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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/25/1990 Meeting e M I NUT E S \ Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall April 25, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mayor Jeff Miller, Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Emily Schue, Bobby Green, Roger Rutan, Freeman Holmer, Debra Ehrman, Shawn Boles. The adjourned meeting of April 23, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER e A. Polystyrene Foam Ordinance Referring to a memo recently received by council regarding the possibility of instituting an ordinance banning the use of polystyrene foam in Eugene, Ms. Ehrman suggested that the council consider adoption of an ordinance similar to one adopted by Portland. She noted that Springfield Mayor Bill Morrisette has expressed an interest in instituting a similar ordinance jointly with Eugene and asked for council interest in this issue. Ms. Schue noted that Portland's ordinance has received some community controversy and suggested that the council review this information before using this ordinance as a basis for legislation. The council expressed its support of obtaining additional information on a possible polystyrene foam ordinance. B. National Meeting for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Mr. Boles indicated that the council received a request for $7,500 from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to help fund its national meeting to be held in Eugene. He commented that the general council sense was that the amount requested was too large, and recommended that the council allocate $5,000 for this request. He underscored the positive benefit this conference could provide to Eugene, particularly with regard to tourism. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to direct the City Manager to enter into a contract for service with the West Cascade Returned Peace Corps Volunteers for $5,000. Mr. Bennett voiced concern that the council does not have specific policy guidelines governing monetary contributions and said that this type of . MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 1 e e e , discussion should take place sometime in the near future. Ms. Ehrman supported the idea of instituting guidelines for monetary contributions in order to set a future precedent on which councilors may base their decisions. Mr. Holmer said that the council should receive more information on the activities and budget of the West Cascade Returned Peace Corps Volunteers before it agrees to make a monetary contribution. Until this type of information is received, he cannot support this funding request. The motion passed, 7:1; with Councilors Boles, Bascom, Rutan, Green, Bennett, Schue, and Ehrman voting aye; and Councilor Holmer voting nay. C. Tree Ordinance Within the Urban Growth Boundary Ms. Schue informed councilors that the Lane County Commissioners have been discussing the possible adoption of a tree ordinance within the urban growth boundary. Ed Smith, PARCS Department, said that the County Commissioners voted 3:2 to adopt the Tree Ordinance within the urban growth boundary with a mandatory 90-day sunset clause. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and enter into an intergovernmental agreement with Lane County to provide for City enforcement of the Lane County Tree Ordinance within the urban growth boundary. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. D. Oregon Track Club Mr. Rutan announced that the Oregon Track Club has requested financial support from the City to offset a recent increase in traffic control costs. He pointed out the enormous benefit that the Oregon Track Club provides to our community through its organization of community sporting activities. It is the club's position that event participation would significantly decline if registration fees were raised to offset these additional costs. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract for services with the Oregon Track Club for $5,000, with $3,000 to be applied to the Butte-to-Butte road race and $2,000 for The Race. Ms. Schue requested additional information on the activities of the Oregon Track Club before making a final decision. Mr. Rutan agreed to provide councilors with the requested information in hopes that the Oregon Track Club1s request would be discussed at the May 9 council work session. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 2 e e - Mr. Boles suggested that several implicit criteria which should be considered in the future to make a decision on monetary contribution include the proportion of conference participants who come from out of town and an estimated prediction of local facilities use, i.e., contribution to the Transient Room Tax. Ms. Schue commented that a distinction should be made in council discussions regarding funding requests between local and non-local funding requests. Ms. Ehrman noted that councilors may have already established personal guidelines regarding monetary contributions and suggested that councilors contact staff with these suggestions to help staff frame the issue. The council discussed at length the guidelines and criteria which should be used to make decisions regarding monetary contributions. They agreed that such a discussion should be undertaken at the next available work session. D. Skinner Butte War Memorial Mr. Holmer noted that the council recently received a letter from a citizen who is interested in removing the war memorial that stands atop Skinner Butte. He said that the material provided suggested a legal basis for removal of the memorial and wondered if the council should seek advice from the City Attorney's Office on this issue. The general sense of the council was that it was not interested in taking any action on this issue until such time as it becomes a legal problem. E. Sanipac's Blue Box Recycling Ms. Bascom commended Sanipac's recent efforts to ease the burden of recycling by instituting its "blue box" program in which all customers receive a single blue box for the purpose of separating and storing all recyclable materials. Mr. Holmer noted that Earl's Sanitary Service had been providing this type of recycling service for some time. Ms. Bascom indicated that staff response to her request for information on the City's recycling efforts was insufficient and requested more staff input on what the City can do to place itself in the forefront of developing the market for recycled materials. Mr, Boles supported Ms. Bascom's request and suggested that staff's recommendations include specifically a set of actions the council can take immediately to participate in this effort. Ms. Schue suggested that the possibility of having a paper recycling barrel in the corner of the meeting room for recycling agenda materials as one way in which the council might visibly demonstrate its support of the community's recycling efforts. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 3 . e - F. Parks and Recreation Facilities Mr. Miller asked for council consent to proceed with an information-gathering project for parks and other recreational facilities. Through staff contact, this facilities index will provide a cost-effective means of compiling existing information which will be useful for future decision making. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Miller said that no specific time line exists for this project; it is possible that information will be assembled by the end of the year. The council offered its general support to move ahead with this project. G. Walk America Mr. Miller announced that the March of Dimes Walk America will take place on April 28 and encouraged community members to participate. Mayor Miller and Springfield's Mayor Bill Morrisette will be leading this walk. H. Eugene Celebration Mr. Miller drew attention to a letter recently received by the council from Rubenstein's Furniture which expressed concern that the location of the Eugene Celebration at 8th and Willamette is disruptive to their store1s normal business practices, and requested that the site of the Eugene Celebration be moved. He suggested that this concern be addressed in future Eugene Celebration discussions. Mr. Whitlow said that this issue has been discussed by the Downtown Commission, which unanimously recommended that the Eugene Celebration site remain in its current location. Ms. Bascom suggested that the core area of the celebration site could be rotated from year to year to lessen the impact on surrounding businesses. Ms. Schue noted that the Celebration could potentially provide positive business impacts and suggested that this issue be addressed in conjunction with future planning efforts. Mr. Boles pointed out that the problem which currently exists is likely to be eliminated within the next few years as a result of downtown redesign. II. WORK SESSION: ANNUAL COMMUNITY ATTITUDES SURVEY Barbara Bellamy, City Manager's Office, provided the council with a report on the Citizen Involvement Committee's (CrC) draft Community Attitudes Survey. The CIe recommended that the City conduct a community attitudes survey on an annual basis as a means of gauging community concerns and improving citizen relations. She noted that the survey recommended by eIe has compiled information from other cities' general citizen surveys. Ms. Bellamy said that the CIC recommends that the City conduct a random sample telephone survey which would provide highly reliable information that MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 4 e could be compared from year to year to identify trends or changes in community concerns. It also recommends that the survey be printed in written format for citizens to complete voluntarily. The results from the written survey would be tabulated separately from the results of the telephone survey, and although not statistically valid, would provide another vehicle for citizen input. Ms. Bellamy indicated that in order to identify trends in citizen attitudes, CIC recommends that this survey be conducted each year for 10 years. Survey cost is estimated at $10,000; the City has this money in its current budget. Mr. Boles noted that this survey arose out of council's earlier goal to identify alternative methods of citizen involvement. In order for this survey to be most effective, he suggested that a series of longitudinal questions be included to aid in recognition of trends across time. He also stressed the importance of having a two- to three-year minimum commitment to this survey for it to be valuable. Ms. Ehrman voiced her support of this survey and said she is willing to make a 5-year commitment. She suggested that this survey not be instituted until after the May election so that the council will have the opportunity to receive citizen input on a variety of important issues. e Mr. Green also expressed his support for this, but felt that some of the questions, particularly with respect to youth recreational activities, should be more specific. Specifically, he suggested that recreational activities be broken down into specific age categories. Ms. Bascom voiced her support for a 3-year survey commitment. She felt that a more specific category addressing environmental issues should also be included in survey questions. Regarding citizen preference in paying for increased levels of service, Ms. Bascom recommended that the broad category "increased taxes" be delineated into specific types of taxes. Mr. Rutan indicated his enthusiastic support of a citizen survey, believing that this would provide the opportunity for the average citizen to offer input into the direction of City activities. Mr. Bennett agreed with Mr. Rutan and suggested that a specific question regarding possible library site locations be included. Mr, Holmer said that he felt this survey would not provide the City with significant assistance in policy development and that he therefore could not support it. III. WORK SESSION: REVISIONS TO CHAPTERS 4 AND 5 OF THE CITY CODE Lieutenant Vic Mann, Department of Public Safety, briefly summarized several proposed City Code revisions in preparation for the council's May 14 public hearing. The revisions of the Code would affect: a) Drinking on Unlicensed Premises--4.190; b) Abusing Police Animals--4.330 and 4.500; c) - MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 5 ~......