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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 06/13/05 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall June 13, 2005 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Papd, Bonny Bettman, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor. Mr. Poling called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. He announced he would chair the meeting because Mayor Kitty Piercy was attending the United States Conference of Mayors in Chicago. A. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Ms. Taylor asked if the city manager could assure the council that staff was working to acquire the Nectar- Dillard Property. City Manager Taylor replied that the matter was on the list of items staff was working on, but acquiring the entire property was not currently the primary objective. He said that staff was working to create protection along the riparian area and linkages to the Ridgeline Trail. He said there were no resources to acquire the property in its entirety, but it was among the properties for which staff was exploring options with property owners to ensure access and protection. He urged patience while staff pursued the council's direction at its work session to work out an acceptable resolution for all parties. Ms. Taylor asked for information regarding consequences and problems involved with eminent domain, which had been previously used by the City. She expressed concern with recently reported comments by Parks and Open Space Director Johnny Medlin that he wished to participate in the planning of the development, which sounded as if he assumed there would be a development on the property, and asked for further information on that issue. Continuing, Ms. Taylor reported that the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) was still searching for a new director. She said the agency had received considerable publicity recently and said the quote attributed to her regarding LRAPA having the fortitude to put public health first if Eugene dominated the board was not accurate. She said that Eugene representatives on the board did not vote as a bloc. Mr. Kelly related that he attended a recent University of Oregon function at which a graduate architecture class presented design ideas for City Hall replacements. He was struck by the variety of creative ideas that were put forward within the square footage and site constraints of the last study. He said the Mayor had expressed an interest in archiving the materials and making them available for public inspection. Mr. Pap~ thanked the entire community for its patience during the Interstate 105 (I-105) improvements project and the associated congestion and detours. He complimented Lane Community College (LCC) for the program it developed in conjunction with businesses and professions to identify different skill needs in MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 1 Work Session Lane County and offer training to meet those needs. Ms. Bettman expressed regret that she would be unable to attend the opening of Fire Station 1 because of a scheduling conflict and hoped that future events could be scheduled so that all councilors could attend. Mr. Pryor said that the Human Services Commission had a planning meeting with the its Budget Planning Committee and a number of ideas were generated. He said the McKenzie Watershed Council meeting last week generated many questions regarding the council's passage of a resolution that called for protection of old growth and ancient forests. He said he had been invited to participate in a tour of new forest manage- ment projects in the Blue River area on July 7, 2005, and encouraged any members who were interested to take the tour. He related that the Pearl Buck Center contacted both Councilor Taylor and him regarding the Army/Navy Center at 13th Avenue and Chambers Street that might shortly be vacated. He said the center was very interested in that location and understood that the site might revert to the City when it became vacant. He raised the issue because the Pearl Buck Center did good work and was a great community citizen and it was worthwhile exploring possible opportunities. Mr. Poling asked if the center was interested in the old Army Reserve building or the Navy/Marine Center. Mr. Pryor said he was not certain which building was referred to. Mr. Poling indicated he had received a letter from Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green requesting assistance with the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics, also known as ACT- SO. He said that many talented people from the community would be participating in the event in Wisconsin and it would cost approximately $25,000 for the students and their chaperones to attend. He said that contributions from Lane County, Comcast and private donations had raised $9,000. He said his original intent was to make a motion to match Lane County's $5,000 contribution; but after discussions with councilors he determined that approach was not consistent with City policies, although there was great support for ACT-SO. He said that the City should develop a process for considering requests for financial assistance from organizations like ACT-SO. City Manager Taylor also thanked the community for its patience during road construction and noted the Lane Council of Governments' efforts to provide current information during projects and keep people updated on traffic closures and detours. He reported that LCC hosted periodic strategic conversations with community leaders on how LCC could be more involved in workforce development and other aspects of economic development. He commended President Mary Spilde and LCC for their efforts and encouraged future conversations. He said a recent meeting with University of Oregon