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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/23/01 Meeting MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting City Council Chamber--Eugene City Ha11--777 Pearl Street July 23, 2001 8p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Nancy Nathanson, Gary Rayor, Bonny Bettman, Par Farr. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Scott Meisner, Gary PapS. CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Stacy Mount, 2840 Grand Cayman Drive, suggested the potential of another hospital group locating in downtown to compete with PeaceHealth, and encouraged investigation. She called for PeaceHealth to develop its Crescent property in a manner consistent with the Willakenzie Plan, and noted the hospital's involvement in that planning process. She said that the costs of the move north to the taxpayers were unknown. Ms. Mount emphasized the increase in size of a new hospital over what was originally envisioned for the property. She thought PeaceHealth should be allowed to expand to its desired requirements on an appropriate site, but the Crescent site was poor for many reasons. Ms. Mounts called for the council to be visionary and to keep its Growth Management Study goals in mind. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Kelly, moved to extend the time for the Public Forum to an hour. The motion passed, 4:2; Ms. Nathanson and Mr. Farr voting no. Glenda Bilderback, 4002 Josh Street, expressed concern about the changes occurring at the Owens Rose Garden. She said that the planned gazebo was in the Old Rose section, which only bloomed six weeks out of the year. She thought users of the gazebo such as wedding parties would be disappointed in August when no roses were blooming. She was also concerned about the placement of the fountain as it would displace an existing garden, and suggested it be relocated near the freeway, where she believed it would help mask the noise from the freeway. Ms. Bilderback advocated for consideration of the garden's appearance throughout the year. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 1 Regular Meeting Nick Urhausen, 2858 Warren Street, reported that other supporters of the Gang of 9 were not present wearing their buttons because the Post Office was not delivering the buttons, and the newspaper was not reporting on the story. Apparently the buttons, although mailed first class, were in the wrong type of envelope and were not accompanied by sufficient postage. Mr. Urhausen suggested that the newspaper was taking money for advertising knowing it would be ineffective because it was not mailed. He knew of the situation because "somebody" put some of the envelopes in his mailbox; he was subsequently interviewed about the situation and photographed holding the buttons by The Register-Guard, which then "killed" the story. Mr. Urhausen said "there's something going on here, folks." Dan Meyers, 2513 Willakenzie Road, #4, said the councilors were the voice of the residents. If the councilors truly consulted with residents it would make their job easier and they would not have to make decisions on their own. He thought the councilors forgot who put them there when they started thinking on their own without consulting with residents. Mark English, 1426 Willamette Street, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 293, presented Mayor Torrey with a letter of appreciation from the Korean Veterans Association and the VFW Post. Mr. English read the letter of thanks. Mr. English discussed the freedom the council had to support law enforcement and suggested the anarchists were running over the general citizenry. He said the anarchists had more control than the council, and that was wrong. He said that everyone had the right to life and pursuit of happiness, and should be able to raise their children in a safe place. Mr. English discussed a picture he circulated among councilors of a Korean war scene of a foreign outpost to protect the main line from being overrun. Debra Jeffries, 3800 North Delta Highway, said that as of this morning, no one could find a record of right-of-way for the original Ayres Road. She criticized the Public Works Department for not checking for the record, for suggesting the neighbors had input into and supported the road design, and for suggesting the property owners were notified of their right to remonstrate the project. She was not notified. Ms. Jeffries criticized the scope of the improvements as unnecessary and said there was no traffic study to support the project. She thought the project an example of ongoing community frustration with the Planning and Development and Public Works departments. Ms. Jeffries said the City should not be acquiring right-of-way after the project began. She called for the project to be delayed and redesigned. Mike Lewis, 2765 Agate Street, called attention to City losses incurred through a recent court case, which he attributed to the implementation of council policies and directives designed to frustrate development. Mr. Lewis did not think the community understood there were more court actions to come over those policies. He termed the situation a disaster, and said that more money could be lost in the future. He termed the Planning Division incompetent to do the discretionary MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 2 Regular Meeting reviews that existed now and questioned councilors who wanted to give Planning staff more discretion. Mr. Lewis criticized the council for changing its positions regarding the six blocks west of the hospital during its negotiations with PeaceHealth. Debra Telew, 30065 Lebleu Road, criticized the Gang of 9 for anonymity and for using malicious ways to communicate. She asked who the members of the Gang of 9 were and why they were attacking the City Council. She said the councilors have shown they care about the heart of the city and its future. She questioned who gained