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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/13/03 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room-Eugene City Hall October 13, 2003 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Papd, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Nancy Nathanson, George Poling. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. Items from Council, Mayor, and City Manager Mr. Meisner asked for information regarding the current status of patrols at Monroe Park, given the challenges facing the Eugene Police Department Patrol Section. He said he understood that some of the problems that had been taking place downtown had shifted to Monroe Park, and he had heard there were some assaults. He asked about the potential of arranging for additional patrols if there was no foot patrol, and about the possibility of the Senior Volunteers "keeping an eye" on the park. Mr. Meisner noted a letter the council received from Lane County Administrator Bill Van Vactor regarding the Board of County Commissioners' rejection of the City's proposed Vertical Housing zone. He requested advice from City Manager Dennis Taylor about what the council could do to retain the zone as a tool in its downtown tool kit. Ms. Solomon announced that the Bethel Weed & Seed Program had received another year of grant funding from the Department of Justice. She noted that this was the fourth year of grant funding. She commended the grant coordinator, Loma Flormo, for the work she did for the community. At Ms. Solomon's request, Linda Phelps of the Eugene Police Department (EPD) noted the items funded through the grant, which included youth programs delivered through Petersen Barn, funding for overtime for officers to do focused and bicycle patrols, and some support for the half-time coordinator at the Bethel Public Safety Station. Ms. Solomon asked about the potential of placing Ms. Flormo at the station on a full-time basis. Ms. Phelps noted that Ms. Flormo was an employee of the Planning and Development Department, and said that EPD and the PDD staff could work jointly on the question. Ms. Solomon asked for follow-up on her question. Ms. Solomon said that each week she asked the manager how the City was doing on the County Road Fund issue. She acknowledged that the council recently received a memorandum on the issue, and said she wanted the public to know the City was still actively pursuing its relationship with Lane County to address MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 1 Work Session transportation funding. Mr. Taylor announced that a joint jurisdictional meeting would occur on November 25, 2003. Mr. Kelly noted the council's receipt of a letter from the Shelton-McMurphy-Johnson House requesting that the 3rd/4th Connector be renamed for a historic figure when it was improved. He asked about precedent for the street renaming and the process for doing so. He recalled Ms. Bettman's request for a "big picture" process related to the issue of street renamings, and asked for progress on that. Mr. Meisner noted that the revised Whiteaker Plan included a policy calling for the renaming of the street. The advisory committee that wrote the plan had recommended the street be renamed to %helton-McMurphy Way." The council had subsequently adopted the recommendation. Mr. Kelly wanted the council to have more information about what the Mayor's Parks and Open Space Committee was doing. He recalled that the last update the council heard was in January 2003, and the Web site did not appear to have been updated. Mr. Taylor noted that a work session on the comprehensive planning process was scheduled for October 29, and indicated he would follow up on the issue of the Web site. Ms. Bettman said that she had heard from several constituents interested in the extra money generated by the parks bond measure. She said that there were those who wanted to see the fields at Adams School drained and improved, and others who opposed the staff proposal for the staff-proposed improvements at Amazon Park. Ms. Bettman said that constituents complained that the public presentation regarding Amazon Park project made it appear the project was a ~done deal." She asked how decisions about the improvements were made and if they were consistent with the statements associated with the parks bond measure. She asked if there was a way for citizens to be involved at this point, and what venue existed for that involve- ment. Ms. Bettman reported that on October 9, the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) discussed the Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds in the context of street preservation. She offered two motions to the MPC, one to combine the preservation and modernization category so the City could resubmit its projects, which the mayor supported but which subsequently failed, and the second to take $900,000 now being allocated to new projects to be allocated to preservation so that Eugene could resubmit its projects and compete for those dollars to work on its backlog of preservation projects. The mayor voted against that motion, and it also failed. Ms. Bettman expressed concern that such actions took budget allocations and policy decisions further away from accountable elected representatives, and called for council discussion of the issue. Ms. Taylor shared Ms. Bettman's concerns about the way decisions were made about road funding. Ms. Taylor announced that City Manager Taylor would be at the October 14 meeting of the Southeast Neighbors. Ms. Taylor reported that a constituent had called her and suggested that Abigail Scott Dunaway be placed on a list of future street names. She thought the City should be gathering suggestions for future street names. Ms. Taylor said that she was contacted by several constituents who were very distressed by the idea of any MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 2 Work Session further development at Amazon Park. She hoped that the staff