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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/13/1992 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall April 13, 1992 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Shawn Boles, President; Bobby Green, Vice President; Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman (6:12 p.m.), Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. A. WORK SESSION: PUBLIC VEHICLE ORDINANCE REVISIONS Greta Utecht, Planning and Development Department, explained proposed revi- sions to the public passenger vehicle ordinance. The aim is to clarify the regulations, reduce administrative costs, and bring the Eugene Code into compliance with Federal legislation, specifically the Americans with Disabil- ities Act (ADA). Operators of wheelchair vehicle services would no longer be required to ob- tain CPR or Oregon nurse's aide certifications. Public passenger vehicle operators would be allowed to charge less than the posted or metered fare. The market-entry limitation in the ordinance would shift from the number of companies allowed to the number of vehicles allowed. Mr. MacDonald inquired about the rationale for the market-entry mechanism. Ms. Utecht replied that the goal is to stabilize the industry by balancing demand for service with the number of service providers. Market-entry limi- tation also seeks to guarantee minimum levels of insurance and vehicle safe- ty. Mr. MacDonald asked how the City can provide for incremental growth in the number of vehicles based on growth in population and demand, and Ms. Utecht replied that the ordinance allows for that. Also, the addition of accessible vehicles to a fleet is not restricted. Mr. Nicholson suggested simply requiring operators to bring proof of insur- ance to vehicle inspections. Mr. Boles agreed, with the addition of stan- dards for vehicle cleanliness and driver competence. Ms. Bascom replied that there has been a public outcry against the quality and cleanliness of the service. She favored retaining and adjusting the regulations, rather than abandoning them. City Manager Gleason added that the taxi industry had supported the 1990 increase in regulation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 1 e e e Mr. Green supported developing standards for cleanliness. Mr. MacDonald called for minimum safety and health regulations. Mr. Boles proposed carry- ing out random interval inspections for cleanliness. Ms. Utecht said that another change to the existing ordinance would be the private right of action, which seeks to reduce enforcement not related to health and safety. If, within 30 days of a complaint, the City has not ini- tiated or indicated that it intends to take enforcement action, the complain- ant could take legal action against the violator. The council agreed with the main points of the ordinance revisions with the addition of eliminating all restrictions on market entry. In reply to a question from Mr. Boles, Ms. Utecht said that the current cost of licensing does not meet last year's costs of administering the ordinance. However, she believes that costs and license fees will balance next year. Ms. Ehrman arrived. B. WORK SESSION: WILLAKENZIE REFINEMENT PLAN Allen Lowe, Planning and Development Department, explained that the Willakenzie Area Plan is the result of more than three years of work by a citizens advisory committee, staff, and metro area planning commissions. Represented in the Willakenzie Area Plan are 25 individual Metro Plan amend- ments, 21 individual TransPlan amendments, and 18 bicycle amendments. The council will ultimately adopt the Willakenzie Plan as well as amendments on all the plans. The Willakenzie Planning Team (WPT) forwarded its recommendations on the plan to the Eugene Planning Commission last August. The Planning Commission held a joint public hearing in October and subsequently met six times to address issues arising from the public hearing. While most of the WPT's recommenda- tions remain intact, the Planning Commission has changed several of them. The WPT continues to object to many of those changes. The plan contains five elements: land use, transportation, public safety, public facilities and services, and neighborhood design. The WPT considers the key land use issue to be the application of minimum- density standards. Although the Metro Plan calls for implementing minimum- density standards, the City has not done so. This plan would set minimum levels at 10 units per acre for medium-density and 15 units per acre for high-density development. Jim Croteau, Planning and Development Department, noted that the City of Springfield has had minimum-density standards for several years. This is the first plan that has proposed minimum-density standards in Eugene, Mr. Lowe said, and that has caused some controversy. Although the Planning Commission MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 2 recommends code changes to apply the minimum-density standards citywide, he ~ added, those code changes are not part of this plan. Mr. Boles asked how Willakenzie's present density compares to that of other neighborhoods. Mr. Lowe responded that Willakenzie has the third-lowest density