President David Frohnmayer that he and Mayor Piercy attended included an overview of the campus plan and it was exciting to see what was in the long-range building program pending before the legislature. Ms. Taylor indicated that she and Mr. Pryor received letters from the Pearl Buck Center because their two current facilities were located in those wards. She asked ifWhitbeck Boulevard was likely to be repaired by the City. City Manager Taylor replied that the City had fulfilled its commitment when the road was initially created and it did not have an ongoing obligation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 2 Work Session B. WORK SESSION: Race Priority Issue Action Plan City Manager Taylor introduced the item, noting that Human Resource and Risk Services Executive Director Lauren Chouinard would present the proposal action plan for the council's priority issue on race. Mr. Chouinard introduced several members of the team who worked with him on development of the action plan. He said the task of developing a race priority issue action plan was daunting because the direction from the council did not include details. He said that members of the team represented a wide range of experiences in diversity work and their approach acknowledged that diversity work focused on action as well as words and was both personal, public and institutional. He noted that the council typically established policy and delegated implementation to City staff; the action plan represented work tasks for council members individually and collectively. He reviewed the action plan, which included short- and long-term outcomes, identified several initiatives that represented ongoing work in the community regarding race and race relations and set forth specific action steps to be taken. Mr. Poling called for questions and comments. Ms. Bettman commented that the council had a long discussion at its process session regarding goals. She said that the goals represented priorities for the City organization, which would go forth and implement them. She asked why the team took the approach that race priority was primarily a council issue. She said that education and outreach to the council was a good idea but one of the reasons the issue was raised by the council was the existence of unresolved organizational issues. She cited racial profiling as an example. She asked how the action plan would address those issues. Mr. Chouinard replied that the plan did not directly address those issues but rather illustrated the work that was going on; the council could identify more work to be undertaken or redirect staff efforts if it wished. He said that the nature of the council's discussion was interpreted to mean the council wished to have a discussion around race and race relations so it could make a statement to the community, which was why the plan reflected work at the council level. Mr. Pryor stated that the plan was a good start and established several important points regarding race, including increasing awareness and building and enhancing relationships. He said that it was not clear how to proceed beyond the plan in order to create substantive impact in the area of race relations, such as creating more participation and enfranchisement in the process. He noted that the outcomes did not include establishing systems whereby people from different cultures and backgrounds were actually a part of the process and wanted the plan to include outcomes regarding the creation of processes that allowed people to be involved in decisions that affected their lives. Ms. Ortiz acknowledged that the subject of race and diversity was difficult to discuss because often people became defensive. She liked the plan and felt that the council was responsible for setting the tone for the community and a conversation at the council level was important. She was concerned that the list of current initiatives described in the plan did not necessarily mean the City organization was committed to that particular issue. She said that there needed to be more than just conversations but was not certain how success was defined. Mr. Kelly appreciated the work on the action plan but said that race and race relations were very deep emotional issues. He liked the tasks for the Mayor and council as it was important for leadership to set the MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 3 Work Session tone for the City at large, but agreed with Ms. Bettman that there needed to be work in the organization and in the community. He said he was not ready to approve the plan as presented and suggested staff take the feedback from council members in order to bring back a modified plan. Mr. Papd commented that the plan was a good start but was dismayed that there were only tasks for the Mayor and council; the plan should include organization tasks as well. He suggested that the Human Rights Commission could provide assistance in actualizing the council's goal. He suggested one way to measure success was to establish a goal for the organization that no incidents involving race issues occur over a specific period of time. Ms. Bettman offered specific recommendations for modifying the plan: · Outreach to communities of color to identify the issues and obtain feedback on how the issues should be addressed · Recruit more diverse candidates for board and commissions · Diversity training for all employees City Manager Taylor said that all City employees received mandatory diversity training, and specialized training was provided in those areas such as Library, Recreation and Cultural Services that involved providing services directly to the public, as well as work in meeting affirmative action goals. Ms. Bettman suggested that part of the action plan could be special diversity training for the council. She agreed with Ms. Ortiz