decisions regarding the park could be influenced by the public. Ms. Taylor complimented the City's Public Works Department for its traffic calming efforts on 30th Avenue. She said that people were happy with the improvements, and traffic was less backed up than in the past because of changes in the timing of lights. People were very happy that they had been contacted by staff for input. Mr. Pap6 said that the improvements being made at Amazon Park had been planned for some time. He said that some of the improvements would alleviate problems caused by muddy areas in the park. Regarding the use of any extra parks bond funds, Mr. Pap6 wanted any allocation of those funds to be reviewed by the Mayor's Parks and Open Space Plan Committee and the council. Mr. Pap6 said he attended the United Way Volunteers for Neighbors event the previous week and had been very impressed by what was being done in the community without any public funds. Mr. Pap~ congratulated staff for getting the bond measure for the fire station on River Road out so rapidly. Mayor Torrey agreed with Mr. Pap~ about the value of the United Way event, and suggested that he and the City Manager write a letter thanking those who organized the event. Mayor Torrey noted the upcoming United Front visit to Washington, DC, and said that the 4J and Bethel school districts were interested in becoming involved so they could seek federal funding for after-school programs. He asked Mr. Meisner, acting through the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, to contact the districts regarding the issue. Mayor Torrey said he attended the opening of the new park off Sorrel Lane. He said the new park was great, and the playground area was outstanding, particularly for small children. He also noted that a concrete wall was being installed around the new skateboard park in the Bethel neighborhood. He said that the addition of the children's playground area was also wonderful. City Manager Taylor reported that the City had received eight different bids for the fire station bonds. He said that Moody's Bond Rating Service had recently reaffirmed the City's AA-2 status for general obligation bonds and AAA status for limited tax debt, such as the fire bonds. He said that the rating reflected the City's strong financial performance, continued economic development efforts, and low debt levels. Moody's expressed confidence in the City's ability to maintain its budget structure balance while maintaining healthy reserves over the long-term. He said that the Reserve for Revenue Shortfalls had not only been useful closing some budget gaps, but had also reduced the City's debt service costs in the long- term because it helped the City maintain the confidence of the bond market and financial community. City Manager Taylor reported that former City Manager Jim Johnson had agreed to assist the City in implementing the City Council's recently adopted resolution related to hospital siting. City Manager Taylor referred to the report provided to the council on temporary patrol staffing changes. He said that it took some time to get new officers on the street. He assured the council that the changes were temporary and did not represent a long-term approach. He said that staff was working on reducing police MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 3 Work Session training times. Ms. Taylor said she had viewed a new police station in Centerville, Ohio, that had been funded completely by inheritance taxes. She suggested that was an idea for the council to pursue. Mr. Meisner indicated he would follow-up on Mayor Torrey's request regarding the school districts' involvement in the United Front lobbying visit, and suggested the two districts prepare some information about what services they had been able to save and rely upon with the new school levy that the community recently passed. B. WORK SESSION: An Ordinance Concerning the Downtown Area and Amending Sections 3.005, 3.344, 4.870, 4.871, 4.872, 4.990, 5.010, and 5.252 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Lieutenant Chuck Tilby joined the council for the item. Acting Police Chief Thad Buchanan and Linda Phelps of the Eugene Police Department were also present. Lt. Tilby provided background on the proposed ordinance, reporting that following the opening of Broadway and the demise of the downtown pedestrian mall, a consortium of private and public individuals involved in downtown issues had convened to discuss the implications of those events, particularly as they related to criminal activity in the downtown by various youth groups that frequented the area. Those participating in the discussions had been struck by the amount of adult criminal predation on youth frequenting the mall and Park Blocks. Lt. Tilby said those groups frequently had a negative impact on people seeking to use downtown and the Park Blocks; causing people to feel as they were not in a safe environment. After business hours, the Park Blocks were used for drug dealing, prostitution, and low-level gang activity. The activity then relocated to the Broadway Plaza, in part because it was not governed by park rules as were the Park Blocks. Lt. Tilby said that some of the activity then migrated to Monroe Park. Lt. Tilby said that another problem the consortium considered was the placement of newspaper distribution boxes. Such boxes were appearing all over the downtown and one installation frequently engendered the placement of additional boxes, which were chained to lamp posts, trees, and bicycle racks placed in curb cuts and the right-of-way. The boxes created a barrier to pedestrian passage, particularly to those with disabilities. Lt. Tilby reported that at the urging of private sector agencies such as Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI), Downtown Events Management, Inc. (DEMI), and various social service providers, a task group was formed to review and redefine the mall regulations. The task group included representatives of various City