Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/19/1979 Meeting e M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL September 19, 1979 Adjourned meeting from September 12, 1979, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by Council President Jack Delay, September 19, 1979, 11:45 a.m., Council Chamber, with the following' Councilors present: Jack Delay, Betty Smith, D. W. Hamel, Scott Lieuallen, Brian Obie, Gretchen Miller, and Emily Schue. Mayor Gus Keller and Councilor Eric Haws were absent. 1. ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL, APPOINTMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS A. Joint Housing Committee Position on Multi-Family Housing--Ms. Schue said the Joint Housing Committee is ready to discuss the multi-family housing issue as it pertains to future density at any time the Council wishes to do so. B. Revenue Measures on Ballot--Ms. Miller mentioned that the Revenue Task Force has not yet presented a report to the Council on whether to place the two revenue tax measures on the November ballot. She referred to the fact that Council had earlier tabled those two measures e pendi ng that report. Ms. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, to remove the measures from the table and bring back. Motion carried, all Councilors present voting aye except Mr. Hamel, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Obie voting no. Ms. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, to table and inde- finitely postpone the two tax measures. Ms. Miller said it seems clear there is no way to get the measures on the November ballot. She thinks it is unfortunate because they were blocked by the actions of a minority, and that action will seriously impact next year's budget situation. She hopes the Task Force will still consider a variety of revenue sources and come up with helpful recommendations. Ms. Schue mentioned that the Council might want to give the Task Force more direction. Mr. Delay thinks the motion is a good one; he feels that it is unfortunate because of the increase it will mean in next year's budget and he hopes that the measures can be taken to the people eventually. Vote was taken on the motion, which carried unanimously. e 5/3 9/19/79--1 . C. Room Tax Appointment--Manager indicated that Miriam Fulbright would like to continue to serve. Her term has now expired. It was also e noted that Mr. Lieuallen's term as a Councilor on the Room Tax Com- mittee is expiring. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, to reappoint Ms. Miriam Fulbright for a term expiring 7/27/82. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to reappoint Mr. Lieuallen for a term expiring 7/27/80. Motion carried, all Councilors present voting aye except Mr. Lieuallen abstaining. D. Council Goals Session--Manager reminded Councilors of the Council Goal Session Thursday night and Friday, September 20 and 21. The van will leave City Hall at 4 p.m. Since there are issues on the agenda which will affect Planning, Public Works, and EWEB, he wished to know if the Councilors would mind having the directors of Planning and Public Works, as well as Greg Page of the City Manager's Office and Keith Parks of EWEB, attend parts of the session. Council agreed to the process. Manager also said that Don Murray had suggested Councilors choose topics to cover and lead the discussion themselves. He would simply be there to guide and facilitate the group if the ground rules were violated. It was decided that this mattter could be determined Thursday evening. E. Data Processing Director Resignation--Manager announced the resignation of Joe Williams as Data Processing Director, effective September 30, e 1979. A regional and possibly a nationwide recruitment will be conducted. A party will be held for Mr. Williams on Thursday evening, September 27. F. Quasi-Judicial Contacts Prior To A Hearing--Manager noted distribution of a legal opinion indicating that any prearranged meeting of Councilors (even with no quorum present) becomes an open meeting matter and subject to the open meeting law. It does not apply to meetings held that are not prearranged. Mr. Delay wondered about talking to staff. City Attorney Stan Long said that generally it would not apply unless it would drastically affect the Councilor's ability to be impartial. G. Meeting Announcements--Manager announced there will be no Revenue Task Force meeting this week and that the next one will be held September 27, but he did say there would be a Metropolitan Area Transportation Committee meeting this week, Thursday, 12:00 noon. II. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL A. Approval of Council Minutes of September 10 and 12, 1979 Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, to approve the Council minutes of September 10, 1979, and September 12, 1979. Motion carried unanimously. - 5/~ 9/19/7g--2 -- -- . e B. Call For Public Hearing CB 1989--Call public hearing for October 24, 1979, re: easement vacation for Spectra-Physics for property located north of West 11th Avenue between Danebo Avenue and Terry Street (EV 79-9), was read by Council bill number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting that it be read in full. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Motion carried unanimously, and the bill was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All Councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18500. c. Improvement Petitions (Affected property on petition; assessable costs: sanitary sewers, 13 percent; City costs, $35,000; this project has also been requested by DEQ due to health hazard) Res. No. 3238--Authorizing sanitary sewer construction to serve the area - from 160 feet east of Henderson Avenue to Glenwood Boulevard and between Judkins Road and 160 feet south of Glenwood Drive (960), was read by number and title. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried, all Councilors present voting aye, except Mr. Hamel abstaining. (Affected property on petition; assessable costs: paving, 100 percent; sidewalk, 100 percent; City costs, paving and sidewalk, $24,000; storm sewer, $6,000; Parks Department property, paving, $64,000; sanitary sewer, $17,000; total City costs, $111,000), was read by number and title. Res. No. 3239--Authorizing street paving and sidewalk construction on Willamette from Stonewood Drive to 52nd Avenue (1731), was read by number and title. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. - 5/5 9/19/79--3 III. PUBLIC HEARINGS e A. Street Vacation, Robertson, Dillon, and Harmon (SV 79-3) Recommended approval by Planning Commission July 9, 1979; Vote: 6-0. Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. CB 1990--Authorizing street vacation of property located on Friendly Street north of Storey Boulevard, vacation of Friendly Street beginning at the northerly margin of Storey Boulevard, north 220 feet, was read by number and title only, there being no Councilors present requesting that it be read in full. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Motion carried unanimously and the bill was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All Council ors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18501. B. Easement Vacation for D. Scofield (EV 79-7) Recommended approval by Planning Commission July 9, 1979; Vote: 6-0. e Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. CB 1991--Authorizing easement vacation of property located between Wallace Street and Grimes Street near West 1st Avenue, vacation of a railroad easement approximately 800 feet long was read by number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting that it be read in full. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be read the second time by Council Bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this time, and that the bill include an emergency clause. Motion carried unanimously and the bill was read the second time by Council bill number only. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. A 11 Council ors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18502. OJ C. River Road Water District Withdraw1l Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. - 5110 9/19/79--4 CB 1992--An ordinace withdrawing from the River Road Water District for e property already annexed to City (Carlton/Jenson/Parks) (AZ 78-10) was read by Council bill number and title only, there being no Councilors present requesting that it be read in full. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be read the second time by Council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Motion carried unanimously, and the bill was read the second time by Council bill number only. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All Council ors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and number 18503. D. Junction City Water District Withdrawal Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. CB 1993--An ordinance withdrawing from Junction City Water District for property already annexed to City (Maher) (AZ 78-18) was read by Council bill number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting that it be read in full. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be read e the second time by Council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Motion carried unanimously, and the bill was read the second time by Council bill number only. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All Councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18504. IV. STATUS REPORT AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE ORDINANCE FOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER OPERATION Manager explained that a revised ordinance has been distributed to Councilors, including changes which rename the organization, increase the members from seven to nine, and define precisely the Commission's responsibilities. The new commission would be advisory in nature to a newly-created department. Les Anderson, Civic Center Commission, mentioned three important considerations: 1. The ordinance seems to conform with the necessary legalities; 2. Making the Commission responsible to the City Council will give the public greater opportunity to voice their opinions; e 9/19/79--5 ,5/7 3. A City operation of this kind reflects the kind of community activity - we have in Eugene. A private non-profit corporation might reduce public access of the use of the Center. In answer to a question from Mr. Smith, Mr. Anderson said he supports the changes in the ordinance. Public hearing on the matter will be held Monday night, September 24, 1979. Mr. Delay wondered what "operational matters" meant as a part of the duties of the Commission. Mr. Lieuallen says they are charged with reporting to the City Manager and the Performing Arts director 9n operational matters. On policy matters they report directly to the City Council. Ms. Smith wondered about the possibility of the Commission being advisory in some way to the City Manager in hiring the new director. City Attorney Stan Long said there is difficulty in imposing hiring restrictions on the City Manager by ordinance. It violates the perogative of the City Manager to have exclusive control over personnel matters as required by the City Charter. Advising on the selection of the architects was a different matter because the architects are independent contractors. Ms. Smith wondered about giving consideration to Council representation on the Commission. Manager responded that Or. Boyd had said the clout of the Commission depends on the quality of the decisions of the people appointed. There is no reason why Councilors could not serve. Mr. Obie said he felt the Council should be prepared to discuss at the public hearing whether the two - additional members should be Council members. He also wondered what plans there might be for involving the Commission in any way relative to the director selection. Manager said it would be okay at this point for the Commission to work on the profile of the general type and qualifications of the manager, but beyond that he was not prepared to say. Ms. Schue wondered if there was any discussion on assigning seats to particular elements in the community. She was told that staff had given consideration to that matter, but decided not to try to mandate representation by various groups as this could lead to endless debate~that the quality of the appointees was the paramont consideration. Ms. Miller feels the set-up could be crucial, keeping a balance so as to maintain public assessibility and not let it get politicalo Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Lieuallen, to hold a public hearing on Monday, September 24, 1979, and hold the ordinance over to that date. Motion carried unanimously. V. CONDOMINIUM CONVERSION--STAFF REPORTS The matter was discussed at the September 18 Housing Committee meeting, and a memo from Robin Johnson, HCC, was distributed to Council members. It summarized the conversions to date in the city. The Joint Housing Committee recommends that the City contact the owners of