if Ms. Bettman and Mr. Kelly were not if office, suggesting it was PeaceHealth and developers. She questioned The Register-Guard's support for the Gang of 9 approach. She said that progressive people should mobilize now and have their voices heard so that the Gang of 9 was not running the city. Peggy Fisher, 2808 Capital Drive, shared the concerns expressed by Ms. Bildberback about the changes being made to the Owens Rose Garden. She shared some criticisms of those changes with the council, including the location of the new walkway, which resulted in the loss of valuable old roses, the location of the gazebo, and the rose planting contemplated. Ms. Fisher invited the council to join her on a tour of the garden and invited calls. Marcella Moore, 2812 Friendly Street, related the history of the old rose section in the Owens Rose Garden, which was one of the largest public collections of old garden roses in the west. She reiterated the remarks of previous speakers regarding the changes taking place at Owens Rose Garden. Ms. Moore wished more rose experts had been consulted about what should be done in the garden. Cynthia Kirkham, 3335 St. Kitts Avenue, requested the council continue to work for what was in the best interest of the community in terms of PeaceHealth. She acknowledged PeaceHealth's need to expand its facilities, but felt its relocation to the north would be detrimental to that area as well as to the core. The needed infrastructure improvements in north Eugene would be costly. Ms. Kirkham was frustrated by the fact the City had not prepared comparative information about the costs of the different sites. She thought it important that any development on the north Eugene site be consistent with the Willakenzie Plan. She did not think the Crescent site could support a hospital of the magnitude proposed, and urged the council to rezone the property so the hospital could not expand there. Dan Herbert, 1913 Potter Street, encouraged the council to continue the City staff work comparing alternative sites for PeaceHealth. He thought the site was still an open question, and even if the hospital built on its Crescent site, Eugene would still need another hospital soon in the central city. He thought the planning studies would provide a justification for the creation of one or more exclusive hospital zone. Mr. Herbert did not think the City should assume there would always be a monopoly on hospital services in north Eugene. He said the City Council should be specific about procedures for development in a hospital zone. Because he thought the hospital's location was a public issue, Mr. Herbert called for open negotiations with public involvement. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 3 Regular Meeting John Herberg, 395 East BOth Avenue, spoke on behalf of the Green Party of Lane County, and read a resolution adopted by the party in support of the City's efforts to keep PeaceHealth downtown. Jean Daughterty, 1431 West Broadway, director of Women's Services for Sponsors, Inc., read a letter previously distributed to the council regarding the funding for Drug Court. She said that the council had been misled that Drug Court was an option for women convicted of prostitution. She said that she had concerns she wished to share about how the ordinance was working in the community. Kathy O'Connor, Lane County Mental Health, noted changes proposed to the prostitution-free exclusion zone, and said that those changes would eliminate excluded prostitutes from needed access to services located in that area. She cited several such essential services, and noted the difficulty of securing services in the first place. Sue Comfort, 1431 West Broadway, expressed her concerns about the expansion of the prostitution-free zone, and said that the only way women excluded from the area could secure services located there was through a variance granted by a judge. She described the variance process. Dr. Rich Coolman, 3345 Storey Boulevard, supported the council's efforts to keep PeaceHealth downtown. He thought PeaceHealth had not kept good faith in its negotiations. He had been disturbed to hear that the hospital requested the six blocks west of the facility, which was the highest density area in the city, and by the hospital's desire for a City assurance it could relocate if the voters did not support condemnation. Dr. Coolman thought PeaceHealth should have approached the City earlier. He asserted that, in spite of its assurances, PeaceHealth intended to "abandon" downtown. Dr. Coolman encouraged the council to continue to look at alternatives, and to pressure PeaceHealth to negotiate in good faith. Nelda Doherty, 34817 Matthews Road, Hope Street volunteer, hoped the council would take the points of those who spoke about the prostitution-free zone to heart. Mayor Torrey closed the Public Forum and called for councilor comments. Councilor Rayor said that many of the land use lawsuits that were the subject of recent court decisions were initiated before he was elected. He added that the City Council did not always oversee local planning decisions, which went through another process. Councilor Rayor said that he got considerable public input and staff recommendations well as legal advice about such council decisions. He pointed out that public opinion was extremely varied. He received calls from constituents expressing widely divergent views. The council's investigation of options for a large development project such as PeaceHealth did not mean anything would change from what was MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 4 Regular Meeting proposed, but he wanted to be deliberate about the issue so that people understood he was trying to do the best job possible. Councilor Nathanson asked City Manager Jim Johnson for information about the process that was used to develop the Owens Rose Garden project, and if there was time to slow the project to ensure no permanent damage was done. She thanked