departments, DE1, DEMI, Lane Transit District, Farmers Market, and Saturday Market. The group worked with the City Attorney's Office on the ordinance before the council. Lt. Tilby said the goal of the ordinance was to provide the City with the tools necessary to provide a safe environment for patrons and residents of downtown in a manner consistent with the long-term goals of the private and public sectors. He said that essentially, the ordinance applied the prior mall ordinance and mall rules to a larger physical area that was a compilation of smaller public gathering places, sometimes as small as a sidewalk. Mayor Torrey called for council questions and comments. MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Taylor asked why new laws regulating newspaper boxes were needed when the City had existing laws regarding obstruction of the public right-of-way. Lt. Tilby said that the level of obstruction became the problem. A sidewalk must be totally blocked to trigger enforcement of the existing law. Ms. Taylor said she wanted the entire city to be safe and passable, and pointed out that frequently, garbage cans obstructed city sidewalks, which also impeded wheelchair users. She thought the idea of opening the mall was to return it to normal street use and she questioned why it should be treated differently from other parts of the city. Ms. Taylor favored repealing some of the rules that existed now, such as prohibitions on people over six sleeping in downtown. She strongly objected to closing the plaza and calling it a park so that staff could apply the park rules. In addition, Ms. Taylor said that people living downtown should not have to detour around the plaza to reach their houses late at night. Ms. Taylor was concerned about passing an ordinance that had the effect of moving people and the problem around. Those frequenting the mall had to be somewhere. They would not disappear. She suggested that if there were a lot of people in downtown, that would dilute the problem that currently existed. Mr. Kelly expressed agreement with the objectives of the ordinance. However, he had concerns about the list of prohibited activities, and asked if they were to be prohibited in the core, why were they allowed elsewhere? He asked why it was okay to lie down in front of the Hilton Hotel outside the core but not okay to lie down in front of the Bagel Sphere inside the core. He suggested that the approach could be challenged in court. Mr. Kelly said the prohibitions also appeared to apply to the Park Blocks. He did not want to be told that he was breaking the law if he sat on the concrete next to someone sitting on the grass, particularly during the Saturday Market. He had the same concern about the prohibition of sleeping and the prohibition on sitting on structures intended for pedestrian purposes. He said he would be in violation of the law if he sat on the sidewalk to listen to a street musician in the core, and that was not right. Mr. Meisner also agreed with the goals and objectives of the proposed revisions. He asked about the definition of ~downtown," pointing out that the proposed definition excluded the entire Fifth Street area. He said that the regulations being proposed seemed appropriate for that area as well. He questioned the limited definition of ~downtown" for these purposes, and further pointed out that the council might want to extend the regulations to the new federal courthouse district as well. He requested an analysis of why those areas, particularly the area north of 6th Avenue, would be excluded. Mr. Meisner said that he understood from the City's Public Service Officer that there were problems with the City's ordinances regulating right-of-way obstructions. He said that unless the sidewalk was completely blocked, the City did not have true enforcement authority. He requested analysis of that. Mr. Meisner recalled that when the council had been considering changes to the park closure hours, he had proposed an amendment, which the council accepted, that made transit through a park for a number of purposes a legal activity. He asked how that impacted the ordinance before the council, because he was assuming the City had no right to prohibit travel through a park. Mr. Pap~ questioned the origin of the prohibition on sleep. Sgt. Tilby said that it was carried over from the old mall regulations. Mr. Pap~ believed that some of the proposed rules seemed arcane for a redeveloping MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 5 Work Session downtown. He suggested that rather than focusing on downtown, the council consider some citywide approaches. He said he ~was offended" by those he saw sleeping in Alton Baker Park and along the riverfront. Mr. Pap~ suggested it was better to keep criminal activity downtown where the police could watch it than see it moved to Monroe Park. Ms. Bettman also supported the intent of the proposed ordinance revisions. She thought the purpose could be broadened to include not only economic development and commercial uses, but to address the residential nature and characteristics of downtown. She shared Mr. Meisner's concern about access through the downtown, saying the City wanted a 24-hour downtown, and people needed to be able to walk back and forth freely at night. Ms. Bettman said that Mr. Kelly's points about Saturday Market were well-taken and could be extended to the Sunday Mercado as well. Ms. Bettman questioned the impact of the ordinance on those wishing to hold lawful protests in the downtown. Ms. Bettman pointed out a typographic error in paragraph 2 of Section 4.871 on page 4 of the draft ordinance. Mayor Torrey suggested the intent of the changes related to the Broadway Plaza were to prevent overnight camping. He asked how the ordinance applied to the County courthouse properties, such as the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. He thought that area should be included in the boundaries to which the ordinance applied. Mayor Torrey said that criminal activity was like a