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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/25/1990 Meeting (2) e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Council Chamber--Eugene City Hall June 25, 1990 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Robert Bennett, Ruth Bascom, Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Mayor Jeff Miller, Emily Schue, Bobby Green. The adjourned Eugene City Council meeting of June 20, 1990, was called to order by Council Vice President Robert Bennett. I. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes of January 22 and April 9, 1990, City Council meetings, and October 16, 1989, Dinner/Work Session B. Approval of Minutes, Findings, and Recommendations of Hearings e Official and Adoption of Resolution Forming a Local Improvement District for Sheraton Drive. Res. No. 4194--A resolution forming a local improvement district for street, and sanitary and storm sewer improvements to Sheraton Drive from Chateau Meadows Drive to 1700 feet north. C. Approval of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Minutes of June 12, 1990. Ms. Bascom requested that items Band C be removed from the Consent Calendar for the council's consideration at the end of the meeting. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to approve Item A on the City Council Consent Calendar. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. II. PUBLIC HEARING: REVISION OF NOISE VARIANCE ORDINANCE City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. Dick Gassman, Planning and Development Department, reported that the proposed revisions to the sections of the Eugene Code pertaining to noise disturbances and noise variances were a response to a challenge to the constitutionality of the current noise e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 1 e variance provisions. In a Lane County District Court enforcement action, the judge did not rule on the constitutional issue, but he expressed concern that the ordinance lacked clear standards and did not provide for appeal of a denial. Councilor Bennett opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. CB 4227--An ordinance concerning noise disturbance; amending Sections 4.083 and 4.084 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Council Bill 4227 was read the second time by number only. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance 19697). e III. ORDINANCE ON SIGNS ON NEWLY CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Dick Gassman, Planning and Development Department, reviewed the background of the proposed ordinance which would allow wall signs up to 200 square feet in area on buildings completed after June 20, 1990. Referring to Section 3 of the proposed ordinance, Mr. Boles asked about reference to the public welfare and safety. Mr. Gleason explained that the language in that section was standard and allowed the ordinance to take effect upon adoption. CB 4228--An ordinance declaring certain wall signs exempt from the moratorium imposed by Ordinances 19654 and 19672; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Council Bill 4228 was read the second time by number only. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 2 e Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; the motion carrying 4:2; with councilors Bennett, Bascom, Holmer, and Rutan voting aye; and councilors Boles and Ehrman voting nay, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance 19698). City Attorney Bill Gary explained that lacking six affirmative votes (a two-thirds majority of the council), the emergency clause was not valid, and the ordinance would not become effective for 30 days. Because the moratorium is in effect only until July 30, Mr. Gary said that the legislation was moot. Mr. Boles asked for a report on the conditions for processing of applications for building permits during the moratorium. IV. PUBLIC HEARING: INDUSTRIAL LANDS REPLACEMENT STUDY City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. Gary Chenkin, Planning and Development Department, reported that the scheduled hearing was to allow the public an opportunity to comment on possible initiation of Metropolitan Plan diagram amendments at one or more of three locations within the urban growth boundary. Councilor Bennett opened the public hearing. Jim Saul, PO Box 1650, spoke as the representative of Breeden Brothers, the e owner of approximately 52 acres of the 80 acres identified as Site 2 (north of Chad Street). Mr. Saul said that the proposed change was not initiated by Breeden Brothers, and planned development of the property had been delayed as a result of the agreement to include that site as one of the locations for industrial land replacement. If the council decides to consider redesignation of the site, Mr. Saul asked that the process move ahead to avoid loss of another construction season. Answering questions from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Saul said that approximately 25 acres of the Breeden-owned property at this location was designated for medium-density residential development while the remainder was designated for low-density residential. Portions of the property with both designations would be converted to Special Light Industrial under the proposed amendment. A number of single-family units, multi-family units, and row houses are included in the planned residential development. Judith C. Van, 89205 Old Coburg Road, identified herself as a resident of the area identified as Site 2. She questioned the inclusion of the area east of Old Coburg Road and reported that residents are concerned that they are not being represented in the process. Ms. Van requested additional study of transportation needs in