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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 09/11/00 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room, City Hall--Eugene, Oregon September 11, 2000 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Nancy Nathanson, David Kelly, Gary Rayor, Gary Pap~. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Scott Meisner, Pat Farr. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION A. Action: An Ordinance Amending the West Eugene Wetlands Plan by Adopting New and Revised Wetland Designations for Site H2, Referred to as the Speedway Site, and Related Policy and Text Amendments; Adopting a Severability Clause; and Providing an Effective Date The council was joined by Planning Director Jan Childs and Senior Planner Neil Bj0rklund for the item. Mr. Bj0rklund noted a correction to page 15 of the findings in the meeting packet pointed out by Mr. Kelly, which incorrectly indicated that the area designated for development met four rather than three of the seven protection criteria. Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson said the council would consider Council Bill 4736, an ordinance amending the West Eugene Wetlands Plan by adopting new and revised wetlands designations for Site H2, referred to as the Speedway site, and related policy and text amendments; adopting a severability clause; and providing an effective date. Mr. Lee moved, seconded by Ms. Taylor, that the bill, with the unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only. The motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Mr. Rayor clarified that the bill allowed for sufficient right-of-way for a road parallel to West 11th Avenue. Mr. Bj0rklund said yes. He said in addition, the area designated for development was wide enough at the south end to allow a 60-foot right-of-way between the protected wetlands. Mayor Torrey said he had asked staff to discuss the size of the road with Fire and Emergency Medical Services staff, and it indicated the road was sufficient for access. Mr. Carlson said that the council would consider Council Bill 4736 by number only. Mr. Lee moved, seconded by Ms. Taylor, that the bill be approved and given final passage. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0, and became Ordinance 20208. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Kelly noted that the ordinance represented the last site-specific amendment the council would consider in this process. Mr. Bj6rklund concurred, and thanked the council for its work on the amendments. He said that if the Board of County Commissioners passed the ordinance, the amendments process would be done. B.Work Session: Consideration of a Resolution Number 4644 Concerning the River Road and Santa Clara Urban Services Study Bobby Green of the Board of County Commissioners joined the council for the item. Mr. Carlson introduced the item. He said that the council had held two work sessions on the issue and approved a contingency fund request for a background study that was currently underway. During the earlier work sessions the council discussed having citizen committees to assist it in examining the issues involved, but that process was not yet formalized. In the meanwhile, staff had been meeting with a Leadership Group composed of the councilors and commissioners representing the River Road/Santa Clara area. Those elected officials suggested that the citizen involvement process be formalized through a resolution to be adopted by both bodies. The resolution set out the issues, outlined the roles and responsibilities in the study process, and established a citizen involvement process. Mr. Pap~ endorsed the adoption of the resolution, saying he hoped the process would be led by residents. He looked forward to the process. Mr. Green spoke in favor of the resolution, saying that he and fellow Commissioner Anna Morrison would ask the Board of County Commissioners to adopt the same resolution at the end of the month. He said that the board wanted to ensure that the residents of the area were empowered in the process. Mr. Green said that it was necessary to be as realistic as possible with residents about the expectations for the process. Mr. Pap~ said that the council would continue to be informed because of the importance of the process to the entire community. He invited the council's input into the process. Mayor Torrey hoped that the neighborhood associations and schools would be involved in the process as well. Mr. Pap~ responded that the elected officials representing the area were attempting to involve the schools as well as the neighborhood associations and all other community organizations they could find. Mr. Carlson agreed, saying that it was the elected officials' intent to make the committees as broadly representative of the area as possible. Responding to a question from Mr. Lee, Mr. Carlson did not recall a ballot measure regarding annexation, although there had been changes in State law related to the different methods of annexing land. He added that the City was not entering into the study with the expectation that it would result in large-scale annexations. Ms. Taylor said the issue of service delivery in the River Road/Santa Clara affected everyone in the city and all the council should be interested in the process. She asked who would choose the members of the committee. Mr. Carlson said that the Leadership Group, consisting of the three councilors and two commissioners responsible for the area, would appoint the members of the committee. Ms. Taylor suggested that community groups in the River Road/Santa Clara area be asked to nominate members. Mr. Carlson said that the Leadership Group was not proposing that MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 2 Work Session in the resolution. He said that organizations could nominate members to apply for a position on the committees. Ms. Nathanson agreed that the process would affect the entire city, not just River Road/Santa Clara residents, particularly if there were changes in service delivery that resulted. She suggested that the wording of the resolution be changed to add at-large Eugene residents to the process. Mr. Carlson said that the decision was one