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CC Minutes - 11/13/00 Meeting
MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chambers, City Hall--Eugene, Oregon November 13, 2000 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, Pat Farr, David Kelly, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Gary Pap6, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. I.CEREMONIAL MATTERS Mayor Torrey proclaimed the week of December 1 to December 7, 2000, as Civil Air Patrol Week, and called upon citizens to observe the week by recognizing the contributions of the volunteer organization and the members of the Mahlon Sweet composite squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. He presented the proclamation to a representative of the squadron. n. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey noted that there were 30 people signed up for the public forum. He said that it would take a motion of the council to exceed the 30-minute limit for the public forum agenda item. He said that the council could proceed at three minutes per person until the time limit elapsed or reduce the time allowed for each person. Mayor Torrey noted that 23 of 31 speakers were testifying on the tobacco issue. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Rayor, moved to give 1 minute and 30 seconds to each speaker and extend the time allowed for the public forum to 45 minutes. Councilor Nathanson commented that she wanted to hear any new testimony that was being offered but raised concern over taking time in the meeting to hear testimony on an issue that the council had already received extensive public input about. Councilor Nathanson noted that the council had already heard hours of public testimony, as well as e-mail messages and letters, on the smoking ordinance and said that she would vote against the motion. Councilor Bettman concurred with Councilor Nathanson and suggested giving people with new testimony a full three minutes and dividing the time left over between the people who wanted to testify on the tobacco ordinance. Councilor Taylor acknowledged that the council had probably heard testimony on every detail of the smoking ordinance but believed that it was not fair to reduce the time of people who wished to address the council. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 1 Regular Meeting The motion failed, 6:2, with councilors Kelly and Rayor voting in favor. Councilor Taylor moved to extend the time necessary to allow all the speakers in the Public Forum a full three minutes. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to allow three minutes for non-tobacco related subjects (testifying first), and to allow one minute and thirty seconds to tobacco-related subjects. Councilor Nathanson offered a friendly amendment that the time for the public forum still be limited to 30 minutes. The amendment was accepted by the maker of the motion and the second. The amended motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Torrey opened the Public Forum. Richard Coleman, 3345 Storey Boulevard, spoke regarding the document for a greater downtown vision. He said the document failed to address bicycling issues in the City. He said that the bicycle system in the City was a patchwork yearning to be a network. He suggested four improvements to the visioning plan: 1) linking Riverbank, Fern Ridge, and Amazon bike trails; 2) making bicycle access a priority downtown; 3) expanding the Millrace to be more than just a path to the river; and 4) allowing more public comment on the final draft of the document. Joanna Kane spoke against the proposed special response fee. She related a stow about unnecessary actions by the police in reaction to a party in the University area. Nilda Brooklyn, 1671-1/2 Pearl Street, spoke against the proposed special response fee. She said that the proposed ordinance would create a way for police to bypass existing laws and tap into the resources brought into the area by University of Oregon students. She raised concern that the Eugene Police would abuse the special response fee as a way to fund the department. She raised concern that public safety response would be seen as opportunities to produce revenue. Ms. Brooklyn raised concern that the proposed ordinance would condone profiling by the police. She said the ordinance would set a precedent for producing revenue by targeting certain populations. Ms. Brooklyn urged the council to not support economic harassment of certain segments of the community and to vote against the proposed ordinance. Mark Bamhill, 707 East 17th Avenue, spoke against the proposed special response fee. He said that the ordinance would worsen already bad relations between the Eugene Police and students of the University. He commented that the proposed ordinance would deter students from calling the police when they were actually needed because of lack of trust among the community and the perception of policing for profit. He related a stow of friends who were robbed and refused to call the police because they feared that they would just be issued citations. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 2 Regular Meeting Christa Shively, representing the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO), spoke against the proposed special response fee. She believed that the response fee ordinance was reactive and did not benefit the community. She acknowledged that the council would probably vote for the ordinance regardless of her comments but urged the council to consider the alternatives the ASUO had proposed and that City staff had recommended for consideration. Ms. Shively said the alternatives did not take away from the effectiveness of the proposed ordinance or undermine its intent. Ms. Shively urged the council to change the 10 person minimum to 30 persons. She noted that the ordinance was written to address large gatherings and commented that its wording should reflect that intent. Ms. Shively also urged the council not to hold persons liable if they were the ones that initiated police intervention. She stated that no person should ever have to question whether or not to call the police. Ms. Shively urged the council to order the fee process and the appeal process go through the Municipal Court as opposed to the City Manager. She commented that fees should not be assessed by a non-neutral position. Ms. Shively urged the council to amend the definition of the special response fee to read "the total costs incurred