Municipal Court before the City of Portland v. Dollarhide decision. The changes incorporate State law into the ordinance. Mr. DeForrest said police officers have a closer working relationship with Municipal Court than with District Court and it will be cost-effective to use Municipal Court. Answering questions from Mr. Holmer and Mr. Rutan, Mr. Gleason said the City does not pay for prosecution in any court if a State law is violated. However, it is necessary for the City to have jail space available. He said only the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes. He said the proposed changes are very technical. He did not think the Crime Action Task Force should review them. e Severa 1 council ors wondered about havi ng ; nterested part; es rev; ew the proposed changes. They suggested the Lane County Bar Associ at ion, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Lane County Criminal Process Coordinating Council review the changes. . Ms. Ehrman adjourned the meeting at 6:45 p.m. ~~ Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) mncc0309 e MINUTES--City Council Dinner/Work Session March 9, 1987 Page 4