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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/23/1991 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall September 23, 1991 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Bobby Green, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette, Randy MacDonald, Debra Ehrman. The regular meeting of September 23, 1991, 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 A. Golden Gardens Park as a Potential Site for a Golf Course Ms. Bascom reported that a developer has recently expressed an interest in developing Golden Gardens Park as a golf course. She noted that this site has been identified in the 1989 Eugene Parks and Recreation Plan as the pre- ferred site for a golf course and said that with council direction, the PARCS e Department can proceed with developing a Request For Proposal (RFP) to re- spond to that interest. Mr. Boles strongly encouraged the PARCS Department to enlist the aid of the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC) in drafting the RFP. By consensus, the council offered its support to Ms. Bascom's suggestion, with the inclusion of Mr. Boles' recommendation. B. Extension of the Tree Ordinance within the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Ms. Bascom said that the Lane County Board of Commissioners will be formally considering an extension of the tree ordinance inside the UGB at its October 1 meeting. She explained that the ordinance currently in place will no long- er be effective as of December 1; if the ordinance is not extended, tree- cutting activity will not be regulated between the city limits and the UGB. At Bob Hammitt's (Public Works) request, she has written a letter urging the Lane County Board of Commissioners to approve an ordinance extension until a more comprehensive ordinance can be negotiated. Mr. Boles noted that the tree ordinance was modified substantially by the board prior to its last approval. He asked staff to provide the council with a history of the issue. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 1 Dinner Meeting e By consensus, the council agreed that it would ask the Lane County Board of Commissioners to extend the tree ordinance regulations within the UGB until another agreement can be negotiated. C. Review of the Vending Ordinance in the West University Neighborhood Ms. Ehrman reported that a constituent has requested that the council consid- er broadening the vending ordinance governing the West University Neighbor- hood. The ordinance, which is currently in place, regulates vending by the type of activity (it only permits food, beverage, flowers, and balloons) and the distance between similar vendors. Ms. Ehrman said that Greta Utecht, Planning and Development Department, is presently reviewing the ordinance, and asked that this issue be included in this review. Mr. Boles said that it is very important that the ordinance retain the non- competitiveness aspect and suggested that the council explore limiting the number of licenses by activity. Mr. MacDonald suggested that Ms. Utecht explore creative ways to address the issue. Mr. Nicholson suggested that the council consider broadening the definition of uses permitted in the area, such as permitting only self-manu- factured products, for instance. The council agreed on the need to explore this issue more fully and asked that these issues be incorporated into the ordinance update for future coun- e cil discussion. D. Helicopter Flyovers at the Lane County Fair Ms. Ehrman voiced concern that the helicopter that was allowed to fly over the Lane County Fair posed some potential safety hazards and asked that the council find a way of tightening its regulation so that this would not be permitted in the future. Ms. Norris said that this issue has been flagged for discussion. II. WORK SESSION: SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING ISSUES Greta Utecht, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff presenta- tion. The purpose of this work session is for the council to give direction to staff and the Solid Waste and Recycling Board (SWRB) about the future of the City's solid waste collection system. Ms. Utecht noted that SB66, passed in the recent legislative session, will greatly impact the solid waste and recycling program. At the council's request, the board is exploring whether changing Eugene's current collection system to one which establishes exclu- sive hauling territories would help the City meet State requirements and the community's goals. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 2 Dinner Meeting -- -.-- e Ms. Utecht said that the Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) has prepared some maps of the City's current collection system to assist the council in its discussion. Referring to the maps, she pointed out that multi-family lots have been plotted on the commercial account maps. She also noted that one of the haulers was not included on the map because the information pro- vided was not presented in a usable format. She said that the percentage of Eugene residents who self-haul their solid waste is estimated at between 25-30 percent. Ms. Utecht said that in order to forward a recommendation to the council, the board considered both State mandates and its sense of the community's long- term waste-reduction goals. The board has prioritized the following goals as important to consider in developing the future collection system: 1. Waste Reduction 2. Education and Promotion 3. Customer Rates 4. Customer Service 5. Local Business Viability 6. Intergovernmental Cooperation 7. Regulation Ms. Utecht said that the board is seeking feedback from the council about whether these goals, as listed, accurately reflect the council's and