by the City caused by the response" as opposed to in connection with the response. She stressed that the more specific the ordinance was, the less chance for misuse and confusion. Ruth McDevitt, 441 East 16th Avenue, spoke against the proposed special response fee. She related a story about how she had been issued a Minor-In-Possession citation which, she said, she probably deserved, but noted that her safety was compromised only after the Eugene Police arrived at the party. She said she was forced to walk home alone at 2:30 a.m., in a bikini top and spandex tights, because the Eugene Police would not let her friends wait for her outside while she received her citation. She related that she had been approached by a stranger on her way home and said it was sheer luck that the person had no ill intent. Ms. McDevitt urged the council to keep in mind the safety of the people the police were supposed to be protecting. She commented that the proposed ordinance would only worsen the relations between police and University of Oregon students. Kevin Matthews, 31728 Owl Road, thanked the council for taking the time to figure out how to allow people to speak at the beginning of the meeting and said it was an example of how the councilors did their jobs thoughtfully. Speaking to the downtown visioning process, Mr. Matthews said the process was an "odd duck." He said that the committee overseeing the visioning process was not a representative committee of citizens. He said that if the process of the committee had been fully based on consensus then that would not have mattered, but he noted that the committee voted on certain key points and issues. He said that once the committee voted, the fact that the committee was overbalanced with downtown real estate owners and business interests relative to residents and other downtown users became problematic, particularly if the process was perceived to lead to direct conclusions. Mr. Matthews said that the committee's end product did not address the issues of the downtown core. He said that the vision had gotten carried away with some MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 3 Regular Meeting particular things now going on in the community. He suggested taking the best of what had been proposed by the committee and make it go forward in a good way. Mr. Matthews urged the council not to rush to implementation and to allow for more community input. Jay Breslow, 2250 Patterson Street, spoke as the president of the student body of the University of Oregon. He said he had committed himself to working hard to improve the relationship between students and Eugene Police Officers and representing officials. He said that student were begging for help in not passing the proposed special response fee ordinance but acknowledged that the ordinance would probably pass anyway. Mr. Breslow urged that the passage of the proposed ordinance be done in the spirit of helping the community and that input from students and residents of the area be taken into account. He said that the student body had taken the first step toward that cooperation by submitting its own form of the ordinance. He said that Christa Shively and her response team had put their hearts and souls into drafting the alternate ordinance as their commitment to making the University area a better place to live. He said that he expected the same from the council and especially the councilors whose wards were heavily populated with students. Mr. Breslow urged the council to match the steps taken by the student body and work toward a compromise. He stressed that their effort merited that step from the council. Ray E. Hilts, 3012 Southwest Takena Road, spoke in favor of the proposed tobacco ordinance. He refuted previous testimony stating that a rise in drunk driving arrests in Corvallis after a similar ordinance had been passed could not be verified. Barney McKay, 800 Greg Way, commented the people who worked in bars, taverns, and bingo parlors were entitled to smoke-free air. He added that more people would frequent those types of businesses if the air was smoke-free. Eli Mayes, 1675 East 24th Avenue, spoke in favor of the proposed smoking ordinance. He noted that there were over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke and that over 50 of them were carcinogenic. He stressed that there was an alternative to breathing secondhand smoke and coming out of bars smelling of smoke. Molly Stafford, 437 East 11th Avenue, thanked the council for working towards getting a new public library built. She said that the Bethel branch library was wonderful and noted that the Sheldon branch would open soon. She urged the council to approve proposed financing plan for the new library. Trish Binder commented that the Eugene City Council, by considering the proposed special response fee ordinance, was continuing a trend of targeting the young and the poor. She expressed a desire to see all of the ordinances passed by the council over the years that targeted the young and the poor and compare them to the number of ordinances passed that did not. Ms. Binder believed that the special response fee was bad public policy. She added that the students being targeted could get together as a voting power and bring the council to the bargaining table and get some of the ordinances removed. Bob Cassidy, 1401 East 27th Avenue, related that he had banned smoking in his establishment over a extended period of time. He commented that it would be wise to give bars and bingo MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 4 Regular Meeting parlors an extended period of time to implement the ordinance so that they could get their patrons used to the idea of a non-smoking establishment. Candice Bart, 990 West 7th Avenue, spoke as the executive director of the Lane County Medical Society. She said that the physicians of Lane County supported the smoking ban. Ken Rivernider, 140 Hamilton Avenue, expressed his desire to see the smoking ordinance pass. Ward Chase Fairbairn, 550 East lsth Avenue, spoke against the proposed smoking ordinance. He reminded the council that it had one last chance to resist the zealotry of anti-tobacco forces. He said the smoking ordinance was not an informed or reasonable piece of law and commented that if ventilation and filtration worked in nuclear power plants it would work in a bar. He submitted data from the courthouse in Linn/Benton County that showed the increase in driving- under-the-influence rates in that area