the citizens offering testimony on the subject for speaking, adding she had not been aware of the significance of the old rose collection. Councilor Nathanson noted the remarks offered by Mr. Lewis and said she understood that the development community had requested the more flexible approach he mentioned. She asked the manager if that approach exposed the City to additional legal risks. Councilor Taylor concurred with Councilor Nathanson's remarks about the rose garden and said she hoped that experts would be consulted about the changes being made. Councilor Taylor was concerned if there had been a change in the boundaries of the prostitution- free zone and questioned how the expansion occurred. She did not want to make it difficult for women to reach crucial services. Speaking to Mr. Lewis, Councilor Taylor disagreed that the council had changed its position by first offering and then retracting six blocks west of the hospital. Councilor Kelly expressed appreciation for the citizen input. He thanked Mr. English for his presentation to the mayor and the sacrifices the veterans made for the country. He thanked Ms. Telew for calling for reasoned dialogue. Regarding the prostitution-free zone, he expressed surprise that the zone was expanded by a factor of four. While he acknowledged that the ordinance allowed the zone to be expanded administratively, he thought the expansion was working against the council's goals by preventing women from reaching critical services. He agreed the variance process was not very satisfactory, and asked staff to consider approaches to help women access the services they need. Councilor Kelly agreed with those calling for comparative information about the costs of the Crescent site and downtown site for the purpose of PeaceHealth's expansion. He said it was vital the council had that information if it was to take final action on the PeaceHealth issue in August. Councilor Kelly expressed appreciation to Mr. Herberg for the resolution adopted by the Green Party, noting that the Democratic Party had adopted a similar resolution. Speaking to Mr. Lewis, Councilor Kelly disagreed that the City operations leading to the settlement he referred to were a result of council decisions. He also disagreed with Mr. Lewis' assertion that the council changed its position in negotiations with PeaceHealth and noted his interest in pursuing a downtown site that facilitated hospital expansion two blocks at a time. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 5 Regular Meeting Mayor Torrey thanked Mr. English for the letter and said it was his privilege to participate in post activities. Mayor Torrey determined from City Manager Johnson that the gazebo proposed at the rose garden was being proposed by the Rotary Club. Mayor Torrey invited all present to the public forum regarding the PeaceHealth issue on July 24. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes June 11, 2001, Work Session June 18, 2001, Work Session June 25, 2001, City Council Meeting June 27, 2001, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Kelly, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Ms. Nathanson pulled Item A. She said that page 2 of the minutes of June 11, 2001 erroneously referred to River Stadium rather than River State. Ms. Bettman also pulled Item A. She requested that paragraph 3 on page 6 of the June 27, 2001, work session minutes be amended as follows (italicized text added): "Ms. Bettman asked if the motion was intended to cease negotiations on the six blocks or to cease all negotiations, and if it gave the manager the option of negotiating four blocks and the Willamette site, or two blocks and the Willamette site, or some other configuration." Ms. Bettman asked that the word "facility" in paragraph 4 on page 6 of the June 27 work session minutes be changed to "site." Referring to the work session minutes of June 11, Mr. Kelly asked that the reference to higher floor ratio in paragraph 3 on page 1 be revised to refer to Iowerfloor area ratio. Referring to the work session minutes of June 18, Mr. Kelly asked that paragraph 3 on page 3 be amended to read, "He thought that paying the cost of keeping the hospital downtown..." Mr. Kelly noted that the word "begin" in paragraph 2 on page 9 on the minutes of June 27 was misspelled "being." The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 6 Regular Meeting 3. PUBLIC HEAR1NG: An Ordinance Concerning Alarm Systems: Renumbering and Amending Section 4.933 and Adding it to Section 3.005 of the Eugene Code, 1971; Amending and Renumbering Sections 4.935, 4.936, and 4.937 of the Eugene Code, 1971 to 3.105, 3.110, and 3.115; Amending Sections 3.990 and 4.990 of that Code; Repealing Section 4.934 of that Code; and Adding a New Section 3.100 to the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager Jim Johnson reminded the council that it had a work session on the issue. He invited questions. Councilor Nathanson noted that she had referred information to staff regarding alarms that were triggered by someone not authorized to be on the premises who then leaves without leaving evidence. She requested staff feedback on how a citizen would not fall under the penalty phase when an alarm was not really false. Senior Management Analyst Terry Smith of the Eugene Police Department said that it was a common situation. Someone attempts an illegal entry but leaves no evidence. The officer responding would note that information. Mr. Smith explained that the alarm then became an indeterminate type of alarm, and the system administrator would collect that information and review it and attempt to determine what happened. For example, a tape of the audio would be requested, or the alarm system owner would be asked which intrusion detector that triggered the alarm. Mr. Smith said that, ideally, when the officer arrived and found an alarm had no apparent cause, the alarm provider would have provided the location in the building where the alarm