balloon. He said that those who lived in the 13th Avenue area near campus were pleased that the balloon was pushed away from their area. Mayor Torrey called for a second round of comments and questions. Mr. Kelly spoke to the issue of news racks, and agreed with Mr. Meisner that there may be a larger issue the council needed to address. He was hard-pressed to think of where news racks could be located, and requested a ~real world" example. Mr. Kelly said he wanted to ensure that the ordinance did not force people to hunt and search for newspapers in downtown. He requested a staff response. Mr. Kelly suggested that the ordinance was contradictory in that street performers were allowed without a permit in the changes recommended to Chapter 3 of the code, but allowed with a permit in regard to Chapter 4. In Chapter 4, %ommercial pursuits" were defined to include street entertaining, but later in the ordinance commercial pursuits were precluded from occurring in the right-of-way. Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Pap~ that criminal activities were better happening downtown than at Monroe Park. Ms. Taylor asked why other commercial areas in the community, such as the business area at 24th Avenue MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 6 Work Session and Hilyard Street, were excluded from the ordinance. She agreed with Mr. Kelly that if an activity was not legal downtown, it should not be legal anywhere. Regarding the element of the ordinance related to limiting the audience listening to a street musician to 25 people, she asked if the street musician was to tell the 26th person to ~go away." Ms. Taylor asked if dogs could come downtown. Sgt. Tilby said yes. Speaking to the issue Mr. Pap6 raised regarding sleeping in the parks, Ms. Bettman said she did not see how the City could continue to move around homeless people who were sleeping in the City's parks. She thought the only humane solution was to create a sanitary and accessible park for single adults without a place to live or having a vehicle in which to camp. She recalled that the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth had discussed such a camp but members refused to continue to meet on the subject. She did not know the status of the issue but did not think it would go away, and she hoped the council was willing to consider such a solution. Speaking to the remarks of Mr. Kelly and Ms. Taylor, Mr. Meisner said that he believed that it was reasonable to have special regulations for the downtown area. He said he was not suggesting he did not want to regulate news racks in downtown, but he was merely pointing out there were problems in enforce- ment now that he hoped could be addressed in all areas, not just this area. Mr. Meisner asked if the news racks near the Zenon Caf6 or the Library would be acceptable under the provisions of the ordinance. Mr. Pap6 determined from City Manager Taylor that the public hearing on the item was scheduled for October 27 with action scheduled for November 10, and questioned whether the council should consider a citywide ordinance addressing some of the issues under consideration. He said he agreed with Mr. Meisner that there were some circumstances related to the downtown that should be regulated in that area alone. Mr. Taylor did not think that the issues of regulating downtown and regulating outside downtown were mutually exclusive. He suggested that the council could use the input it received at the public hearing to identify those regulations that were appropriate for the downtown and those that were appropriate outside the downtown as well. He said that staff's focus was currently on controlling the predacious behavior of adults on youth and criminal activities committed by both youth and adults. Mr. Pap~ expressed concern about activities occurring in his ward, for example, undesirable activities occurring over the weekend on top of Gillespie Butte, and reiterated his interest in extending the regulations to a broader area. Mr. Kelly was not opposed to moving the ordinance forward at this time if the council was satisfied with the responses it received to its questions, but he did not want to see the broader issues forgotten. He asked that a discussion be scheduled soon. Mr. Kelly noted a recommended prohibition on displays in the activity areas, and expressed concern that the definition of ~displays" was very broad. He said it did not appear that the ordinance would allow, for example, a restaurant to post its lunch specials. Mr. Kelly suggested that if the object was to avoid a proliferation of displays, staff should consider the issue of scale. Mr. Kelly also requested clarification about the impact of the ordinance on protests and rallies. He pointed MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 7 Work Session out that 50 people were not prohibited from gathering without a permit as long as they did not march. Mr. Kelly suggested that Section 5 of the ordinance could be deleted since the definition it contained was only used later in a part of Section 6 that was recommended for deletion. C. DISCUSSION ITEM: An Ordinance Concerning a Code of Ethics for Public Officials; and Adding Sections 2.480, 2.482, 2.484, 2.486, 2.488 to the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager Taylor noted that the item was rescheduled for action on October 27, 2003, at Ms. Nathan- son's request. City Attorney Glenn Klein was present to answer any questions the council had. Mayor Torrey solicited council questions. Ms. Bettman observed that the council had already discussed the ordinance extensively. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Papd, moved to table action to October 27, 2003. Mr. Kelly reminded the City Manager that he asked why a super-majority was needed to determine when a conflict-of-interest action was intentional, and asked the staff to consider the issue before the council took final action. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 13, 2003 Page 8 Work Session