HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.10.20 City Council Meeting MinutesMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8�h Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
February 10, 2020
7:30 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans,
Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor
Mayor Vinis opened the February 10, 2020, meeting of the Eugene City Council.
1. Committee Reports and Items of Interest
• Councilor Taylor - expressed concern that bus service in south Eugene is in danger of being cut,
noting the importance of good bus service to meet Climate Recovery goals; encouraged
everyone to read the article in Saturday's paper about short-term rentals and announced the
topic will be address at the City Club on March 6.
• Councilor Yeh - mentioned that Transit Tomorrow is a proposal, not a finished plan; changes
have been made and a new proposal will be rolled out soon taking into account public feedback;
announced that Casa Cultural Frida Kahlo is a new non-profit in the community whose mission
is to honor and celebrate Mexican culture; said she attended a town hall focused on the "Abolish
Movement" which seeks to raise awareness of human trafficking issues and reported that the
Junior League has taken up human trafficking awareness as its primary campaign to work on in
the coming years.
• Councilor Clark- reported that there had been a "protest" in a local restaurant on Saturday that
was not a protest but an assault on a local business and its patrons, designed with intimidation
in mind; said he believed it was a criminal act against a person who has spoken out about the
lawlessness occurring in the community.
• Mayor Vinis - said she missed the last council meetings in January because she was on the
annual United Front trip, during which she went to 40 meetings over two days to advocated for
federal funds to address a diversity of local issues, including funding for brownfields
redevelopment and restoring riparian habitat; announced she would participate in Trashy
Tuesday with the Willamette Riverkeepers.
• Councilor Clark - clarified that the restaurant that was the victim of the protest was the Elk
Horn Brewery and encouraged community members to support the business.
2. Consent Calendar
A. Approval of City Council Tentative Agenda
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved to approve
the items on the Consent Calendar. PASSED 8:0.
3. Public Forum
1. Joe Schmidlin - spoke about the positive impact of short-term rentals in the community.
2. Andrea Nelson - spoke about the positive experience of hosting a short-term rental.
3. Rowan - talked about concerns with SG technology.
4. Joshua Korn - talked about concerns with SG technology.
S. David Ivan Piccioni - made comments related to parking and City Hall.
6. Paulina Romo - shared concerns about losing her Airbnb if affected by new regulations.
7. Todd Boyle - talked about the auditor measures from a few years ago and homelessness.
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Meeting
8. Valerie Harris - spoke about short-term rental meeting needs that hotels cannot.
9. Lin Woodrich - asked when Envision Eugene will be implemented in Bethel.
10. Kathryn Dunn - said that short-term rentals are not the reason for Eugene's housing shortage.
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Clark - addressed comments from about the City's authority over EWEB utility poles
by noting that if the utility poles were houses, it is the owner's decision about whether or not to
rent the house; EWEB can decide whether to rent space or not and determine the conditions
under which that space is rented.
• Councilor Syrett - responded to Mr. Boyle that she agreed the City needs to do a better job of
informing the community about the progress being made to implement the TAC report; said she
hopes the City and County can do a better job about updating the public, noting the challenge
presented by no longer having a locally owned newspaper; said that the budget the City has set
aside for welcoming visitors to the 2021 championships includes doing beautification along
Highway 99; thanked Airbnb hosts for their input on how they use their rentals and welcome
the community.
• Councilor Evans - talked about proposed changes in Transit Tomorrow and supported letting
the process work itself out before making a final determination about whether it's successful;
talked about Bethel development and said the area needs a plan for in-depth commercial retail
and housing development; said Envision Eugene should be implemented in Bethel similar to the
River Road/Santa Clara process.
The meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
,6 th 1.,t
Beth Forrest
City Recorder
(Recorded by Elena Domingo)
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.
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Meeting