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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 11/24/03 Mtg MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--City Hall November 24, 2003 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Papd, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon. Mayor James Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Janetta Overholser, 30300 Cottage Grove-Lorane Road, Cottage Grove, noted with interest the cattery situation at Greenhill Humane Society, which had closed due to an overload of cats. She related that the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority (LCARA) had %tepped up to the plate" with time, volunteers and donations to temporarily reopen the cattery. She commented that the City had then ~found" money to fund it, but the River House was being refurbished at a much higher price. Ms. Overholser called attention to the closing of the trailer park in Saginaw and explained that the closing had caused 19 cats to be abandoned with more yet to be captured. She said this put a great deal of stress on the two homes to which the cats had been brought. She reported that a veterinarian volunteered to provide the cats with health checks and that Mike Wellington of LCARA would take some of them to adopt out. She stressed that this illustrated the need for a cattery/animal agency as homes were not meant to be shelters. She looked forward to the coming discussion on the cattery. Paul Conte, 1461 West 10th Avenue, spoke on the hospital siting process, calling it a ~promising opportunity to work with McKenzie-Willamette Triad." He noted that the recent assessment done by consultant, Jim Johnson, suggested as a top site a property at Broadway Street and Garfield Street. He approved of the site, stating it was centrally located and would provide an attractive balance to the PeaceHealth hospital planned to the north. He remarked that the site would be near the eastern terminus of the West Eugene Parkway, should it be built. He asserted the location would also facilitate transfers from one hospital site to another because of the proximity of the Northwest Expressway and Beltline Road. Mr. Conte asserted the ample commercial land west of the site was underutilized. He thought building a hospital would attract new business and the surrounding area could contain high-density residential housing. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 1 Regular Meeting Mr. Conte encouraged the council to mm its efforts toward helping McKenzie-Willamette Triad put together a feasible property acquisition, asserting this would provide the City with great benefit. He submitted his testimony in writing. Emily Graham-Berks, 850 West 25th Avenue, said she was an Americorps volunteer with the HIV Alliance and worked in the Injection Drug Use Outreach Program. She stated that, as a volunteer, she started a program called SANA Sisters, a program that visited different locations in the City and cleaned up needles. The group recently went to Monroe Park and found and disposed of 25 needles. Ms. Graham-Berks related that many of her clients had struggled due to Oregon Health Plan cuts and the closing of methadone clinics. She stated that, for many clients, the only social service they could access was the needle exchange. She commented that she and her coworkers were at a loss as to what to tell clients regarding accessing the basic services they needed. She estimated there were 10,000 intravenous drug users in Lane County and said the SANA needle exchange served 7,000 of them. She reported that they had exchanged 430,000 needles during 2002. Ms. Graham-Berks stressed that the needle exchange educated clients, offered them options, and strived to empower clients to make safer and healthier choices. Because the volunteer group was meeting clients on the streets, it served as a front line defense for the public health of the entire county. She added that many clients want to get into a detox program, but had nowhere to go for one. Ms. Graham-Berks stated that she had participated in the Walk-A-Mile program which paired her with Councilor Bettman. She thanked Councilor Bettman for her interest in the Needle Exchange program. Jesse Springer, 1612 Lincoln Street, presented the Mayor and the City Council with a book of his political cartoons and thanked them for providing inspiration. Terry Connolly, 1401 Willamette Street, speaking on behalf of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, said he wished to follow up on an item from the work session that had to do with the meeting with the Lane County Board of Commissioners on road financing. He conveyed the chamber's feeling that this was an important first step for Lane County, Eugene, and other cities in the County and would demonstrate leadership in coming up with solutions to the street maintenance needs of our communities. He expressed hope that both jurisdictions would enter into the meeting with a spirit of cooperation and a genuine willingness to find a solution. He commented that this could create the groundwork by which something could come forward. The chamber wanted to support a solution for this problem utilizing a formula that could involve existing or new sources of revenue. However, he related that the chamber would prefer the utilization of existing revenue. The chamber also preferred a cost-effective solution that would deal with the problem aggressively and would be monitored through measurable benchmarks so that the City could demonstrate to the public that the street maintenance was occurring and the money was not being spent on excessive administrative costs or excessive engineering in lieu of maintenance. He said the chamber would be making the same comments to the County. Bruce Miller, PO Box 5098, Eugene, encouraged councilors to attend University of Oregon Student Senate meetings. Mr. Miller shared a book called Profiles in Change and urged those present to read it. He asserted that, among other things, it outlined the circumstances by which a computer company chose to MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 2 Regular Meeting locate in Roseburg