that it was difficult to talk about race relations, particularly some of the high profile incidents that had occurred, but the community wanted the council to discuss them. She said that conversa- tion had not occurred at the council level and should be included in the plan. Ms. Solomon arrived at 6:07 p.m. Mr. Kelly said he was pleased that the first item under short-term action steps in the plan was a facilitated dialogue on race at the council level, which spoke to many of the issues raised by councilors. He suggested two phases, with the first phase a facilitated training and the second phase a facilitated dialogue. He agreed with Mr. Papd's suggestion that the council work in tandem with the Human Rights Commission, but cautioned the council to bear in mind the resource limitations of the Human Rights Commission. Ms. Taylor asked if the team that worked on the plan had reviewed a statement made by the council about seven years ago regarding respect for diversity. Mr. Chouinard replied that the team had used a council resolution from 2002 but could also review the earlier statement. Ms. Taylor said it appeared the council had already addressed the subject and from her point of view the City organization seemed really committed to diversity and there was no evidence of racial prejudice on the part of any councilor. She asked staff to identify the other race relations allies referred to in the plan. Human Rights Program Director Greg Rikhoff responded that allies included many community organiza- tions that were working on issues of race such as the Eugene City Club and interfaith ministries. He said the communities of color were more than just organizations associated with them. Mr. Chouinard added that the recommendations in plan discussed connecting with both leaders and non-leaders in the communities to provide a broader perspective. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Taylor said that she did not like facilitated dialogues and was not certain it was necessary to hire a facilitator. City Manager Taylor related that he had attended a number of training sessions over the years and the privilege training he had attended was one of the most powerful. He encouraged council members to participate in the privilege training scheduled in 2005. He also encouraged them to participate in the study circles organized by the City Club that would commence in the fall. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mr. Kelly's comments and said that the possibility of more resources for the Human Rights Commission could be explored during the next budgetary cycle or sooner in a supplemental budget. Mr. Kelly said that the meetings discussed under the mid- to long-term action steps section of the plan were vitally important and he was pleased that City Manager Taylor raised the subject of privilege training. He said that ;;white privilege" was something the community needed to discuss. Ms. Ortiz thanked Mr. Kelly for his comments. City Manager Taylor recommended that a modified action plan be brought back to the council for action at its August 8, 2005, meeting. He asked if there were any items in the plan to which councilors objected. He noted that staff would revise the plan consistent with councilors' comments. Mr. Pap6 noted Mr. Kelly had related that the Human Rights Commission was in the process of developing its plan. He asked if the council should act on its plan at an earlier date. Mr. Rikhoff said that the commission was struggling to develop its work plan while addressing a number of other substantive issues. He said the Human Rights Commission plan could be developed on a schedule that fit the council's timeline. City Manager Taylor suggested that work on the council's action plan could move forward with one of the action items being a more focused discussion about how the plan coincided with the commission's work. Mr. Kelly said there was no part of the plan that was wrong; councilors had identified some missing elements. He urged that the facilitated dialogue with the council be preceded by some type of training or background information to increase awareness. City Manager Taylor asked councilors to communicate any additional comments or suggestions to staff. He observed that while the focus of the plan was on the council and leadership of the community, it was important and powerful to speak out in the form of a resolution and the work that was done at the highest levels of the City. He thanked the council for making it a priority. C. WORK SESSION: Discussion to Consider Creation of Fund to Pay for Ballot Measure 37 Claims City Manager Taylor said that the concept of a claims fund arose from an earlier council conversation and request for a work session. He introduced interim Planning and Development Director Susan Muir. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 5 Work Session Ms. Muir provided an update on Ballot Measure 37 claims. She said that the City of Eugene had not received a claim. Approximately 500 claims had been filed against the State Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). She said it was likely that another 500 claims had been filed across the state against local governments. She said the State had requested 17 staff and more than $1 million in additional revenue to administer its Ballot Measure 37 claim program, noting that the claims against the State totaled a request for $1.1 billion worth of compensation. She said that DLCD had issued 18 orders to date and 75 percent were waivers; the remaining claims were denied for incomplete applica- tions. She said the only other community considering an effort similar to Eugene's was Lake Oswego, which had set aside $1 million to pay potential Ballot Measure 37 claims. City Attorney Glenn Klein reported that the House Land Use Committee was holding work