the area and delay of any redesignation to Special Light Industrial on the east side of Old Coburg Road. There being no further requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 3 - e Referring to the area east of Old Coburg Road, Mr. Chenkin said the council could exclude that portion of Site 2 from the diagram amendment. He pointed out that the property north of Chad Street and west of Old Coburg Road is under one ownership (Breeden Brothers). Because the area east of Old Coburg Road is not all within the city and is developed, has multiple ownership, and is not likely to be available for short-term industrial development, it may be more appropriately deleted from the amendment initiation process. Ms. Bascom inquired about the draft "Metropolitan Industrial Lands Special Study Inventory Report" included in councilors' packets. Pat Decker, Planning and Development Department, explained that that the report was an inventory draft report, and the full industrial lands special study report is not yet completed and will include a policy recommendation document. The Special Studies Advisory Committee is made up of representatives appointed by the elected officials of each jurisdiction. Ms. Bascom observed that the inventory report contains conclusions that she did not consider consistent with the objectives of industrial land replacement. Ms. Decker responded that the conclusions of the study may differ from those of the draft inventory report and in fact, the advisory committee is still amending that draft report. Ms. Decker referred to a May 24 memo from Carol Heinkel which discusses policy issues and indicates that the committee is reviewing the findings in the draft inventory report, including the quality of the existing inventory of industrial land. She explained that the Special Light Industrial category was not developed as a response to demand, but was added as part of the policy of diversification. e Ms. Ehrman asked whether any of the three sites under consideration would satisfy demand that is not being adequately addressed otherwise. Ms. Decker responded that the Stewart Road site (Site 1) has considerable acreage that is not constrained by wetlands but is probably better suited for light-medium designation than for the existing designation, which is Light Industrial. She added that demand and supply as well as policy direction must be considered when determining whether a specific site is appropriate for redesignation as industrial land replacement. Ms. Ehrman remarked that annexation of industrial property along Highway 99 would add to the supply of industrial land. Mr. Chenkin commented that for the purposes of the study of industrial land replacement, no distinction was being made between annexed and non-annexed land within the urban growth boundary. Mr. Boles wondered about the consequences of taking no action until the Industrial Lands Special Study is completed. Ms. Decker said that it was difficult to estimate when the recommendations of the study would be adopted, but she expected the process to take another year. She said she believed that making it easier for industrial development to occur on the Stewart Road and Enid Road-Awbrey Lane sites would overcome some of the problems associated with the impact of wetlands. The Chad Street site could provide a short-term addition to the Special-Light Industrial land supply if the council determines that it is needed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 4 e Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to initiate Metro Plan diagram amendments on the sites identified as Enid-Awbrey and Stewart Road, and on the portion of the north of Chad site that does not include the territory east of Old Coburg Road, with these amendments to be taken to the meeting of the Joint Elected Officials scheduled for July 25, 1990. Ms. Childs said that the July 25 meeting will include a public hearing on items that have already been through the Planning Commission process and have been forwarded to the joint elected officials. She added that there will be insufficient time to comply with notice requirements if this item is added to that agenda. Under the current Plan amendment process, this amendment would require consideration by all three governing bodies. If the effective date of the initiation were the effective date of the amendments to the Metro Plan amendment process, Eugene could then move forward with the concurrence of Lane County and Springfield. Mr. Holmer amended his motion, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to initiate Metro Plan diagram amendments at the time amendments to the Plan amendment process become effective. Ms. Ehrman indicated that while she initially supported pursuing this action to add to the supply of available industrial land, after viewing these sites she supported delaying action or at least deleting a portion of the Chad Street site. e Mr. Boles said that the intent of the council was not met by the options now available, and he urged the council to vote against using these sites for short-term industrial land replacement. He concurred with Ms. Ehrman's position that action should be postponed until completion of the Industrial Lands Study. Mr. Bennett countered by saying that a significant amount of industrial land inventory is being lost as a result of the wetlands issue, and he encouraged the council to provide a variety of choices by supporting the motion. Roll call vote; the amended motion carried, 4:2, with councilors Bennett, Bascom, Holmer, and Rutan voting aye; and councilors Boles and Ehrman voting no. V. PUBLIC HEARING: RESOLUTION ADOPTING AN INTERIM HOUSING DISPERSAL POLICY PLAN City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. Robin