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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/18/1990 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room July 18, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Rob Bennett, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Roger Rutan, Bobby Green, Shawn Boles. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Freeman Holmer. The adjourned meeting of July 16, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Mayor Jeff Miller. 1. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Japanese Garden Society e Ms. Schue said the Japanese Garden Society was interested in creating a garden in Alton Baker Park and asked that Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services (PARCS) staff work with them to identify possible locations. B. International Physicist's Conference Ms. Bascom said that if the 1993 International Physicists' Conference were held in Eugene, it would further the City's economic development goals as had the Veteran's Games. She suggested that the council request the City Manager to develop a funding proposal for the conference that local conference organ- izer Russ Donnelly could take to England in August when he meets with confer- ence organizers, and that the council budget up to $10,000 for the proposal. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that the council instruct the City Manager to investigate a proposal that the 1993 International Physicists' Conference be held in Eugene in view of the City's economic development goals, and fund this proposal with up to $10,000. In response to a question from Ms. Ehrman about the procedure for this pro- posal, Mr. Gleason said that if a contract were issued it would have to meet the council's public purpose standards. Mr. Green said he was supportive of the concept being discussed, but would like to see a more formalized written proposal. Mr. Rutan said it was his e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 18, 1990 Page 1 e understanding that the council's procedure for such projects was to direct them to the City Manager, who weighed them against council policies. Mr. Gleason said the project would not be formalized until he had negotiated a contract. He said that before he took this kind of action he would discuss the project with interested parties, such as representatives of the Universi- ty. He said that after he had researched the project, he would bring this information back to the council, which could then determine if the proposal met council economic goals. At this point, the council could recommend that a contract for the project be written. Ms. Bascom said the International Physicists' Conference would take the City to a level beyond its usual smaller conventions. She added that the City would have a long lead time to work on preparation for the conference. She said Eugene was in a position to bid for this convention because of the fact that an officer of the group was on the staff at the University. Mr. Bennett said that while having such conventions in Eugene was good, he was not sure the council should spend City money on them. Mr. Rutan said he had concerns similar to Mr. Green's and Mr. Bennett's about the motion on the floor, but that he would vote in favor of the motion be- cause he wanted to see if the project was workable. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 6:1, with Mr. Bennett voting in opposition. e C. Dinner Work Session Mr. Miller announced that the dinner work session scheduled for July 23 had been canceled. He said the regular meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on July 23 would be held. D. Video on Eugene Mr. Gleason presented a seven-minute video on Eugene which had been used to present information at a recent Bond Rating Review in New York. II. PARKING OF RECREATIONAL VEHICLES IN RESIDENTIAL YARDS Marsha Miller, of the Planning and Development Department, reviewed the staff report on parking of recreational vehicles in residential yards. In response to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Miller said the City currently receives very few complaints about the parking of recreational vehicles in front-yard setbacks. Mr. Green said he felt that the reason so few com- plaints were made was because the burden of responsibility for proving that a recreational vehicle had been parked for more than 48 hours in a front yard was put on the complainant. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 18, 1990 Page 2 e Ms. Miller said most people who call and complain about infringements of front-yard parking regulations do not call back once they learn that they must monitor the problem themselves for 48 hours. She said this kind of complaint accounted for only about ten percent of all land-use complaints made to the Permit and Information Center (PIC). Ms. Bascom said a big school bus, converted into a recreational vehicle, was parked in someone's front yard in her neighborhood. She said some in the neighborhood were upset because they felt the bus was unsightly even though it is legally parked. Mr. Green said he had raised the issue of the City's Code on parking in front yards because one of his constituents had taken the time to record a trans- gression of the code in his neighborhood. He said he felt people should receive more staff help with enforcement of the code. Mayor Miller pointed out that the council could also pursue related issues such as abandoned cars. Ms. Ehrman asked if the City would be able to enforce a prohibition on the parking of recreational vehicles in the front-yard setback if the allowed time were reduced to four hours. Mr. Gleason said increased enforcement would require additional resources. Mr. Rutan said he was not certain how bad this problem was or where exactly it occurred. Mayor Miller said the problem existed throughout the city. Mr. e Green said the problem was that some people were attempting to care for their property while their neighbors were not. He suggested that people should be notified if they are in violation of front-yard setback parking regulations and given options for remedying the problem. Ms. Schue said "dead" cars were part of the problem. Ms. Bascom added that cars stored on the street were another problem but that she did not know how to deal with the issue. Mayor Miller said it might help to prohibit the parking of cars on residential streets. Ms. Miller pointed out that the City has an ordinance on abandoned cars. Mr. Boles said he felt the main issue was the impairment of vision on street corners when cars are parked or left on the street. He said wrecked cars are parked in front of many homes in the city. He said that in order to deal with this problem the City must have sufficient revenue, and suggested li- censing recreational vehicles to raise additional revenues. Mr. Green sug- gested revenues could be raised by fining those who park illegally. In response to a question from Mr. Bennett, Ms. Miller said the City of Portland does not allow vehicles to be parked within the ten-foot front-yard setback. However, she said Portland is revising its ordinance to allow vehicles in daily use to park in the front-yard setback. She said Portland's ordinance is probably funded by its General Fund. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 18, 1990 Page 3 e Mr. Gleason said Mr. Green was concerned about the method of enforcement of the front-yard setback parking ordinance because keeping a 48 hour check on someone's vehicle is nearly impossible. He said the City Council could simplify the enforcement process, but that the number of those in favor of the change would probably be equaled by those in opposition. Ms. Schue said one of the angriest groups of citizens she had ever encoun- tered was a group of people in the Bethel neighborhood who had been told to comply with setback requirements on the parking of recreational vehicles even though their lots had been designed without much setback. Ms. Ehrman said she felt the complainant should have a large role in enforce- ment of the parking ordinance because his or her aesthetics were at issue. Ms. Bascom said that while it was appropriate for Mr. Green to be concerned about this issue because it had been raised by a constituent, she did not feel that the council should create a new ordinance. Mr. Green said he would like to see the code changed to reduce the amount of time that a recreational vehicle could be parked in the front-yard setback to four hours. Mr. Bennett said the City should make a strong statement about how people are expected to maintain their neighborhoods. He said that in his neighborhood a majority of the residents try hard, but the aesthetics of the area are less- ened by careless parking of vehicles. e Mr. Rutan suggested tickets be issued to those in violation of the parking ordinance. City Attorney Bill Gary said the allowable parking time of 48 hours created a problem because it was difficult to prove that someone had parked longer than this amount of time. He said a regulation which allowed only vehicles in daily use to park in the front-yard setback would be diffi- cult to enforce for the same reason. Mr. Miller said it would be nice to be able to offer people incentives for parking correctly within their front yard setbacks. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, that the Eugene Code be changed to reduce the amount of time that a recrea- tional vehicle would be permitted in the front-yard setback from 48 hours to four hours, and to direct staff to prepare revisions to this ordinance which would make it more enforce- able, including proposals to raise revenue for enforcement. The motion passed 5-2, with Ms. Bascom and Mr. Boles voting in opposition. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 18, 1990 Page 4 " e III. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR LIBRARY SITING PROJECT In response to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Carol Hildebrand, Assistant City Librarian, said that there would be a separate children's section in a new or expanded library, which would be true for the proposed library at the old Sears bUilding. " Mr. Rutan suggested the City investigate the possibility of mixed-use at the new Library as a source of additional revenue. He said the mixed-use could be either temporary or permanent, depending on the timeframe of Library plans for the Sears building. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to direct the City Manager to prepare an environmental assessment and schematic designs for a new Eugene Public Library to be located at the site of the former Sears building at 10th Avenue and Charnelton, with expansion to 100,000 square feet; and to develop a public information program related to the Library sit i ng project. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The Mayor adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened a meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency. e Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to direct the Urban Renewal Agency Director to prepare an environmental assess- ment and schematic designs for a new Eugene Public Library to be located at the site of the former Sears building at 10th Avenue and Charnelton; and to develop a public information program related to the Library siting project. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The Mayor adjourned the meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency and reconvened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. Mr. Rutan said the City Council would need to commit to one of the most extensive public information programs it had ever undertaken if this Library plan were to succeed. Ms. Bascom said the first step was to investigate whether there was support in the community for the plan. Mr. Gleason said the community had a tendency to visualize the downtown core as beginning and ending with retail. He said the Downtown Plan visualized a comprehensive core of five components which would create the principal em- ployment center in the region. He said the General Plan listed housing, office space, transit facilities, public spaces, cabaret activities, and retail as all being necessary for the downtown area. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 18, 1990 Page 5 -- ---- ---- e Mr. Bennett said he had never seen a successful downtown area without a successful retail sector and that the City must continue to work to get retail business downtown. The meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~ MlCheal=~ea --:-- - - · City Manager (Recorded by Kris Bloch) mncc 071890 e . MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 18, 1990 Page 6