of any neighborhood in the area and is less dense than any neighbor- hood inside current city boundaries. Transportation was a significant issue for the WPT, Mr. Lowe said. A 50-60 percent increase in traffic volumes is expected. The TransPlan amendments and policies attempt to maintain general mobility while minimizing negative impacts of increased traffic. The Willakenzie Plan would create new major streets in the area in order to plan development around them. Opposition has arisen to proposed through streets, particularly a proposed continuous street between Gilham Road and County Farm Road. Mr. Robinette said that it is his understanding that the Lane Transit Dis- trict (LTD) desires the through street for buses, and there are mechanisms to restrict through access to buses. Mr. Lowe confirmed that. The through street would allow public transit to pass through medium-density, multi-fami- ly areas in order to increase ridership. e Mr. Nicholson felt that Willakenzie residents, who are already on the periph- ery, bear a small percentage of the traffic that they themselves create. Mr. Boles said that the collector in contention is in a relatively undeveloped area, currently outside the city limits. He asked whether development should follow transportation planning or the reverse, and saw an opportunity to address that issue. Mr. Robinette said the main issue is proximity of the new street to an ele- mentary school. Mr. Lowe responded that the school would be separated from the street by new development. Mr. Lowe discussed the public safety aspect of the plan. The emphasis is on improving emergency response time, since much of the area cannot presently be served within four minutes. The plan proposes developing a public safety station, with interim use of the existing station. Ms. Bascom suggested cooperation with facilities in the Gateway area. Mr. Lowe said that while such service exchanges occur presently, as Willakenzie develops, they will become inadequate. Mr. Boles said that the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) is interested in joint fire station jurisdiction to meet needs in both Willakenzie and Gateway. Mr. Lowe explained that the public safety station, as proposed in the plan, would be a combined police, fire, and emerg~ncy medical services station. Mr. Green asked about the costs associated with the new station, and Mr. Lowe replied that none were included in the information available. Mr. Gleason said a master plan analysis of existing and proposed stations was made by the Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) at the request of the Budget Committee. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 3 One problem with a joint station is that Springfield does not have a consoli- ~ dated system, he noted. The public facilities and services component of the plan has not been contro- versial, Mr. Lowe said. Mr. Nicholson said that in the original proposal, neighborhood commercial would be restricted to specific areas; he asked about the effect of the Planning Commission's removal of those restrictions. The process for siting would be that of the Metro Plan, Mr. Lowe responded. The WPT objects to siting new neighborhood commercial development throughout the area as a matter of principle, prefering to increase the size of existing neighborhood nodes. e e Mr. MacDonald saw controversy in the issues of parks and neighborhood commer- cial within the existing developed area. He foresaw congestion at the inter- faces with transportation. Mr. Lowe responded that commercial design standards developed to address the traffic and effects of neighborhood commercial development on adjacent resi- dential neighbors have not satisfied the WPT. Mr. Nicholson asked if surveys had been taken on the issue. Mr. Lowe said that at public meetings, the response rate on that issue was quite low. Asked his view, Mr. Robinette said that although everyone would like to pre- serve the status quo, it must be asked whether that is good planning. Mr. Lowe mentioned the issue of the functional classification of Jeppessen Acres and Satre/Van Duyn streets. The WPT recommended that the collector classification not be applied to those streets. Calling them collectors would require adding sidewalks, curbs, and gutters. Mr. Boles said that a large number of streets in the low-density area are rolled-edge streets. He suggested that the council review the policy of allowing rolled-edge streets for which the City is responsible. The council agreed to a future review of the issue. Mr. Lowe said that a deviation from existing sidewalk policy in the area was agreed to by staff. Many of the streets are very wide, and the WPT and staff agreed that the City sidewalk policy would be counter-productive. Mr. Lowe said that the WPT had proposed closing Satre/Van Duyn Street where Bogart meets Bailey, but the Planning Commission reversed the recommendation and designated Satre as a collector street. Mr. Gleason said that if a street is closed within a collector pattern, the pattern will simply shift. Another issue for future development is the site review process versus the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process, Mr. Lowe said. The WPT recommended site review in opportunity areas A and B. However, the Planning Commission decided to use site review in opportunity area C, and the PUD process in A and B. The commission felt that the site review process does not allow for the comprehensive planning needed for A and B. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 4 e e e Regarding Gillespie Butte, Mr. Lowe continued, both the WPT and the Eugene Planning Commission recommend maintaining a building height restriction of 585 feet above sea level. The Planning Commission granted ten feet of relief to one parcel on the butte's west side. At the urging of another property owner on the butte, the Lane County Planning Commission reviewed the matter and has recommended to the County Board of Commissioners that a 595-foot standard be applied to all parcels on the butte. The council will hear public testimony on the Willakenzie Plan at a joint elected officials hearing on April 29, at which no action will be taken. Subsequently, it will hold a work session and then schedule the matter for action. In preparation for the public hearing, Mr. Boles requested a re- sponse to the WPT's concerns. He asked that a staff response to public tes- timony at a October 15, 1991, hearing be organized around the points in the Planning Team's most recent memorandum and provided to the council. Ms. Ehrman suggested that council members visit the areas in question and invite the County Board of Commissioners and the Springfield City Council to join them. Ms. Bascom said she has heard criticisms of how long the Willakenzie process has taken, and asked if the council could hear from the WPT and the Planning Commission about the length of the process and how it could be shortened. C. COUNCIL WORK PLAN Pam Berrian, Council Coordinator, distributed the council's proposed work plan. There have been a few delays, she said; for example, with the issues of storm water management, 11th Avenue and Willamette Street, and commercial lands. However, items are generally coming before the council in an orderly way. Mr. Green asked about developments with the alternative modes marketing plan under Goal 5: Transportation. Ms. Berrian said that staff can furnish an update on it. Ms. Ehrman commented that some council agendas are extremely long (especially after council breaks), while others are much shorter, and asked that a bal- ance be kept in mind when setting the agendas. Mr. MacDonald suggested plac- ing several brief items on an agenda that contains a few lengthy items. Mr. Miller suggested that meetings with many lengthy items could begin at 6 p.m. on days when a dinner work session is not needed. The council agreed. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 5 e e e D. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS Mr. Boles reported that the City Council Officers are meeting and, in con- junction with the May 18 Process Session, it is hoped that discussion can begin on boards and commissions review. The Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) had a discussion on the relative merits of various alternatives to automobiles, Mr. Boles said, and on how to organize joint transportation planning by the three jurisdictions. He re- ported that EWEB has been invited to make a presentation to the council on lessening dependence on the Bonneville Power Administration. The presenta- tion should occur after Round III of Eugene Decisions. Mr. Boles added that that week's Council Committee on Infrastructure meeting focused on the Storm Water Management Plan and a review of the systems devel- opment charges (SDCs). He asked how the council wished to compensate for SDC exemptions for nonprofit agencies. Ms. Bascom said that the Housing Policy Board had received encouraging re- ports that development of several low-income housing projects is proceeding. The council briefly discussed whether to take action on the issue of the dogs- off-leash program at the Wayne Morse Ranch. Mr. Nicholson felt that the program is successful and should be given a chance, and that there are rela- tively few opponents. Mr. Boles agreed that the council should not handle the matter at this point. He did not favor expenditures unauthorized by the council for dog-run fencing in parks. Mr. Green agreed that the council should not address the matter at this time. Ms. Ehrman expressed concern that development of the Historical Park Board's master plan had been unexpectedly disrupted by the issue of the dogs-off- leash program. Mr. MacDonald said that the council should address its rela- tionship with the Historical Park Board. He felt that the dogs-off-leash program is seriously degrading the park; Morse Ranch has other uses which risk being overwhelmed by the dogs-off-leash program. Mr. Nicholson observed that some park neighbors are self-centered, and ques- tioned the role of the Historical Park Board. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 6 ~ The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. R~spect u ~ ~~ --' Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Christina Cowger) mncc 041392-530 e e MINUTfS--fugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 13, 1992 Page 7