after a similar ordinance had been passed in Corvallis. Bill Boyce, representing Eugene Bingo Mania, seconded the testimony of Mr. Fairbairn and added that he had no intention of killing his employees. He said that he had examined the numbers submitted by Tobacco-Free Lane County and said its facts were so "screwed up" that the document was hard to follow. He stated that just driving to the council session was more risky than attending a bar or bingo parlor and breathing secondhand smoke. Mayor Torrey closed the Public Forum and called for remarks from the council. Addressing the students who had reported on the unnecessary actions of the police during parties, Councilor Kelly stated that, whether or not there was public faith in the police complaint system, nothing would ever be done if formal complaints were not made. He said that if a person felt uncomfortable in filing a complaint with the police, the Human Rights office would assist them in filing. Councilor Pap~, speaking to the proposed special response fee ordinance, thanked the members of the ASU© for their work on the alternative ordinance and added that he was so impressed with it that he had submitted it as an alternative in its entirety. Councilor Nathanson called for information from City Manager Jim Johnson on how people from parties broken up by the police were allowed to get themselves home safely. She thanked Mr. Breslow for his comments but noted that the issue had been brewing for more than two years and that there had been overtures from the police and the City to the University and the situation had not been improved. Councilor Taylor expressed a desire to see a timely public process for the downtown visioning document. She acknowledged that there had been an open house before the document was completed but suggested getting public reaction to the final document. Councilor Taylor expressed concern over the proposed special response fee ordinance. She commented that the police response, sometimes, went too far already and raised concern that students would just "head out into the woods" to have parties. She said that her preference would be to not pass the ordinance and said that the amount of police time and financial penalties should be reduced substantially. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 5 Regular Meeting Councilor Rayor said that he would be bringing a number of amendments to the Wednesday meeting for the downtown visioning document. He noted that was on the committee and had a hard time getting staff to address bicycle and pedestrian issues. He said that the idea behind the amendments was to get people to park their cars in the garages downtown, and to get people to walk around the rest of downtown. Councilor Bettman apologized to forum speakers who were not able to speak but noted that there had been hours of public testimony and hundreds of letters and e-mails submitted that dealt with the tobacco ordinance. Councilor Bettman said that she had gone on an officer ride-along in response to concerns raised from students about police conduct. She said that she had not observed any questionable conduct by the police during that time. She encourage students with complaints against the police to file formal complaints and noted that this was the only way to document a problem. Councilor Bettman noted that there had been a lot of opposition to the special response fee but no one had offered any kind of alternate solution. She said that the ordinance being proposed had a lot of feedback from the community and again noted that no one had come forward with an alternate solution. III.CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Council Minutes B. Approval of Tentative Agenda Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to approve the Consent Calender, including the minutes of the September 18, 2000, work session, the September 27, 2000, work session, the October 27, 2000, work session, the October 10, 2000, regular session, and the tentative working agenda. Councilor Kelly noted that Chief Tom Tallon's name was incorrectly spelled in the minutes of the September 27, 2000, work session. He also noted that the October 10, 2000, regular session minutes incorrectly indicated the meeting took place in the McNutt Room; the meeting occurred in the Council Chamber. Councilor Bettman offered a change to page 7 of the September 18 minutes, asking that the last sentence in paragraph 8 be replaced with the following: "She preferred other density strategies, including cottage zoning and asset mapping." Referring to the minutes of the October 2, 2000, work session, Councilor Nathanson asked that the following text be added the last sentence on page 6 in paragraph 3: "...and that high school, college, and university campuses were activity centers, more like commercial than residential areas." Referring to paragraph 4 on page 7, Councilor Nathanson requested that the third sentence be modified to read (struck text deleted, italicized text added): "She raised concern over prescribing certain kinds of lighting, instead of proscribing compfiance with objectives and aflowJng the designers to meet objectives ,A,~,~,+~,_,,~,,,~, '-"~-~ .... '~ '~'o~-~"~ '-~-~'"*~ ...... Referring to page 9, Councilor Nathanson asked that first MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 6 Regular Meeting sentence in paragraph 6 be modified to read (struck text deleted, italicized text added): "Ms. Nathanson commented that grocery stores appeared to have eftemhad wider parking spaces." Councilor Meisner asked that the second sentence in paragraph 4 on page 8 of the minutes of the September 27, 2000, work session be revised to read (italicized text added): "He stressed that relying solely and indefinitely on property taxes would not be in the best interests of the City and that alternate revenue sources must be considered for implementation." The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. IV. PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: An Ordinance Vacating a Portion of the Street Right-of-way Located South of 40th Avenue, West of Willamette Street City Manager Johnson noted that the council could take action on the item that evening if it desired to do so. In response to a question from Councilor Rayor regarding a balance due of $1,803.64 and where the balance due came from, Kevin Young of the Planning and Development Department said that the assessment was paid as of 4 p.m. that day. In response to a question from Councilor Rayor regarding the collection of assessments before staff received City Council direction, Mr. Young said that it was his understanding that it was the accepted practice. Jerry Jacobson of the Planning and Development Department indicated it had been City practice for years. He said that people applying for street vacations or land use permits seemed to be in a hurry and the process used seemed the best way to expedite things. He added that if the council did not pass the proposed ordinance then the money could be refunded. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. John C. Sihler, 4235 Brae Burn Drive, expressed a desire to see a two-week delay in the implementation of the ordinance because the cemetery had not had a chance to complete its deeds and property line adjustment procedures. He said that he was one of the 14 property owners cooperating in the vacation and added that the system was working and everyone would be happy if the implementation of the ordinance did not take place until November 27. He commended Kevin Young for his exemplary staff work. Kevin Matthews, 31728 Owl Road, suggested a future strategy for street vacations which was trading street right-of-ways for conservation easements. He said that the idea would be a cost- free way to maintain environmental values in the City. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing and called for council questions/comments. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding the implementation of the ordinance and the process of passing the ordinance that evening, City Attorney Glen Klein noted that, if action were taken that evening, neither the ordinance nor the street vacation would take effect for 30 days and would thus give the time requested by Mr. Sihler. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 7 Regular Meeting In response to the comments made by Mr. Matthews, Councilor Kelly noted that, in many cases, street vacations were done for development purposes and it would be hard to hold that land for a conservation easement. Councilor Rayor commented that the street vacation idea suggested by Mr. Matthews was a good one and expressed his pleasure that it was suggested. In response to a question from Councilor Taylor regarding whether conservation easements were possible, Mr. Klein said that it was not possible for the ordinance being dealt with that evening without rewriting it, but noted that there were instances when council granted vacations but reserved some rights. He cited utility easements as an example. Mr. Klein noted that the fair market value of a piece of property with a conservation easement was very different from a piece of property without one. It meant that, while the City would not pay any money to establish a conservation easement, it would forgo any future revenue from it. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman regarding the reason why there were only 14 people paying for the easement when there were more properties fronting on it, Mr. Young related that one person owned two of the lots and two property owners were splitting a property currently owned by the neighborhood association. Therefore, there were fewer payees than properties. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4751, an ordinance vacating a portion of the street right-of-way located south of 40th Avenue and west of Willamette Street. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read a second time by Council Bill number only, and that enactment be considered at that time. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4751 by number only. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill be approved and given final passage. The motion passed unanimously, and become Ordinance No. 20216. V. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Prohibited Smoking; Amending Sections 6.230, and 6.240 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Providing an Effective Date Mr. Klein noted that there were two versions of the proposed ordinance in the council meeting packet that were listed as 3(a), which imposed the smoking prohibition for taverns, bars, and bingo parlors, and 3(b). Mr. Klein said that, in the event that option 3(a) was not passed, staff would need clarification regarding pieces of the ordinance that had already been passed. He said that this would be provided in the alternative ordinance, 3(b). Mr. Klein alerted the council that questions had arisen as to whether the smoking ordinance was covered by the recently passed Ballot Measure 7. He said that he could not say, with absolute certainty, whether the measure affected the ordinance. He suggested two options if the council wanted to eliminate the risk. The first option was for the council to refer the ordinance to the voters which would eliminate the risk of measure 7 impacts until the voters passed the ordinance. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 8 Regular Meeting The second suggestion was to simply postpone action on the ordinance until there was greater clarity about measure 7 and then take action on the item. Mr. Klein noted that the ordinance had an effective date clause of July 1, 2001, and the council could postpone action and still meet that effective date clause. He stressed that if the council wanted to eliminate risk then they should refer the matter to the voters or postpone action. In response to a statement by Councilor Nathanson that the council would simply be delaying incurring the risk, Mr. Klein said that if the ordinance was adopted later then there would be more knowledge regarding the impacts of measure 7 and the council could be better informed about its decision. He added that referring the matter to the voters would also allow more time to assess measure 7 impacts. In response to a question from Councilor Nathanson regarding whether someone could make the argument that the ordinance affected their property values immediately even though it would not be implemented until July 2001, Mr. Klein said that he could envision someone making that argument. Councilor Nathanson commented about the ramifications of Ballot Measure 7 potentially involving more than traditional land use and zoning code changes. Councilor Nathanson remarked that there was sometimes a difference between a property owner and a business owner. She raised the question that if a particular business lost revenue as a result of the ordinance then a property owner could increase its value by