sessions on a bill to address Ballot Measure 37 issues. He listed a number of provisions of the bill and noted that there was no funding mechanism, although there might be a separate compensation bill that would be limited to recapture of the back taxes on farm or forest use deferred taxes. He said that the last version of the compensation bill would divide compensation funds among local jurisdictions in the same proportion as current taxes were, with the funds to be used for Ballot Measure 37 claims. He said at this point it was uncertain whether any Ballot Measure 37 bill would emerge from the current legislative session. Referring to the agenda item, he said that the council had the charter authority to pursue creation of a tax or charge on increases in value related to government action, such as a rezone, in order to fund Ballot Measure 37 claims. He said that constraints on the council's actions related to Balllot Measure 5. Mr. Poling called for council questions and comments. Ms. Bettman said the issue for the City was how to draft any future land use regulation without creating a Ballot Measure 37 liability. She said she was looking for a vehicle to create a balance so that the City could avoid waiving or deferring regulations and retain the ability to protect resources, while being able to compensate property owners for a decrease in value. She pointed out that the funding mechanism being discussed was not a tax on development or making a profit on property, but rather a recapture of some of the value that the City or any government bestowed on a property owner when an action increased the value of the property. She asked staff to provide a definitive list of those situations where changes in value would be attributable to the actions of the City of Eugene, such as a rezone, change of use, change in the code to redefine permissible use, removal or waiver of a regulation or conditional use permit. Mr. Pap6 asked if the City could discriminate in the application of a tax or charge in an instance where an action in a particular zone would increase value but a property owner's use did not change and was not likely to change. Mr. Klein said that the City could differentiate when or how the charge was applied with the constraint of the equal protection clause that required similarly situated people to be treated in a similar fashion. He said the council could decide that the fee would be imposed on undeveloped property and not imposed when the value of developed property was increased, differentiate between classes of developed property or determine that when the value of developed property was increased, the fee would not be collected until such time as the use changed. He said the City could not impose a fee and allow individuals to request a waiver. In response to a question from Mr. Pap6, Mr. Klein said the same approach with respect to when the fee was collected could be applied to undeveloped property; the fee could be collected when the property was developed or ownership transferred. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 6 Work Session Mr. Kelly thanked staff for a thoughtful analysis of the issue. He emphasized the need to pursue a basic funding mechanism for Ballot Measure 37 claims so that the City could continue to plan and regulate land use. He asked why Mr. Klein was highlighting a potential dichotomy between assessing vacant properties only, or vacant and developed property. Mr. Klein replied that some concepts discussed by the legislature related only to vacant property; the question was what approach the City preferred. Mr. Kelly said he preferred that the City consider a mechanism that addressed all property and assessing the property after the value was increased. He said he would support a motion to direct staff to further refine the concept. Mr. Poling solicited a second round of questions and comments. Ms. Bettman said that property would not be assessed until the owner reaped the benefit of City action through an increase in market value or ability to develop the property in a different way. She said the fee would collect funds to offset the cost of claims and waivers and to acquire property that needed to be regulated or protected in some way. She said the purpose of Ballot Measure 37 was to compensate land owners when regulation impacted them negatively; it was not about deregulation. But because municipalities did not have funds to pay claims, it eliminated the ability to regulate property. She said the City took action all the time to increase the value of property and needed to recapture a portion of that benefit. She asked staff to determine how to calculate a fair amount to recapture. Mr. Pap6 referred to Mr. Klein's earlier comments regarding funding through farm and forest deferrals and asked how the City could participate in those funds when that land was outside of the City. Mr. Klein described the current process for collecting property taxes in an unsegregated tax account, which the County then distributed to municipalities based on the amount of taxes that were imposed, rather than paid. He said that the mechanism for distributing compensation funds would be similar. Mr. Pap6 asked if there was a way to ensure that fees the City collected remained available for claims and did not go into the General Fund. Mr. Klein said that the action of future councils could not be restricted without a charter amendment. He said that an ordinance could be written in such a way that the council would need to specifically amend the ordinance before funds could be moved in the budget process. Ms. Taylor asked how an increase in value could be determined and recorded if no fee would be collected at the time of an action. Mr. Klein said that those were administrative issues that staff would develop in greater detail if