rather than Eugene. He related that he had attended a State Board of Higher Education meeting in Portland. He suggested councilors attend the next meeting, scheduled for February 20, 2004. Julie Fischer, 778 Elm Drive, a member of the River Road Community Organization Board and a former member of the River Road/Santa Clara Urban Services Committee (USC), stated that she intended to provide an update on the project funded in the 2003 budget cycle, a fiscal analysis and planning study of River Road and Santa Clara. She asked for the council's support for public input on the two projects. She related that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the fiscal analysis had been issued and two of the committee members had been asked to participate in the selection process. Ms. Fischer said, however, that the planning position did not have a scope of work at this point. A plan to only issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) had been formulated. She reported that she and other former committee members had been communicating with staff via e-mail and could not agree on a scope of work. She asserted that the City did not wish to involve residents, elected officials, or staff of other special districts in guiding this important study. Without continual community involvement, she opined the City was risking the alienation of the stakeholders. Ms. Fischer harkened back to the main points of the report from the USC: to build trust with the City; to create a voice in City government; to strive for equity in services; and to encourage collaboration with all of the stakeholders. She advocated for wise use of the $120,000 allocated from the Sewer Reserve Fund, stating she could not sit passively and watch the City create a scope of work for the planning position that did not reflect the values and goals of the USC. She asked the council for its input and thoughts on how to create an adequate process for public involvement. Mara Wile, 1347 Dalton Drive, also a member of the USC for the River Road/Santa Clara area, provided City Manager Dennis Taylor with a copy of the report the committee had written. Ms. Wile called it disconcerting that there was no process for public input in the planning. She opined that staff was ~writing the future" for the area. She requested the council step in and slow down the process in order to help the neighborhood be able to participate in the planning for the future of the area. Mayor Torrey closed the Public Forum and invited comments from councilors. Councilor Meisner said a more accurate way of describing Ms. Fischer and Ms. Wile's involvement with the River Road/Santa Clara planning process would be to state that they were members of a former committee, as the River Road/Santa Clara USC had fulfilled its charge and was no longer a committee. He related that the report called for hiring a consultant, which required an RFQ in order to hire someone with the right skill set, qualifications, and sympathies to carry out the study. He stated that the planning was not for land use only, but also for the entire community in northwest Eugene. He said the transition manager was charged with the responsibility of staffing, supervising, and developing the public involvement plan. He felt it premature to dictate who the committee should be comprised of prior to the hiring of this consultant. He was uncertain, at this point, who would be the staff supervisor. Councilor Papd agreed with Mr. Conte regarding the potential site for the hospital. He said he liked all three sites south of the Willamette River and he hoped to find the right and reasonable site for a hospital soon. Councilor Solomon arrived. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 3 Regular Meeting Councilor Papd thanked Mr. Connolly for his comments. He expressed the desire of the council to work with the County to attain needed road funds. He looked forward to the chamber's participation. He agreed there should be accountability in the expenditure of road funds. Additionally, Councilor Papd commented that he missed the meetings of the River Road/Santa Clara USC. He asked the City Manager to take to heart the comments of Ms. Fischer and Ms. Wile and continue to keep communication open and to build trust with the residents of the River Road area. Councilor Bettman thanked Mr. Conte for his succinct comments. She noted that there would be a public neighborhood meeting at the Sheldon Community Center on December 4 and a Triad executive would be present to respond to questions. Councilor Bettman thanked Ms. Graham-Berks for her testimony, stating she was very moved and grateful for her volunteer efforts and to the other volunteers of the needle exchange. She commended her for her eloquence in advocating for the people that she served. Councilor Bettman also thanked Mr. Springer for the book, commenting that the council could use a little levity at times. Councilor Bettman agreed with Mr. Connolly, regarding road maintenance funding, up to the point at which he suggested there were additional revenue sources. She suggested the question to ask was what the City's highest transportation priority was: Was it to use available funds to build new roads or was it to preserve the existing roads? She opined that responsibility to the people would dictate preservation of existing roads. Councilor Kelly expressed appreciation for the work of Ms. Graham-Berks. He supported the work of the HIV Alliance and the needle exchange in particular. He admired the dedication of the organization to people who did not often receive much attention. He shared the frustration in the lack of human services funding at both the City and County levels. Councilor Kelly thanked Mr. Springer for the book, noting that he kept the first volume on his coffee table. Councilor Kelly encouraged the City Manager to follow up on the comments of Ms. Fischer and Ms. Wile. He commented that the report that had come out of the USC was notable as it had been largely written by committee members. Councilor Taylor thanked those who spoke and expressed admiration to them for speaking about what was important to them. She said the two people who spoke about the plight of stray cats and the needle exchange might seem far apart in their causes, but really were both speaking about compassion. To Mr. Connolly, Councilor Taylor supported entering the road fund meeting in the spirit of cooperation. She felt differences should be set aside and the County and the City should work together to find a solution to funding for road maintenance. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 4 Regular Meeting Mayor Torrey said, with regard to the siting of the hospital, that the choice in location would be in the hands of McKenzie-Willamette/Triad. He urged people with a desire to determine where the hospital should be located to go before the hospital executives and convince them of the value of a site. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - October 27, 2003, Work Session - October 29, 2003, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda Councilor Pap~, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Councilor Bettman stated that she had submitted corrections to the minutes via e-mail. Mayor Torrey deemed her corrections, without objection from the council, approved. Councilor Nathanson stated she had submitted a one-word correction to page 6 of the minutes of the work session held on October 27. She also wished to pull Item B, approval of the Tentative Working Agenda. Mayor Torrey stated that, without objections, Councilor Nathanson's minutes correction was approved. Councilor Kelly said he had submitted corrections to the minutes via e-mail. Mayor Torrey stated that, without objections, the corrections were approved. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar, absent Item B, passed by unanimous vote, 8:0. Councilor Nathanson noted there was a new item on the Tentative Working Agenda, a strategic planning and goal-setting session scheduled for February. She said it was unclear whether the session was slated to take two half days or two whole days. She recommended holding a brief discussion after the present meeting to determine the amount of time they wished to spend on the session. She noted that during February, the council was scheduled for eight meetings over the course of the month without the strategic planning session. She hoped staff would be able to work with the council on how the session would evolve. Councilor Kelly averred the session was a critical opportunity for the council to improve its working relationships and decision-making. He said he did not want to defer the session until later in the year and suggested staff look at the councilors' schedules to find a date or dates that would be optimal for everyone. City Manager Dennis Taylor affirmed, in response to a question from Councilor Kelly, that the final details of the content of the sessions would be ~fleshed out" in the January meeting. He said it had been anticipated that the session would be a two-day or a day-and-a-half-long retreat. He welcomed suggestions on the best way to create an environment for the kind of longer-term, higher-priority that would be useful to the council and staff. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 5 Regular Meeting Councilor Meisner felt the dates were "not terribly surprising." Given the weight of the month, he recommended the time be used wisely. He opined that half-days would not be the best use of time and, perhaps, a long one-day session would be the most preferable. Councilor Pap6 did not approve of pushing the sessions back any farther. He felt it to be as important as any other element of the council's charge, other than hiring the city manager and finalizing the budget. Roll call vote; the motion to approve Item B, the Tentative Working Agenda for the City Council, passed unanimously, 8:0. 3. PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: An Ordinance Adopting the 2004 Tracking Instructions Handbook for the Toxics Right-To-Know Program City Manager Dennis Taylor asked Glen Potter, of Fire and Emergency Services, to speak about the subject of the present hearing. Mr. Potter stated that, with this ordinance, the staff and the Toxics Board were asking for readoption of the reporting instructions for those companies involved in the Toxics Right-To-Know Program. He noted that the council had adopted them several times previously. He said the board comes back, not on an annual basis, but for approval of substantive changes to the handbook, and there were two such changes proposed in the 2004 draft. Mayor Torrey, seeing no questions from the council, opened the public hearing. Terry Connolly, 1401 Willamette Street, speaking on behalf of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, conveyed the chamber's concern which lay not in the tracking but in the process for exemption in Section C of the ordinance. He questioned whether what was being proposed could realistically be accomplished by a company that sought exemption from the program. Mr. Connolly, noting that a company seeking exemption was required to pay for consultants as well as for the City to hire a toxicologist to review the consultant's report, asked what the cost of the latter would be. Mr. Connolly cited Oregon Revised Statute 453.370 (8), dictating that the procedures for exemption must allow an exemption from all or part of the program, and stated that the procedure exemptions presented before the council did not allow for exemption from "all" of the program Mr. Connolly asked how the City classified the approximately 30 companies that were charged fees for the program but were not required to report. He wanted to know if those companies were considered to be part of the program. If so, he asserted they would be denied the opportunity to seek exemption. If it were the City's position that these non-reporting companies who were being charged fees were not part of the program, Mr. Connolly asked what basis there was for charging the companies fees to fund the program to begin with. In regard to granting an exemption, Mr. Connolly noted that the instructions specified that the decision of the Toxics Board was final, but the board was not required to produce findings to support its decision. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 6 Regular Meeting Mr. Connolly acknowledged that the City had to comply with the community right-to-know legislation, but asserted the issue was whether what was proposed was realistic. He alleged that a company seeking an exemption would go through the process, incurring the cost of consulting and reports, but that the Toxics Board decision was ultimately a political decision requiring six out of seven votes. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. Mayor Torrey opened the floor for questions from the City Council. Mr. Meisner asked legal counsel to respond to Mr. Connolly's statement that there were companies required to pay fees that did not have to report. City Attorney Katheryn Brotherton responded that this question spoke to the ambiguity of the statute and what the law modified. She felt it was something that was difficult to analyze as it was an ambiguity of the law. Mr. Meisner said he was unlikely to take action at the present meeting given this response from legal counsel. He also questioned the reasonableness and feasibility of the six out of seven vote requirement and its irrefutable finality. He requested a copy of the Toxics Board minutes at which the changes in the handbook were approved. Councilor Bettman asked if the Toxics Board had unanimously voted for the changes to the handbook. Mr. Potter responded that they had been approved by a vote of 5:2, and the two dissenting votes were cast by ~right-to-know' representatives. Councilor Bettman inquired whether there were opportunities for interested parties to address the board. Mr. Potter stressed that the board always provided opportunities for the public to speak. He added that the business representatives did a fine job of representing business interests in the community and commended them for their statesmanship in helping to reach this compromise. Councilor Bettman indicated that she was amenable to delaying the action pending legal input. Councilor Kelly concurred that action should be postponed. Councilor Pap~ asked, then, if the legal interpretation was that companies were made to pay, though not required to report. Ms. Brotherton affirmed that, based on the Court of Appeals ruling in 1999 that said the City could not charge fees based on quantities of chemical used, 32 non-reporting companies were now paying a fee. She clarified that the non-reporting companies were not allowed to request an exemption based on the proposed process before the council. Ms. Brotherton said there was a concern that allowing companies to be exempt from just the fee would undermine the general fee structure process set up in response to the court ruling. She added that exempting half of the companies from paying the fees, the companies that were not subject to the rules requiring reporting, would undermine the entire program. She related that during the discussion on the creation of the exemption, the majority of the board had opposed exempting such companies. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 7 Regular Meeting Councilor Pap6 asked if the Toxics Program could be combined with the City's Hazardous Materials Permitting Program. Mr. Potter agreed to provide the council with a memorandum from the City Fire Marshal regarding the topic. Councilor Solomon felt the questions and discussion underscored that the Toxics Right-to-Know Program did not work. She advocated for eventually returning it to the voters to allow them to determine if this was what they really wanted to impose on businesses in Eugene. Mayor Torrey sensed that the council was not prepared to act on this item and moved the meeting on to the next item. 5. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning the Downtown Area, and Amending Sections 3.005, 3.344, 4.870, 4.871, 4.872, 4.990, 5.010, and 5.225 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Councilor Pap~, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4851, an ordinance concerning the downtown area. Councilor Kelly thanked staff for several changes made to the draft of the ordinance in response to concerns raised at the public hearing both by the public and by the council. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved to delete sections 3.344(4)(a)(4) and 4.872(1)(e), and renumbering as appropriate. Speaking to the motion, Councilor Kelly stated that the two numbered provisions were the provisions that prohibited gatherings expected to draw 25 or more people without a permit. He conveyed his concern that the prohibition of spontaneous gatherings of 25 or more people within a 30-square block area of the City went against the long-held expectations of the community about citizen participation and expression. He thought that there were times that it was perfectly possible to plan ahead and attain a permit, but that breaking news could spontaneously inspire people to gather and there would not be the time to go through such a process. Noting that legal counsel had pointed out that the language regarding such a gathering had been in the code for some time, he asserted that the difference in the new ordinance was that the downtown area had been redefined and made much larger, so that such an ordinance affected a larger area and, therefore, warranted deletion. Councilor Kelly also asserted that such a provision was ripe for selective enforcement. Councilor Taylor agreed that the ordinance could lead to selective enforcement. She remarked that, should the downtown become busy and vibrant, things could spontaneously happen that would lead 25 or more people to gather out of interest. She opposed the entire ordinance. Councilor Bettman supported the ordinance, but said the requirement for a permit for a 25-person gathering was a %ticking point" for her. Noting the indication in the letter from legal counsel that it was constitu- tionally consistent to enforce such a rule as long as it was content-neutral, she stressed the importance of enforcing all activities equally. She wondered how the First Friday Artwalk or the annual holiday tuba concert would be treated under the limitation if they did not obtain a permit and