- ........ e Harassment--4.726; d) Intimidation--4.731; e) Shoplifting--4.825; f) Weapons--4.887, et al; and 4.990 have been changed to increase maximum fines to the same maximum amount allowed under State law for the same offense. He noted that revision of Chapter 5.450 governing skateboards, the Civil Forfeiture Ordinance 4.205, and the marijuana diversion ordinance would not be considered at this time. \ \ Ms. Ehrman asked what impact the revision of the drinking ordinance would have on Municipal Court. Lieutenant Hill, Department of Public Safety, said that the department predicts that this revision will not substantially increase the number of arrests and, thus, should have a negligible impact on Municipal Court. Mr. Holmer asked about the impact of this ordinance on tailgate parties at football games in Autzen Stadium. In response, Lieutenant Hill said that Autzen Stadium tailgate parties are exempted from this ordinance. IV. WORK SESSION: PARKING STANDARDS e Doug Eveleth, Planning and Development Department, provided the council with a brief overview of Eugene's current parking standards. Councilor Ehrman requested this work session in order to discuss solutions to problems which have surfaced in recent months regarding parking standards, particularly as they relate to housing projects in the central Eugene area. Ms. Ehrman noted that parking standards have become increasing problematic in Ward 4 recently and suggested that if the council is interested in modifying parking standards, modification be limited to the multi-unit property tax zone area. She stressed the importance of working closely with impacted neighborhood organizations on all parking standard revisions. Mr. Bennett agreed that the increased traffic in the University area may make it necessary to tighten parking regulations and expressed his support for this suggestion. Mr. Boles expressed a willingness to discuss parking standards in Ward 4, but suggested that future council discussions address the subject of parking standard revisions across the entire downtown area. Mr. Miller also noted that caveats for encouraging alternative modes of transportation should also be part of the discussions. V. PROPOSED NUCLEAR-FREE ZONE CHARTER AMENDMENT Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow said that the proposed Nuclear-Free Zone (NFZ) charter amendment will go before Eugene voters at the May 15 primary election as the result of a successful citizen initiative campaign that began in 1988, following adoption of a revised Eugene nuclear-free zone ordinance. The present staff recommendation that the council take a position in opposition to the NFZ charter amendment was made to the Council's Legislative - MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 6 e Committee on April 10; the committee chose to refer the matter to the full council for its consideration. Ms. Ehrman said that given the posture of her constituents in Ward 4, she would not be supportive of taking a position in opposition to the proposed NFZ charter amendment. Mr. Green said that it is inappropriate for the council to take an official position on this issue until the voters have had an opportunity to make their positions known. Mr. Boles concurred with Mr. Green, saying that this charter amendment represents the citizens' last recourse to make their positions on this issue known. He urged the council to remove itself from this debate. Mr. Rutan said that in order to fulfill its obligation of community leadership, the council should take a position on this issue. He noted that this charter amendment is significantly different from the NFl ordinance adopted in 1986, and said the council should take a position in opposition to the proposed charter amendment. Mr. Bennett agreed with Mr. Rutan. Ms. Bascom indicated that confusion abounds within the community regarding Eugene's status as a nuclear-free zone and voiced her strong support that Eugene remain a nuclear-free zone. e Mr. Holmer said that it is the council IS responsibility to Eugene citizens to take a position on this issue. In light of several restrictive and controversial provisions within this charter amendment, such as the institution of a nuclear-free zone board, the council should advise the voters not to adopt it. Ms. Schue agreed with Mr. Holmer that the council should take a position in opposition to this charter amendment. In light of the economic impact that this charter amendment could have on the community, Mayor Miller urged the council to take a position in opposition to the proposed NFZ charter amendment. Council considered a motion tabled from its April 18, 1990, meeting in which Mr, Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the council take a position in opposition to Ballot Measure 20-01, the proposed Nuclear-Free lone charter amendment. The motion passed, 5:2:1; with councilors Holmer, Bascom, Bennett, Schue, and Rutan voting aye, councilors Ehrman and Boles voting nay, and Councilor Green abstaining. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 7 e e e ~ Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the council reaffirm its support for the concept of Eugene as a nuclear-free zone. The motion passed, 6:1:1; with councilors Bascom, Schue, Bennett, Ehrman, Rutan, and Green voting aye, Councilor Holmer voting nay, and Councilor Boles abstaining. At 1:15 p.m., Mayor Miller adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council. Respectfully submitted, (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 042590 MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 25, 1990 Page 8