for the council; the process had been envisioned as one including the representation of residents of the affected areas. He suggested that there were other ways the council could affect the process that addressed the issue of the City's point of view. Mr. Kelly agreed that whatever occurred would have an impact on the entire city, but he considered this a first step in a two-step process, and indicated his concurrence with the remarks of Mr. Carlson. He pointed out that whatever recommendations the residents developed would be considered by the council and the citizenry. Mr. Kelly said that in light of the fact that River Road/Santa Clara residents have frequently expressed the belief that Eugene was imposing on them, he thought it was preferable to confine the committees to area representatives. He thought that it was likely the committees would study the overall impact of the issues involved. Regarding Ms. Taylor's suggestion that community groups appoint a member, Mr. Kelly said that such groups should be thinking about who they would like to represent them, but he did not think it was practical to appoint representatives from different groups because there were constituencies who would still not feel represented. He advocated for an at-large recruitment. Mr. Rayor concurred. He said that the Leadership Group should be inclusive in making its selections, and noted that the council would have an opportunity to review the results. Mr. Pap8 agreed with the remarks of Mr. Kelly. He said that he would like to see the residents work with the issues first, overseen by the Leadership Group. Mr. Lee moved, seconded by Ms. Taylor, to approve Resolution 4644, a resolution concerning the River Road and Santa Clara Services Study. The motion passed, 6:0. C.Resignation of Councilor Lee/Appointment of Councilor-Elect Bonny Bettman Ms. Taylor moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to accept the resignation of Bobby Lee as City Councilor from Ward 3 effective on September 13, 2000. Ms. Nathanson praised Mr. Lee as a compromiser who used the art of politics in a positive way, and said it showed that there were good things that could come from being political. She said that life itself was political in that people had to work through issues with each other. Ms. Nathanson said that she had always felt that there was mutual trust and respect between herself and Mr. Lee. She said that Mr. Lee's experience showed that it was important to remember to judge someone for what they believed, not their last name, appearance, age, or gender. She said that Mr. Lee's election showed that democracy worked and diversity was valued in the community. Mr. Rayor said he appreciated Mr. Lee for his honesty and ability to speak his mind. He appreciated his pointing out to the council what lay behind policy. He said that Mr. Lee's service MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 3 Work Session to Eugene had been commendable, and his constituents should be happy with both his performance and to see Mr. Lee move on with his career. He wished Mr. Lee luck. Mr. Kelly said that he appreciated Mr. Lee's work to improve communications among the councilors and to improve the council's team work and image. He admired Mr. Lee's dedication to youth issues. Mr. Kelly said that Mr. Lee's new job sounded like a great opportunity that built on his skills and strengths while keeping him involved with youth issues. He wished Mr. Lee luck in his future endeavors. Mr. Pap8 regretted Mr. Lee's loss from council and expressed the wish he could have served out his term. He hoped that another community benefitted from his hard work. He said that Mr. Lee was wise beyond his years and had made a great council president. He said that Mr. Lee would succeed in all his endeavors, and he wished him luck. Ms. Taylor recollected that she had first met Mr. Lee during Eugene Decisions and had decided when he had remembered everyone's name he was sure to be a politician. Mayor Torrey said that Eugene was a better place because Mr. Lee had served on the University of Oregon student council and City Council. Mr. Lee spoke of his decision to attend the University of Oregon, saying that at the time he had no knowledge of the political process. As he viewed others participating in the process, he was inspired to do the same. He had not anticipated his subsequent service in many venues. He said that he had learned that the councilors must rely on each other to make a difference, to listen to each other, and to grow. He acknowledged that required courage, and said that other councilors had taught him that. He recommended that the council try to focus its attention on the most important issue and not be distracted by other lesser issues, particularly as the council worked on the budget over the next few years. Mr. Lee wished Eugene and the council well. He hoped to stay in touch, saying he considered all the councilors to be friends and would do what he could for Eugene while at the legislature. The motion passed, 6:0. Mr. Lee moved, seconded by Ms. Taylor, to direct the City Manager to inquire of Bonny Bettman, councilor-elect from Ward 3, whether she would be willing to serve the unexpired term of Bobby Lee and bring that information back, along with a motion for the council meeting on Monday, September 18, 2000, at 5:30 p.m. Responding to a question from Mr. PapS, Mayor Torrey said that the council had 45 days to replace Mr. Lee. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. Because of the council anticipated that public hearings scheduled for later in the evening would require considerable time, the council agreed to process some items from the regular meeting agenda. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Kelly noted a corrections to page 7 of the minutes of the July 24 work session, saying that paragraph 7 should indicate that Mayor Torrey voted in support of, not in opposition to, the motion. Ms. Taylor noted a correction to page 4 of the minutes of the July 31 process session, asking that the statement that she did not want to place any time limits on speakers be deleted. Mr. Rayor noted that Mr. Fart was incorrectly listed as absent at the work session of August 2. Regarding the later hearing, Ms. Nathanson asked if the City Council could hear testimony prior to 7:30 p.m. Mr. Klein said that the council could add an item to this meeting even though it was not on the agenda. The council could start taking testimony early, but if the hearing was completed by 7:30 it would still need to hold a public hearing at that time. He said that he would not offer the same advice for a hearing involving a land use matter. Mayor Torrey asked the council to discuss the schedule of future agenda items. Mr. Kelly suggested that agenda be approved with addition of a work session on October 23 regarding stormwater acquisitions. He said that the council had not been approving its agendas, and suggested that rather than approving the entire schedule, in the future the council approve only the changes. Mr. Carlson said that at the current time, changes to the agenda were not tracked, and the schedule changed frequently. Mr. Kelly suggested that legislative format be employed so that the council could see the additions and deletions. Mr. Carlson said that staff would consider how to implement Mr. Kelly's suggestion. Mr. Rayor believed that a work session on the parking program should be on the schedule. Mr. Carlson said that the item was a current council assignment related to the parking program, with a due date of November 30. No work session had been scheduled yet, and he anticipated that at least part of the issue would be addressed through a memorandum. He also thought a work session should be scheduled. Mayor Torrey cautioned councilors that the schedule was very full and there were no large blocks of time available. Mr. Rayor recommended January 17 as the first available work session date. Mr. Pap~ raised an issue of the extended meeting the previous week and said that he thought that it was to occur with a vote of the council. Mayor Torrey agreed. He said that he counted on the council officers to contact other councilors for a vote on whether to extend work sessions. Mr. Pap~ said that he had neither received notice nor been asked to vote. Ms. Taylor agreed. She said that she had sometimes stayed when she had other commitments, and it was not always easy. Ms. Nathanson said that the issue raised the issue of communication between staff and the council and the councilors with each other. She had seen the e-mail message and was aware the meeting would be extended. She said that on occasion, she had left extended work sessions to attend to other commitments. She was concerned about e-mail communication as it had increased expectations among the staff and public that were not satisfied. Constituents might expect that the councilors read their e-mail almost when it was received. She often did not see e-mail messages the evening before or the day of a meeting as she did not have access to her City e-mail during the work day. Mr. Rayor agreed with Ms. Nathanson. He said that he needed to know quite a bit in advance if meetings were to be extended such as the Wednesday or Thursday prior to the meeting. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Kelly recollected that the staff had asked the council how best to get hold of the council within a particular time period, and suggested that those decisions be revisited. He said that in terms of motions, etc., that were provided to councilors before meetings, they could be e-mailed and the councilors called. However, he thought four hours' notice was better than no notice. Ms. Taylor said that the council was being provided with materials with a shod response time, citing specifically materials related to the Land Use Code Update received after the council had received its packet. She said that the council often needed more time to review such materials. Ms. Nathanson asked City Manager's Office staff to get the word out to other department staff that the council did not always have access to their e-mail accounts during the day and were not always able to access or respond to messages they received. Mayor Torrey commended the Cai Young Skateboard Park, reporting that it was heavily used by people of all ages. Regarding parking west of the football field, he said that he had visited the site during the recent football game and had thought the parking worked out well. He understood there had been a trash problem but thought it could be attributed to another use. The council moved onto discussion of the operating agreements, a later agenda item. Mr. Kelly noted that text related to items from the mayor and council was erroneously added to both Section I and Section II. He proposed that the text remain in Section III only so any future changes did not have to be made twice. There was concurrence. He referred to page 192 of the meeting packet and said that the council's agreement on the three-minute limit on speakers at the public forum should be formalized. There was concurrence. Mr. Kelly said that later on the same page, the text stating that speakers would be limited to three minutes unless the council voted to modify the time limit should be deleted. There was concurrence. Mayor Torrey said that legal counsel recommended that the agreements be modified to indicate that no requests to speak would be accepted after 7:45 p.m. or after the public forum, whatever comes first. There was concurrence. Responding to a question from Mr. Rayor regarding the three-minute limit, Mr. Kelly pointed out that the council could change the limit at any time as the operating agreements were subject to revision by resolution. City Attorney Glenn Klein concurred. He said that if the council chose to extend the time, he doubted anyone would complain. If the council wanted to reduce the time to two minutes "on the spot," that would leave it open to a potential challenge. Mr. Rayor suggested that the council consider scheduling more than one hearing on controversial topics. Mayor Torrey said that was a possibility, but the council should consider whether it wished to allow someone who spoke at the first hearing to speak again. The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jim Johnson MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 6 Work Session City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 7 Work Session