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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/10/05 Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chamber—City Hall October 10, 2005 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Gary Papé. Council President George Poling convened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilor Gary Papé were not present as they were visiting Eugene’s sister cities of Kakegawa, Japan, and Chinju, South Korea. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Council President Poling welcomed everyone to the City Council meeting and reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, confirmed with staff that Mayor Piercy would have access to the information he provided. He alleged that in a recent Mayor’s one-on-one meeting she informed him of her request that the University of Oregon solicit public input on its plans to build a basketball arena. He wished for this to be put into writing in order to show others that she made this request. He opined that the University was “stonewalling.” He believed that the issue of eminent domain had “come to a head” over the summer. He said now there was talk of an indoor track on campus. He was concerned that eminent domain would be used. He noted that Congressman Peter DeFazio was working on legislation to protect people from the frivolous use of eminent domain. He reiterated his concern that there needed to be more public input regarding the planned basketball arena. Charles Biggs , 540 Antelope Way, spoke in support of Ballot Measure 20-106. He recommended people in the audience review the Web site www.yeson20-106.org. He averred that detractors of the measure were given ample chance to state their points of view but had not come forward. He felt that what was at the center of discussion was the necessity of public transparency and that authorizing the City Manager to hire an outside auditor ran counter to this need. He urged everyone to vote in support of the ballot measure. Janet O’Bryant , 85 North Madison Street, reminded the council that she testified at prior meetings. She wished to know where the council stood on the creation of a ‘quiet zone’ in the Whiteaker Neighborhood so that train whistles would not be allowed to blow as frequently in the night. She related that she contacted the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and City Engineer Tom Larsen about requesting a noise study to establish the levels the train whistles reached. She asserted that trains came through her neighborhood six to MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 10, 2005 Page 1 Regular Session ten times a night with many train whistle blasts. She said this was interrupting her sleep and affecting her health. She felt it was affecting property values as well, but she could not afford to move. She encouraged the council to be vigilant in acting to mitigate this problem and to help bring livability back to her neighborhood. Kevin Matthews , PO Box 1588, Eugene, president of Friends of Eugene, wished to comment on the work session that preceded the regular council meeting. He conveyed the point of view of Friends of Eugene on the minor code amendments. He averred that they were mostly minor, but a number of them represented readjustments through a streamlined “low involvement” process. He thought staff was correct that the minor amendments would not cause Ballot Measure 37 claims because he asserted that “virtually every one of them was a liberalization” of development standards. He alleged that the amendments would create increases in property values because they would permit development not currently allowed. Mr. Matthews thanked the council for its 6:1 vote in favor of taking a close look at the Stormwater Acquisition Plan. He surmised from the discussion that there was a 65 percent overlap between the waterways identified in the Goal 5 water resources process and the waterways identified by the stormwater water quality process. He thought 50 percent more length of waterways were identified for stormwater quality than was identified for Goal 5 quality. He felt it should be the other way around because the habitat required clean water. Mr. Matthews expressed appreciation for the City Manager’s fiscal discipline. He thought it brought up the question of whether environmental stewardship was being conducted on a piecemeal basis while the City’s fiscal stewardship was done on a very “sophisticated, robust basis.” He asked how the community could move toward a “triple bottom line kind of sustainability concept.” He asked how the City could have environmental budgeting that considered and understood the carrying capacity of its natural systems. Council President Poling closed the Public Forum and called for questions and comments from the council. Councilor Bettman thanked everyone for their testimony. In response to Mr. Biggs, she wished to clarify that the police union leadership attended all of the meetings she attended and were very collaborative. She related that the subcommittee of the Police Commission had also spent an hour in discussion with the union’s lawyer. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes -September 12, 2005, Work Session -September 12, 2005, City Council Meeting -September 21, 2005, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Call for Public Hearing on Alley Vacation for the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene (VRI 04-1) Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved approval of the Consent Calendar. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 10, 2005 Page 2 Regular Session Councilor Bettman said that she submitted minutes corrections electronically. She added that she articulated her issues with the other consent item with the City Manager and that she looked forward to seeing further information. Councilor Poling noted the corrections and deemed them, without objection, approved. Councilor Kelly stated that he likewise submitted corrections to the minutes electronically. Councilor Poling noted the corrections and deemed them, without objection, approved. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. 3.PUBLIC HEARING and POSSIBLE ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Prohibiting Smoking in Public Structures; Amending the Sunset Provisions in Section 4 of Ordinance No. 20346; and Providing an Immediate Effective Date City Manager Taylor explained that the ordinance would extend the moratorium so that the work the council provided direction on in the ordinance of the previous meeting could “catch up” with it. Councilor Poling opened the public hearing. Seeing that no one wished to testify, he closed the public hearing. Councilor Kelly noted that it would take at least six of the seven councilors present to vote to approve the extension of the moratorium to avoid a gap. He urged his colleagues to support the extension whether or not they agreed with the proposed changes to outdoor smoking areas to avoid developments that would be contradictory to the ordinance occurring while the moratorium had ceased. Councilor Bettman remarked that councilors had not previously held up a vote of unanimous consent because they disagreed with the outcome. She underscored that in this case the vote was strictly process. Seeing no objections to taking action at the present meeting, Councilor Poling called for a motion. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4908, an ordinance concerning prohibited smoking in public structures. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:1; Councilor Solomon voting in opposition. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 10, 2005 Page 3 Regular Session