communi- ty's goals with respect to solid waste collection. e Paul Scott, SWRB chair, emphasized that waste reduction was identified by the board as the primary goal of Eugene's solid waste collection system. The board recognizes that moving toward an exclusive territories system could help the community meet some of its goals, but feels it would be premature to establish territories before developing waste-reduction strategies. Instead, the board recommends that the City identify and implement specific programs that will allow the community to meet State mandates. If those programs would be better served by a different collection system, the board feels that the council should then reexamine the issue of exclusive territories. Mr. Nicholson said that some of the goals identified are not really goals, rather they are strategies that could be implemented to meet the primary goal of waste reduction. Mr. Boles encouraged the council to process this issue thoroughly the first time. It should identify strategies that will allow the community to meet its long-term goals, rather than focusing on 1995 State mandates. He sug- gested that the council look toward an 80-percent waste-reduction goal for the year 2000. In order to meet this goal, the community will need to re- evaluate its entire collection system and realize that the responsibilities for recycling rest with the customer as well as the hauler. Mr. Boles also suggested that the whole issue of life-cycle costing be folded into the pro- gram. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 3 Dinner Meeting e Mr. MacDonald noted that staff has indicated that it will be difficult for the Lane County wasteshed to meet its 30 percent mandated goal by 1995 and Questioned whether 80 percent was reasonable as a goal for the year 2000. Ms. Bascom suggested that the board explore the possibility of crafting leg- islation for the packaging industry that will assist the community in meeting its solid waste reduction goals. Ms. Utecht pointed out that the council would probably need to expand this into a statewide discussion in order to have any real impact on the packaging industry. Mr. Nicholson said that a reduction in the waste stream should be the commu- nity's primary goal and said that this could be accomplished, in part, by making it difficult for citizens to dispose of wastes improperly. He com- mented that self-hauling can be a very effective means of waste-stream reduc- tion because many self-haulers make a concerted effort to precycle. He en- couraged the council to analyze the issue in new ways. Mr. Robinette said that recycling is an important part of the effort to re- duce the waste stream. He noted, however, that there is currently an insuf- ficient demand for recycled goods and said that the community should make an effort to bring industries into Eugene that utilize recycled materials. Mr. Rutan agreed on the need to deal with the issue in a comprehensive man- ner. He encouraged the council to set realistic goals and said that it is unlikely that Eugene, by itself, could have any real impact on the packaging industry. He felt that the City should adopt a combination of "carrot and e stick" strategies. Mr. Nicholson agreed that locating markets for recycled products needs to be done on a statewide basis. He also said that it is key that the council incorporate the issue of life-cycle costing into its program. Mr. Boles said that the council should form a task force with the responsi- bility of developing a long-range waste management plan. Ms. Utecht commented that focusing immediately on the elimination of yard debris from the waste stream would allow the City, with Springfield and Lane County, to meet 1995 mandates. She noted that there is an opportunity to look at local markets for recycled yard debris. Mr. MacDonald supported the concept of bringing recycling industries into Eugene; Eugene could have the potential to become a regional center for recy- cled materials. He said that the City may be able to get money from the State for this effort. Mr. Nicholson said that the SWRB should continue to be the forum for discus- sions about this issue, but it should report directly to the council rather than to the City Manager. He also voiced concern that the City's last rate- setting process violated its own ordinance. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 4 Dinner Meeting e Mr. Green said that improving customer service should be the board's primary goal. If the haulers can keep their customers happy, other goals such as waste reduction can be achieved. In response to an inquiry from Mr. Rutan, Ms. Utecht said that the current makeup of the SWRB consists of four members-at-1arge and one industry repre- sentative. Mr. Rutan said that the council should use the existing board as the body for these discussions and modify the board as needed. He asked the council to consider very carefully whether it should have a representative on the board, recognizing the present work load burden of individual councilors. Mr. Boles asked the council to consider whether the board should also include a customer representative. The board should be charged with the responsibil- ity of crafting a comprehensive solid waste and recycling plan meeting long- range goals for the community, and would report directly to the council on this issue. Bill Gary, City Attorney's Office, indicated that because the makeup of the Solid Waste and Recycling Board is defined directly by ordinance, the council would need to change the ordinance if it wanted to restructure the board itself. Mr. Green asked about the possibility of adding another industry representa- tive to the board. Mr. Scott pointed out that the industry has a direct e conflict of interest on this board