Johnson, Planning and Development Department, reported that the plan under consideration would modify existing City policy on the placement of low-income family housing in Eugene. The policy limits the placement of additional, permanent low-income housing assisted by the City in areas characterized by concentrations of either subsidized housing or low-income families. The proposed plan is less e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 5 - restrictive in the placement of additional housing. The Planning Commission recommends adoption of the plan on an interim basis, with additional review in 1993 when 1990 census data is available for evaluation. Ms. Johnson emphasized that staff and the Planning Commission believe the impact of the change will be small. Answering a question from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Johnson said that block group reporting was based on information from the 1980 census. Councilor Bennett opened the public hearing. Laurie McClain, 245 North Polk Street, spoke against the proposal to change the definition of low-income families from those with incomes at 80 percent to those with incomes at 50 percent of median income or below for the area. Ms. McClain maintained that the central neighborhoods already have a good proportion of affordable housing and she was concerned that the City fails to provide the same level of services (such as recreation programs) in those areas as it does in other residential areas. She urged the council to avoid action that will create economic segregation by neighborhoods. John Van Landingham, 1172 West 5th Avenue, reviewed some of the Planning Commission's considerations in making its recommendations: 1) low-income housing is difficult to place anywhere; 2) L-COG data indicates that nearly half the population are tenants and nearly 80 percent of them qualify as low-income under the 80-percent-of-median-income standard; 3) low-income residents already live in those neighborhoods where the policy would prevent e new low-income housing; 4) Community Development Block Grant funds are a primary resource for helping low-income people, and use of these funds is limited to low-income neighborhoods; and 5) the existing policy may violate 1988 amendments to the Federal Fair Housing Act in that it discriminates on the basis of the presence of children. Mr. Van Landingham did not support creating concentrations of low-income families in one location and favored working to disperse people around the community to make all neighborhoods open to all persons regardless of their income level. Noting that the data on which the old policy is based is outdated (from the 1970 census) and that the Federal programs which existed in the 1970s and were targeted at private developers no longer exist, Mr. Van Landingham urged the council to accept the Planning Commission's recommendation to adopt a new policy that promotes choice rather than prohibits development. Richard Guske, 59 North Jackson Street, said that one of the goals of the Community Development Block Grant program is to prevent the concentration and isolation of low-income persons in specific areas of the community. Mr. Guske's impression was that most Whiteaker area homeowners would prefer that no additional low-income housing be located in their neighborhood. He recommended addressing the larger questions facing the community by developing a policy that reflects the community's decision as to what kind of community it wishes to be. Al Johnson, 3970 University Street, concurred with Mr. Guske's recommendation to address the situation in a more comprehensive way. He criticized the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 6 --- - council for removing residentially zoned land from the inventory that could be used to add to available medium-density housing. Referring to the Lane County Affordable Housing Task Force report, Mr. Johnson recommended developing a regional plan for affordable housing and encouraged the council to review the report. Will Richardson spoke on behalf of homeless people and supported dispersing low-income housing throughout the community. He recommended allowing people to live in whatever type of housing they choose (single-family residences, trucks, etc.) as long as sanitary conditions can be maintained. Mr. Richardson suggested using jail inmates and homeless people to provide labor for housing construction. He said homeless people need access to 24-hour public transportation. There being no further requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. Referring to the proposed change in threshold of income, Ms. Johnson clarified that the dispersal policy adopted in 1979 defined a "bad block group" as one in which 50 percent or more of the block group is occupied by people with 80 percent or less of the median income. The proposed policy would change that definition to "50 percent or more of the block group is occupied by those with 50 percent or less of the median income." Responding to questions from Ms. Bascom, Ms. Johnson explained that no distinction was made between University married student housing and other "bad block" neighborhoods in those census tracts. e Answering a question from Mr. Boles about the adequacy of services, Mr. Van Landingham said that no effort had been made to discourage or encourage housing based on proximity to social services. He added that he considered the proposal to amend the housing dispersal policy a lessening of a regulatory impediment to low-income housing. Describing the testimony as confusing, Ms. Bascom said the issue of housing dispersal seems to be a recurrent one. Mr. Holmer supported delaying action to revise the dispersal policy until new census data is available in 1993. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to proceed to agenda item VI. Roll call vote; the motion failed 3:3, with councilors Ehrman, Holmer, and Rutan voting aye; and councilors Bennett, Boles, and Bascom voting against. Res. No. 4195--A resolution adopting the 1990 Interim Housing Dispersal Policy Plan and repealing Resolutions 2341 and 3129. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried 4:2, with councilors Ehrman and Rutan voting against. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 7 e At 9:33 p.m., the council recessed for five minutes. VI. PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE CONCERNING A STREET VACATION REQUEST FOR A PORTION OF JAMES ROAD, LOCATED NORTH OF GOODPASTURE ISLAND ROAD (EMERALD VALLEY DEVELOPMENT, SV 90-1) City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. Jerry Jacobson, Planning and Development Department, asked the council to add an emergency clause to the proposed ordinance. Councilor Bennett opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. CB 4229--An ordinance vacating the following described street, to wit: A portion of James Road lying north of Goodpasture Island Road and east and west of Goodpasture Lakes Loop Road, as more particularly described on Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill, as amended to add an emergency clause, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll e call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Council Bill 4229 as amended was read the second time by number only. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill, as amended, be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance 19699). VII. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SALE OF BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES FOR RIVER ROAD SEWER PROJECT City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. Warren Wong, Administrative Services Director, was present to answer questions. Res. No. 4196--A resolution of the City of Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, authorizing the issuance and sale of bond anticipation notes, in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000, to provide interim financing of the River Road Sewer Improvement Project. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 8 e Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. VIII. USE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS FOR REHABILITATION OF NONPROFIT FACILITIES City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Linda Dawson, Planning and Development Department, was present to answer questions. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to approve programming $27,580 from unallocated Community Development Block Grant funds for the following: Sponsors, Inc., roof replacement, $6,000; Looking Glass, Inc., bathroom repair, $4,000; Womenspace, finish fifth unit, $12,000; and Chicano Affairs, roof replacement, $5,580. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. IX. RESOLUTION REGARDING THE DOWNTOWN BON MARCHE Res. No. 4197--A resolution declaring the council's support for continuation of The Bon Marche in its present downtown location. e Mr. Holmer said that he would abstain from voting on the motion because of the council's earlier failure to approve pending legislation relating to the same corporation with an emergency clause. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried 5:0:1, with Mr. Holmer abstaining. Councilors considered those items removed from the Consent Calendar earlier in the meeting. B. Approval of Minutes, Findings, and Recommendations of Hearings Official and Adoption of Resolution Forming a Local Improvement District for Sheraton Drive Res. No. 4194--A resolution forming a local improvement district for street, and sanitary and storm sewer improvements to Sheraton Drive from Chateau Meadows Drive to 1700 feet north. Ms. Bascom asked the council to direct staff to report back to the council on the resolution of issues relating to where sidewalks will be required and whether trees will be removed from the properties. She indicated that she would support the resolution if that information were provided. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 9 e Ms. Ehrman also expressed concern about the location of sidewalks and cutting of trees. She said that the property in question has considerable vegetation in addition to trees, so the removal of some trees would not leave the property completely bare. Because of the residential nature of the area, Ms. Ehrman considered at least one sidewalk to be necessary. Ms. Bascom reiterated that she wanted to be kept informed as the design proposal for the area is developed. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to adopt Resolution 4194. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. C. Approval of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Minutes of June 12, 1990 Ms. Bascom asked about the committee's consideration of grant applications. Mr. Gleason explained that the council discussed and agreed to that role for the committee at a process session. He said the process helps the organization avoid conflicting applications. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to approve the Intergovernmental Relations Committee Minutes of June 12, 1990. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously. Ms. Ehrman told councilors she would be absent from Wednesday's meeting but e would submit a memorandum presenting her views on the library issue. The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. to June 27, 1990. (Recorded by Mary Feldman) mncc 062590-730 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 25, 1990 Page 10