was triggered and the officer would check that. In a case where there was no obvious indication that a false alarm was triggered, no penalty would be levied. In the case of a dispute, the ordinance provided for an appeal process. Councilor Nathanson thanked Mr. Smith for the explanation. Councilor Rayor supported the ordinance but expressed concern that alarm company owners were unaware of the ordinance. He advocated for large display advertising in the newspaper when the council took action that affected a large group of people. Lt. Carolyn McDermed of the Eugene Police Department reported on the public outreach that occurred, which included a meeting limited to chronic alarm users and alarm companies, and that was expanded to a larger invitation list. There was limited response to the meetings, but those who attended had good input and good ideas, many of which were incorporated into the ordinance. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Ted Parker, 27470 Clear Lake Road, represented Sonitrol. He said that his company had been in business for many years and enjoyed good response from the Eugene Police Department. He believed that the implementation of the false alarm ordinance would only improve the response time by eliminating the need to respond to false alarms. He thought the ordinance would improve fire and police response times throughout the community. He offered his company's assistance to the Police Department and community on any education programs the City provided. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 7 Regular Meeting David Lynch, 279 East 11th Avenue, spoke as an alarm user. He thought the issues to be addressed by the ordinance could be addressed by allowing private security firms to respond to alarms instead of the police. The response in other cities such as Houston was demonstrated to be faster. People would pay their security company instead of the permit fee. He did not think false alarms would be reduced as a result of the ordinance. Mr. Lynch questioned how the ordinance would put more police on the street given how short-handed the police were now. He said that any ordinance should include the option for a private response. There being no further requests to speak, Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. Mayor Torrey called for councilor questions and comments. Responding to a comment from Councilor Kelly regarding Councilor Rayor's previously expressed concern about the breadth of the definition of a false alarm, Mr. Smith noted again that the definition had not changed. The City was amending an ordinance that already existed. He anticipated it would be fairly easy to detect malicious false alarm calls as they would be received from someone who was not an alarm service provider. Speaking to Mr. Rayor's concern about public input, Mr. Smith reiterated that the City was amending an existing ordinance that already included a fee schedule that had not been applied; however, the community was aware of the ordinance and many individuals responded by changing the way they use alarms. Councilor Kelly said that the fees were intended to cover the cost of the program, but recollected a suggestion at the work session that the fee be sufficient to establish reserve for the computer- assisted dispatch (CAD) improvements. Mr. Smith noted the staff recommendation that the fees be sufficient to pay for the program operations, to begin building a reserve fund for the CAD software upgrade, and to cover the costs of officers responding to false alarms. He noted a complication in estimating revenues created by disagreement about the number of alarm systems in the community today, and said that staff proposed to contact all alarm service providers and request a list of customers to determine who was subject to the fee to make a more accurate projection of revenues. Councilor Kelly asked about Mr. Lynch's proposal to allow security staff to respond to alarms. Mr. Smith said that private security companies do currently respond to alarms. He cited School District 4J as an example. The district has those alarms verified and an unarmed security guard responds to each to determine if its false before a call goes to 9-1-1. The change meant that the district no longer had the level of false alarms it previously had. Councilor Kelly did not object to private security responses, but did object to armed private security responses. Councilor Rayor determined from Mr. Parker, representing Sonitol, that customers frequently request that the building that was the site of an alarm be checked first by Sonitrol rather than by the police. Mr. Parker said that it was not a standard, but it was typical in cases where a company had multiple false alarms. Councilor Fart left the meeting. Councilor Rayor asked how the ordinance addressed situations where a faulty window or door caused the problem. City Manager Johnson said that one purpose of the ordinance was to MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 8 Regular Meeting encourage property owners to fix the problems that result in false alarms. Mr. Smith agreed, saying that the ordinance was designed to force the alarm service provider and building owner to work together to fix the problem. He emphasized that alarm providers deal with these problems all the time. Councilor Bettman asked if Mr. Smith was saying that if the revenues generated to cover the cost of the problem had a surplus, that surplus would go into the CAD reserve. Mr. Smith anticipated that the fee would be set in a manner that established a surplus over a set period of time that allowed the City to purchase a software system that would replace the work the system coordinator would have to do by hand until then. Councilor Bettman noted support for the ordinance. It decreased the risk to officers and increased the officers on the street. The meeting adjourned at 9:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2001 Page 9 Regular Meeting