the council provided direction to proceed. He described a number of hypothetical situations and possible approaches. Ms. Taylor asked if owners of adjoining properties could file claims based on actions related to another piece of property. Mr. Klein said that question could be addressed in an ordinance but administratively it was impractical. Mr. Poling called for a third round of questions and comments. Ms. Bettman pointed out that determining the reduction in value under Ballot Measure 37 included many complicating factors that the City was required to consider. She said if the City was compelled to determine MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 7 Work Session a reduction in value it should be able to utilize the same type of strategies to determine what the increase in value was. She asked ifa motion was necessary to direct staff to move forward with the issue. City Manager Taylor replied that the subject was very complex as there were no models to use as a basis. Staff would be performing trailblazing work that would displace other work and require legal and consulting assistance. He said that absent any Ballot Measure 37 claims, the question for the council was whether to use the limited staff resources to begin work on the issue. He did not recommend beginning the work until after the end of the legislative session and estimated that a product would be available to the council in the winter. Mr. Kelly said that the complexity of calculations related to a tax or charge on increases in value were a mirror of the complexity of calculations required for Ballot Measure 37 claims. He urged staff to begin work sooner rather than later because of a number of land use topics on the council's agenda that could raise Ballot Measure 37 issues. City Manager Taylor asked for a motion to direct staff to begin work on the creation of a Ballot Measure 37 claims fund. Mr. Pap6 said there was a subtle difference between Ballot Measure 37 claim calculation and a fee because the burden of proof in a Ballot Measure 37 claim was on the applicant and the burden of proof for imposition of fees would be on the City. Mr. Klein agreed that the burden of proof was on a Ballot Measure 37 applicant when the claim went to court to determine compensation although how that would be implemented was uncertain. He pointed out that the City was only concerned about determining a reduction in value if a claim was filed, whereas creation of a fee or charge would require the City to determine the increase in value of every piece of property that might have been affected. Mr. Pryor remarked that it seemed fair to ask property owners to pay if City action increased the value of their property if the law also required the City to compensate property owners when the value of their property was reduced. He wondered if pursuing that policy would escalate the possibility of claims and indicated he was interested in exploring the implications of a fee or charge policy before the council acted. Mr. Poling commented that the issue of a fee or tax, like Ballot Measure 37, was very complicated and his initial reaction was negative. He concurred with Mr. Pryor's request for additional information before making a decision and would support a motion to direct staff to further analyze the issue and develop more details of the proposal. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Kelly, moved to direct the City Manager to develop a legal framework for, and identify the administrative costs and procedures to possibly implement- ing a "givings" tax/fee. Speaking to the motion, Ms. Bettman said she saw it as a way to implement any sort of planning direction that should be the City's policy because it was in the City's best interest. She said that the City would not have the funds to compensate property owners when it needed to regulate and therefore its "planning hands" would be tied because the Ballot Measure 37 issue would be raised every time there was a discussion about whether to implement a design standard, setback requirement or height limitation. She said without a compensation fund, the City would be in a completely deregulated environment. Mr. Klein clarified that the motion directed staff to develop an administrative analysis of the issue, including a range of options, rather than drafting an ordinance. City Manager Taylor added that the proposed policy MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 8 Work Session was very complex and there was a limited budget to do the work; however, what the council requested would be done. Mr. Kelly agreed that more information was needed and he would support the motion. He emphasized the need to keep in mind the ultimate community goal of maintaining a level of community planning, environ- mental protection and reasonable development. He said that developing a revenue stream to pay Ballot Measure 37 claims would allow the City to be true to the law passed by Oregon voters and provide for community planning that a vast majority of the public wanted. Mr. Pap6 expressed concern with placing another burden on the City organization and Planning and Development Department following the burden placed on them last week with respect to Goal 5 issues. He asked if staff would need to be involved in the analysis. City Manager Taylor replied that it was necessary for staff on the operating level to participate in developing the administrative details of the proposal. Mr. Pap~ reiterated his concern with the burden on staff. He questioned whether it was advisable to be working on the issue before the legislature took action and would not support the motion. The motion passed, 6:2; Ms. Solomon and Mr. Pap~ voting in opposition. Mr. Poling adjourned the meeting at 7:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 2005 Page 9 Work Session