stated that she did not want MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 8 Regular Meeting to see the provision selectively enforced, it needed to be consistently applicable. She suggested the council hear more about the administrative process, such as how long such a permit took to be processed, how much it cost, and what the grounds for denial were. She asked how the peaceful peace rallies that were held at the beginning of the aggressive action in Iraq would have been affected. Lieutenant Chuck Tilby stated that, essentially, peace rallies were required to have a permit. He noted that there were times that people were routinely required to get a separate parade permit, but no action was taken when there was none. He added that action was only taken when participants were behaving inappropriately. He assured Councilor Bettman that people would not be arrested merely for not having a permit. Councilor Pap~ commented that, though there were a couple of areas in the ordinance had been somewhat troubling to him, he was concerned about the balance and felt that he would approve the ordinance as it was presented. He asserted that there was selective enforcement in many laws. He expressed confidence that the Police Department would enforce the ordinance fairly. He noted that, should many problems arise, the ordinance would come before the council for reevaluation. Councilor Pap~ added that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Police Commission, and the Eugene Police Department (EPD) had worked together to finalize the language and the ACLU had indicated that it would not oppose the ordinance. Councilor Nathanson reiterated that the language regarding gatherings of 25 or more people had been in the code for more than a decade. She asked if there had been complaints stating that the requirement needed to be excised or that gatherings had been unfairly dispersed. Mr. Taylor responded that there had not been any such complaints. In response to another question from Councilor Nathanson, Lt. Tilby ascertained from Russ Brink of Downtown Eugene, Incorporated (DE1) that the events cited, that is, the Art Walk and the tuba concert, were both issued permits. Referring to an example cited by Councilor Kelly whereby a fire drill in the County building would cause a large congregation of people, Councilor Nathanson asked if there were regulations regarding the duration of an event that would apply to such a happenstance gathering. Lt. Tilby responded that the permitting was not a tool for enforcement, it was a tool for maintaining public safety. He felt that duration of an event did weigh into an assessment of a gathering. Councilor Nathanson said she would be disinclined to approve the amendment as there had been no complaints that there was improper enforcement of the code or that it was not working properly regarding the requirement for a permit for such a gathering. She conveyed her support for the ordinance as written. Councilor Poling stated that the other side of selective enforcement was discretion. He said the duration of event should weigh into the equation, as should other aspects such as the number of people. He reiterated that it was a management tool and affirmed it was nice to know ahead of time that extra people were needed to monitor such an event. He felt a diverse group had worked on the ordinance and it was not opposed by the ACLU. He asserted the ordinance was well-written and needed no amendments. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 9 Regular Meeting Councilor Kelly disagreed that there were not complaints of selective enforcement, noting that there were a broad range of complaints brought to the Human Rights Commission, though he was uncertain as to whether any pertained particularly to the permit requirement. Councilor Kelly asserted that the ordinance redefined the area of downtown so that it was now comprised of 60 or 70 blocks. Councilor Kelly stated that failure to approve this amendment would send a repressive message to some parts of the community and would chill the political climate as the ordinance, without amendment, could have the appearance of curtailing the rights of some people. Councilor Taylor asserted that, while the ACLU had decided not to contest the ordinance, it had not voiced its approval. Mr. Brink stated, in response to Councilor Taylor, that because of the nature of the event, the Art Walk did not have a permit. Councilor Bettman commented that the City had managed without expanding the area that the ordinance covered. She said she was cognizant that the EPD worked with event organizers to keep events peaceful. She voiced her support for the amendment, but said that she would support the ordinance without the amendment should it not pass. Councilor Bettman conveyed her confidence in command staff, and that the process would not be set up to make attainment of a permit overly expensive or onerous. Roll call vote; the amendment failed, 4:3; councilors Kelly, Bettman, and Taylor vot- ing in favor. (Councilor Solomon was excused for the balance of the evening.) Councilor Taylor moved to amend section 4.990 of the ordinance by repealing sub- sections (3) and (4). The motion died for lack of a second. Councilor Taylor moved to delete section 4.872(2)(j). The motion died for lack of a second. Councilor Taylor said she would vote against the ordinance. She asserted that the ordinance addressed impeding, interfering and disturbing. She commented that if this ordinance was good for downtown it was good for the whole city. She opined that special restrictions were not needed for the downtown area and would make the area a less friendly and more restrictive area. She called the ordinance %xcessive regulation." Roll call vote; the motion to adopt Council Bill 4851, an ordinance concerning the downtown area, passed 5:2; councilors Kelly and Taylor voting no. The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 10 Regular Meeting Dennis Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) M: 12003 ICentral Services DepartmentlCity Councillcc03i 124m2. wpd MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 11 Regular Meeting