the Patterson Towers and urge them to e 5/g 9/19/79--6 . e continue communication with the tenants to more fully outline the conversion process and tenant alternatives within that process. The Committee takes no position at this time on the moritorium issue raised in a letter to the Committee from the West University Neighborhood. City Attorney Stan Long spoke to the issue of moratoriums. He said that, in Oregon, condominium conversion is a process of changing the form of ownership of property. Application is made to the state to do so. Cities have not regulated the manner on owning, only the manner in which used. The notion of a moratorium to regulate property ownership puts the public body in a different area of interest. Therefore, there will be questions of the Council's authority and wisdom in doing so. The home rule power has had its heart cut out because of the decision in the LaGrande-Astoria case~ That has changed a Council's ability to deal creatively and enter new areas. When imposing a moratorium, it must be done so only to pursue in good faith a specific legislative matter. There must be a plan and a reason for doing so. If it is Council's wish to prevent people from changing the manner in which they own property, and if it is decided subsequently that that decision is wrong, the Council will bear some risk. The legal view is that, at this time, it would be wise to move cautiously and only if there is a specific purpose in mind. The Attorney's Office cannot give an unqualified go-ahead because it is a new area. Ms. Schue wondered what the plan would have to consist of if the Council were to impose a moratorium because of a plan they have in mind. Mr. Long said there would have to be a good faith intent to enact a permanent law, and outline of what the ordinance would accomplish and encompass. It is not good to impose a e moratorium just to find out whether there is a problem. Mr. Lieuallen wondered about having a plan, imposing a moratorium, and then later down the road finding it is not feasible. What would the City's liability be? Mr. Long responded that if someone's tax situation is affected by such a moratorium, he or she would probably look to the Council for repayment. There have been previous incidents in which it was determined that the public body acted capriciously. Ms. Miller's inclination would be that the Joint Housing Committee should continue to work on it. Manager thought the Joint Housing Committee should also look at other possible solutions to alleviate undesirable effects. For example, what might the City do it there was a serious displacement of lower-income persons? Ms. Smith feels the Joint Housing Committee should continue to study the matter, plus she feels the Council could take a look at it at their retreat. Mr. Hamel wondered what the effects would be if these properties had local tax write-offs at the time of construction or federal aid in construction. City Attorney responded that, if that were the case, there might be some basis on which the City could regulate. He emphasized, however, that there needs to be some sophisticated staff work e ~/~ 9/19/79--7 . done to have the matter come before the Council. Ms. Miller felt it would be e helpful to have the extent of the problem and analysis from the Joint Housing Committee and discussion of the balancing of the variety of problems ranging from people on fixed incomes or those who prefer not to convert, people who will be displaced and where they might go, results and impact on central city housing patterns, etc. Mr. Lieuallen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to direct the staff and the Manager to get data from whichever departments are involved, and get back with a recommendation on the scope of the problems and the options within two weeks. Manager suggested that two months would be a better time frame. Mr. Lieuallen responded that it should be done now or it will not be timely. Ms. Schue wondered about simply having answers on whether a moratorium would be possible in two weeks. Mr. Lieuallen said that had really been the intent of his motion. Manager said that, as a compromise, within a month staff could have a status report laying the groundwork on whether there could be a moratorium. With consent of the second, Mr. Lieuallen altered his motion to that effect. Vote was taken on the motion, which carried unan- imously, and it was understood staff would have a status report in a month laying groundwork on whether there could be a moratorium. VI. STATE DEPARTMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REFERRAL ON PROPOSED MCKENZIE-WILLAMETTE PORT DISTRICT A draft of a letter has been presented to Council addressed to the Oregon - Department of Economic Development outlining concerns and comments of the Eugene Economic Development Committee, as developed at their meeting of September 11, 1979. Ms. Miller said the Committee suggested that the letter be redrafted to make it more positive in tone and more neutral, less expressive of its fears. Manager said that, as he understood it, the urban service boundary is the projected boundary. It does go through Glenwood. He said they have verbally promised they will not include property within. the City of Eugene. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Ms. Miller, to approve the letter as drafted and forward to the State Department of Economic Development. Motion carried unanimously. VII. SCHEDULING OF MAJOR CAPITAL OUTLAY ACTIONS-- FISCAL IMPACT REPORT AND FURTHER DISCUSSION Manager said there is some urgency on these matters because of placing items on the November ballot. Ms. Smith said she would like to discuss the projects in more detail, and would therefore like to defer discussion until the Council retreat on September 20 and 21. e 52,0 9/19/79.--8 VIII. AIRLINES NEGOTIATIONS--STATUS REPORT e Mr. Shelby was present to say that the memo distributed to Council is self- expl anatory. He feels the package on airlines negotiations is a good one and the City Attorneyls office is drawing up an addendum to the lease agreements. Ms. Smith wondered about time frame on building expansion. Mr. Shelby responded he hoped that the Airport Commission could have a November 180 recommendation ready. Mr. Hamel wondered if the Crash Fire Rescue would be 24 hours a day, and Mr. Shelby responded he is working with the Fire Chief on that and no decision has been made as yet. Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjourned to September 24, 1979. c~)~ City Manager OP:ky/CMb7 - e 9/19/79--9 521