and said that the industry is always well represented in the board meetings. He voiced concern that adding another industry representative to the board could create potential Quorum problems when discussing issues such as rate setting. Ms. Norris reminded the council of its work load and the amount of staff resources that will be needed to undertake the proposed planning process. She asked the council to consider whether it might want to discuss the issue of staff/council resources that will be required at the upcoming goals ses- sion. The City currently has approximately 1.5 FTE supporting the solid waste and recycling program. By consensus, the council agreed to form an ad hoc task force consisting of the Solid Waste and Recycling Board and two councilors to work on this issue. The council instructed staff to take a preliminary look at a possible work program for the task force and to report back to the council prior to the goals session. The council then will consider this new work program in the context of other goals and its work load. It agreed that the task force would report directly to the council on this issue. Councilors Nicholson and Green agreed to serve as the council representatives on the proposed task force. Mr. MacDonald extended his appreciation to board members and the haulers for their hard work and effort on this issue. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 5 Dinner Meeting e Mayor Miller said that any plan developed by the task force should include a goals statement and should be measurable over time. The task force should identify strategies for achieving the community's short-, medium-, and long- range goals. Mr. Boles reiterated that the issue of life-cycle costing should be folded into the task force discussions. He suggested that haulers should be re- quired to provide, rather than encouraged to provide, greater public informa- tion, and emphasized that setting and maintaining customer preparation stan- dards for recycling will be critical to the success of the recycling program. At the council's request, a memorandum will be prepared by the City Attor- ney's Office about legal issues related to customer rate setting. (The council took a ten-minute break.) III. WORK PLAN REVIEW A. Council Goals Mr. Boles offered suggestions for the format of the upcoming goals session. Recognizing that many of the council's goals will be affected by the Eugene Decisions process, he suggested that the council use this year's work plan as a template for developing its goals for the upcoming year. e Mr. Rutan supported this suggestion and said that if councilors have work program items or goals to add, they should notify the council of these items before the goals session. Mr. MacDonald noted that Goals II and III, dealing with the downtown and the library respectively, are winding down this year and may need to be changed. Mayor Miller suggested that the council officers schedule a pre-goals-setting session as they have done in the past to discuss the meeting format and other issues. He acknowledged that the City's financial strategy will dictate much of the work program. He hoped to avoid the perception in the community that an issue is not important to the council if it is not listed as one of the council's major goals. Mr. Nicholson said that the council should consolidate those goals that are a part of the Eugene Decisions into a single goal. B. Other Work Program Issues Mr. MacDonald said that the Metro Plan update should be included in the sec- tion titled "land use planning issues." Mr. Boles agreed. Ms. Bascom noted that Eugene will need the cooperation of the other jurisdictions to undertake a comprehensive Metro Plan update and suggested that this be listed as a Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) issue. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 6 Dinner Meeting e Mr. MacDonald said that he has asked Dave Whitlow and Bill Bass to provide the council with information on how Eugene might improve its disaster pre- paredness posture. He voiced concern that Eugene is not prepared for a major disaster and said he has asked staff to prepare a memorandum outlining the potential work load and resource implications for such a work program. Based on that memo, the council could decide whether this issue should be added to the work plan under "public safety issues." Ms. Ehrman noted that the coun- cil has discussed this before and encouraged Mr. MacDonald not to underesti- mate the potential resource impacts that the issue would require. Referring to storm water utility, under "public works projects/processes," Mr. Boles said that "recreation" should be added to the list of values asso- ciated with the storm water program. Mr. Boles suggested that the bicycle corridor along the highway be added to the West Eugene Parkway issue. He also suggested that the council consider conducting the Master Street Study, after the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) has been completed. Referring to "land use planning issues," Mr. Boles observed that the Indus- trial Corridor Community Organization Charter has been repeatedly removed from the council's agenda. Before this issue is placed on the agenda again, the council should receive a history of the issue. Mayor Miller noted that the number of residents in council wards is no longer balanced. He asked the council to consider various proposals for ward re- e districting at its next goals session. Mr. Boles suggested that the media publish copies of the council's work plan so that the public would have a better understanding of council work load. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 092391-530 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 23, 1991 Page 7 Dinner Meeting