putting a different business on that same property. Mr. Klein noted that some ordinances being adopted in other jurisdictions were including lessees as being affected by Measure 7 as well. He reiterated that there was still not enough information on the impacts of the measure and there was really no clue how the State legislature would define the measure. Councilor Kelly commented that measure 7 would take months or even years to sort out and added that the council should not put a measure 7 hurdle in front of all their decisions. Councilor Taylor agreed that the council should not hesitate to pass the ordinance because of a potential risk. In response to a question from Councilor Rayor regarding referring the matter to the voters, Mr. Klein said that the time for someone putting in a claim under measure 7 would be delayed until the matter was passed by the voters. Councilor Rayor commented that if the matter were referred to the voters then the vote would be on the current form of the ordinance. He said that if there was a citizen-initiated measure, then the content of the ordinance could be changed to please the makers of the initiative. City Manager Johnson asked council to consider Council Bill 4748, an ordinance concerning prohibited smoking; amending sections 6.230 and 6.240 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and providing an effective date. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read a second time by Council Bill number only, and that enactment be considered at that time. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 9 Regular Meeting Councilor Pap~, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to amend the ordinance by exempting facilities that had a fully enclosed smoking area inside. Councilor Rayor referred Councilor Pap~ to a letter from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (©LCC) which said that alcohol could not be served or consumed in separate smoking rooms located in adult establishments. Councilor Pap~ commented on the difficulty of the ordinance for all concerned. He remarked that business owners had the right to have the kind of patrons that they wanted in their facility. He added that he disagreed with the content of the ©LCC letter and said that bar, tavern, and bingo parlor owners could work with the ©LCC to figure out a monitoring plan. Councilor Nathanson commented that if ©LCC could have come up with a solution it would have been in the letter that was submitted to the council. She said that she had concluded there was no way to make separate smoking rooms work. Councilor Kelly said that the only data that he had seen from ©LCC said that smoking rooms could not be done. He raised concern that designated smoking rooms would open the door to abuse. Councilor Bettman reiterated that the ©LCC had said that separate smoking rooms could not be done. She opined that rules around such rooms would be unenforceable. Mayor Torrey complimented Councilor Pap~ on his amendment but said that he would have suggested a separate, self-ventilated room with no drinking allowed but where people could go to smoke. He said that this would take care of the problem of not being allowed to serve in such a room because there would be no service available there. He noted that if the vote was a tie he would support Councilor Papa's amendment. Councilor Pap~ stated that rights of workers were enforced by the Department of Labor and that any worker could file a complaint there if they were being coerced to do something that was not lawful. He reiterated that bar owners and the ©LCC could come up with a solution without interference by the City Council. The amendment failed 6:2, with councilors Pap~ and Nathanson voting yes. Councilor Pap~, seconded by Councilor Fart, moved to amend the motion by allowing the ordinance to provide for a separate indoor smoking area which was to be ventilated by a separate air cleaning system. The air standard would need to be defined prior to implementation of the ordinance by the City Manager and his staff and no alcohol serving or use would be allowed in the room. Councilor Rayor noted that the bar owner would still be responsible for monitoring the room to make sure that no illegal activity went on there. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 10 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman read from the conclusion of an Occupational Health and Safety Administration workshop dealing with the idea of separate smoking rooms. She noted that enforcement of ventilation standards would require the construction of new regulatory bureaucracies. She said that in order to create a ventilation system to remove the toxins from the room it would resemble a wind tunnel. Addressing Councilor Bettman, Councilor Pap~ noted that people went into a smoking room to smoke and therefore would not need the kind of super ventilation that she described. Councilor Nathanson raised concern that toxins from cigarette smoke would get commingled with the ventilation system of the nonsmoking area. Councilor Rayor concurred with Councilor Nathanson. He said that the City was not set up to monitor air quality in bars. Councilor Bettman opined that there would be difficulty in egress and egress of such a room without letting toxins escape into the non smoking area. Councilor Meisner said that he did not see how such an amendment could work practically. The amendment failed, 6:2, with councilors Pap~ and Fart voting yes. The main motion passed unanimously, 8:0. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4748 by number only. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill be approved and given final passage. Councilor Fart raised concern that by passing the proposed ordinance the City was setting up a migration of customers to outside the city limits to establishments that still allowed smoking. He said that he would vote against the motion, even though he was for it in principle, because it was limited to the City of Eugene and not being implemented statewide. Councilor Rayor clarified that establishments who opted for outdoor smoking areas were allowed an additional 180 days past the implementation date of July 1, 2001, to construct those areas. He suggested allowing establishments in dense areas to build into their setbacks so that they could have outdoor smoking areas as well. In response to a question from Mayor Torrey regarding a special response fee assessed to smokers who refused to leave an establishment, City Manager Johnson called attention to page 125 of the packet and said that the proposed special response fee did not apply to smokers who refused to leave an establishment. The motion passed 7:1, with Councilor Fart voting no, and became Ordinance No. 20215. VI.ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning a Special Response Fee; and Adding Section 4.775 to the Eugene Code, 1971 MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 11 Regular Meeting City Manager Johnson noted that were a series of options to consider that were listed on page 122 of the council packet. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4752, an ordinance concerning a special response fee; and adding section 4.775 to the Eugene Code, 1971. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read a second time by Council Bill number only, and that enactment be considered at that time. Councilor Taylor moved to amend the motion to change the time and penalties as follows: 1. For the second response within 60 days, the fine be set at $500. 2. For the third response within 60 days, the fine be set at $1,000 3. Additional occasions within 60 days, the fine be set at $1,500 The motion to amend died for lack of a second. Councilor Kelly thanked the ASUO for its input and expressed a desire to see a better ongoing relationship between students and the police. He urged them to ask the council for help when it was appropriate. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Meisner, moved that subsections 1 and 3 of the ordinance be modified such that it is applicable when the police respond to a gathering of 20 or more persons. In response to a question from Councilor Pap8 regarding why the number should not be changed to 30 persons, Councilor Kelly said that he did not think the majority of the council would support that number. Councilor Pap8 commended the work that was done by the ASUO on its proposed alternate ordinance. Councilor PapS, seconded by Councilor Rayor, moved to amend the amendment to raise the number to 25 persons. Councilor Bettman commented that it was disruptive to people's lives when they could not sleep because of loud parties. She said that the party that she had responded to on her police ride- along was very loud and only composed of 15 or 20 people. She said that 20 people seemed like a good compromise and she would not support the motion. Councilor Meisner would not support the amendment for 25 people but would support the amendment for 20. He added that he also appreciated the efforts of the ASUO. Councilor Kelly noted that even if there were less than the agreed upon number of attendees, all the traditional legal remedies still applied. Councilor Pap8 was under the impression that heavy response from the police came with crowds of 50 or more. City Manager Johnson said that staff did not recommend setting the number above 20 people. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 12 Regular Meeting Councilor Pap~ raised concern that fraternities/sororities frequently housed more than 20 people and that some people might be causing a disturbance when others were involved in more quiet activities. Councilor Nathanson reiterated Councilor Kelly's comments regarding the enforcement of traditional laws regarding intoxicated minors and violations of the noise ordinance. Councilor Fart left the meeting at 9:30 p.m. Councilor Nathanson said that she had read accounts of weapons and physical assaults at parties. She raised concern that people could still have disruptive parties up to four times a year without incurring the penalty. She said that she would support the 20-person limit but not the 25- person limit. Councilor Taylor supported the 25-person limit. She raised concern over penalizing people because others had done bad things in the past. She reiterated that there were existing penalties that would handle the situation. She related that she had been to teachers' parties that had gotten loud and would fall under the ordinance. Councilor Taylor went on to say that if police responded to a party and simply asked people to be more quiet the majority of them would do so. She stressed her desire to do anything to make the ordinance less punitive. Councilor Bettman reiterated that it was only the second party in 90 days that incurred the ordinance and commented that "there were a lot of ducks to put in a row" before the ordinance was enforced. Mayor Torrey related a telephone call that he had received from a concerned citizen who was going to have more than 25 guests for Thanksgiving and Christmas and was worried over the potential fine that might be incurred. He said that he would support Councilor Papa's amendment in the event of a tie, because of the commendable work done by the ASU©. The amendment to the amendment to the motion passed, 4:3, with councilors Meisner, Nathanson, and Bettman voting no. The amendment to the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved to amend the language of Subsection 2(a) regarding first response to add the words "...and in circumstances where the person responsible for the gathering was not the first to call the police to request assistance." Councilor Kelly opined that if the goal of the ordinance was to serve as a deterrent, the positive behavior should be rewarded. He added that the if the person responsible for the party was the first to call the police then they should not be counted as having had a first response under the proposed ordinance. Councilor Pap~ reiterated that it was his desire to work with the students of ASUO to find an agreeable solution to the problem. City Manager Johnson said that staff supported the amendment. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 13 Regular Meeting Councilor Nathanson stressed that calls had to be monitored minute-by-minute so that a good- faith effort could be acknowledged. City Manager Johnson said that staff would have to rely on the 911 call center logs. The amendment passed unanimously, 7:0. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding whether staff's preference was to have Municipal Court deal with the first citation and a hearings official deal with appeals, or to have Municipal Court handle the whole affair, Mr. Klein said that hearings officials would deal with questions of whether the notice was properly served and whether the penalty assessed was correct. He said that it made sense to staff to have a hearings official perform that function, but noted that it would not be illegal to have the Municipal Court handle both functions. City Manager Johnson said that staff preferred to have Municipal Court deal with Subsection 2(b) issues and the hearings official deal with Subsection 7 issues. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Rayor, moved to amend Subsection 2(b) of the ordinance to change from City Manager or designee to Eugene Municipal Court. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor PapS, moved to amend Subsection 3 of the ordinance to change the language "The special response fee is defined as the total cost incurred by the City in connection with the response" to "defined as the total cost incurred by the City caused by the response." The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Rayor, seconded by Councilor PapS, moved to amend the motion by adding a sentence to Subsection 6 of the ordinance stating "A full refund for funds paid by the individual notice recipient will be issued to the notice recipient who has paid any portion of the special response fee assessed pursuant to Subsection 3 if the person can demonstrate that all persons cited or arrested at the gathering for which the fee has been assessed were acquitted in court. For purposes of this section the definition of acquitted does not include cases that were dismissed pursuant to the successful completion of a diversion program." The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor PapS, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to amend the motion by changing subsections 3 and 4(c) from 90 days to 60 days. Councilor Pap8 noted that the ASUO request was to change the time to 21 days. He opined that 60 days was more appropriate. He raised concern that so much of the discussion was centered on the University area but said that he had made his amendment to try and strike a compromise with the ASUO. Councilor Rayor called for information on other exclusion ordinances and the time limits enforced by them to see if 90 days was comparable. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 14 Regular Meeting City Manager Johnson noted that staff did not support a change from 90 to 60 days. Councilor Nathanson did not support the amendment. She raised concern that someone could have a disruptive party every two months. Councilor Taylor disagreed, adding that people would not be marking their calendars. Councilor Pap~ remarked that some fine young adults had taken time to prepare an alternate ordinance and to repeatedly testify before the council. He said that the amendment was a way to treat them as fine young adults. He noted that the time limit could be raised if it did not work out. The motion to amend passed, 4:3, with councilors Meisner, Bettman and Nathanson voting no. Councilor Nathanson remarked that she was also pleased with the ASU© participation in the process and said that the City was not picking on the University area and would apply the ordinance citywide. City Manager Johnson noted that there was not an emergency clause included in the ordinance. He said that an emergency could be added by council amendment so that the ordinance could be implemented immediately. Councilor Rayor, with no objection from the council, changed his vote regarding the amendment to change the time limit from 90 to 60 days. The new result was the that the motion to amend failed, 4:3, with councilors Pap~, Taylor, and Kelly voting yes. Councilor Kelly reiterated that the ordinance applied citywide and stressed that it also applied to businesses. He formally requested a once-a-year report from staff on how the ordinance had been applied so that corrections could be made if needed. Councilor Pap~ reiterated his appreciation of the ASU© participation in the process. He remarked that he thought the student participation had been the best of the process. Councilor Bettman commented that the ordinance allowed options for people to party responsibly and added that she had been assured by the Police Department that there would be consistent enforcement among students and businesses. She called for information from staff regarding a safe way to get home for students who were in a party that was broken up by the police. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved to amend the motion by attaching an emergency clause. The motion to amend passed, 6:1, with Councilor Taylor voting in opposition. The main motion as amended passed unanimously, 7:0. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4752 by number only. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill be approved and given final passage. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 15 Regular Meeting Councilor Taylor remarked that the ordinance was too harsh and the fines were too high. She said that she was not optimistic about the council's ability to get the ordinance changed if it did not work. Councilor Rayor called for a copy of the ordinance to be sent to the ASUO so student leaders could be the first to see it. Councilor Pap8 suggested copies be sent to all campuses and appropriate businesses in the community. The main motion passed. 6:1 with Councilor Taylor voting in opposition, and become Ordinance No. 20217. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 16 Regular Meeting VII.ACTION: Approval of Library Financing Plan Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson noted that representatives of the Eugene Library Foundation and the New Library Advisory Committee (NLAC) were present to make some comments before the council. Tom Wiper, chair of the Capital Campaign Committee for the Eugene Public Library, reiterated that the week following the opening of the bids for the new library, his committee met and discussed what could be done to make sure that the citizens of Eugene got the library they wanted and needed. He said that they had come up with the idea of challenging the City of Eugene to find $1 million in funds to be dedicated to the library. He added that the Capital Campaign Committee would raise an additional $1 million so that the budget would be closer to being met. He assured the council that the committee would follow through on its word and find an additional million. Mr. Carlson noted that after the Capital Campaign Committee had made its suggestion, the City Manager had asked that the NLAC reconvene to make a recommendation to him on its own behalf. He introduced the chair of that committee, Julie Aspinwall-Lamberts. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts said that the NLAC supported the challenge to the City. She strongly recommended that the City take up the challenge; otherwise, she believed the resulting budget cuts to the new library would be disastrous. Mr. Carlson said that staff had examined the budget and the potential sources of revenue that could be used to meet the challenge if the council chose to respond to it. He said that there were two sources of funding that were dedicated to the library. The first was the Urban Renewal District and the other was the Library Local Operating Levy. He said that there was approximately $800,000 available in Urban Renewal funds, over the next three fiscal years, that was not previously budgeted. He also noted that the Local Operating Levy had resources that were not expected to be expended because of the slow start up in both the branch and main libraries. Councilor Meisner commented that he had heard nothing but supportive comments from the citizens he had talked to regarding the new library. He said that he had spoken to over 200 people and stressed that the response was 100 percent positive. He added that the City had promised the community a new library and that the promise was not a limited budget. He urged support for meeting the challenge of the Capital Campaign Committee. He related that he had been very discouraged by the construction bids that had come in. Councilor Taylor expressed her appreciation to all of the people on the Eugene Library Foundation and the NLAC. She said that she did not want to compromise the quality of the library but raised concern over the addition of the fourth floor and whether it had pushed up the cost. In response to a question from Councilor Taylor regarding an extra $200,000 in the Urban Renewal Fund on top of the proposed $800,000, City Manager Johnson said that the additional $200,000 would come from reserves that had been set aside to protect the City's general fund from having to make debt service payments on the new library bonds. He added that staff felt more comfortable with the last $200,000 of the challenge coming from the Local Option Levy. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 17 Regular Meeting Councilor Nathanson called for a summary on costs for construction, interest, design fees, and contingency. Brad Black of the Administrative Services Department reported that $22.7 million was budgeted for construction costs, $2.7 million for design fees including site work architecture, environmental clean-up, furniture, and equipment. He said that he did not know the interest amount. He noted that $500,000 had been spent on environmental clean-up. Councilor Nathanson expressed her desire to see the construction of the new library proceed expeditiously. She stated that this was not a matter of incurring additional expenses on the citizens of Eugene. She said that the City Manager's office, the council, and the committees had worked hard to cut the budget. Councilor Pap~ expressed his appreciation to the Library Foundation and the New Library Advisory Committee. He expressed his anger that there had been a contract with the design professionals to bring the project in within the budget constraints which were known before hand. He expressed his disappointment that those accountable for going over budget were not being held accountable and opined that it was making a bad impression on the community. He expressed his outrage that the design professionals had been paid $2.7 million and had not presented a project within the presented budget. He said that he would support the Capital Campaign Committee's request. Councilor Kelly also expressed his dismay at the bids for construction. He also took the opportunity to thank the NLAC and the Library Foundation. Councilor Kelly said that it was clear that someone "screwed up" and called for some accountability, both internal and external. He supported the challenge to the City made by the Capital Campaign Committee. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding the amount of reserves in the Urban Renewal Fund, Mr. Carlson said that there was $6.7 million in reserve. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding what the $200,000 from the Local Operating Levy would be used for if not for the construction of the new library, City Manager Johnson said that it would be used for library purchases or to reduce the amount of the levy the next time it was proposed to be renewed. Councilor Kelly suggested simply taking $1 million from Urban Renewal Funds and leaving the Local Operating Levy money out of it. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman regarding the definition of a responsible bid, City Manager Johnson said that "responsible bid" was a term used to define a qualified going business that could actually complete the project. Councilor Bettman also thanked the Library Foundation and the NLAC for their efforts. She said that she would support the challenge. Councilor Rayor said that he had opposed the addition of a fourth floor and the addition of 5,400 extra square feet to the facility. He opined that these extras were the reason for the cost overruns and said that a "yes" vote was a vote for no accountability and a "no" vote was a vote for accountability by the City. He went on to say that the only mistake the architects made was to not warn the City about the extra costs incurred by City additions to the original design of the building. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 18 Regular Meeting Mayor Torrey commented that the committees, staff, and the council looked carefully at what they wanted for a new library. He agreed that some of the professional recommendations received were not what was paid for. He stressed that the community wanted a quality library and that to walk away from that commitment, in his opinion, would be a grave mistake. He urged the council to vote yes on the financing motion. He added that the fourth floor on the library would provided much needed expansion space in the future. Councilor Nathanson commented that the new library would be a building that would be respected and admired for many years and expressed her pride in the design that had been created. She added that the fourth floor was a tradeoff and not an extra burden since it would be used for City purposes that were currently costing the City money. Councilor Kelly stressed that the architects knew about the addition of the fourth floor from the beginning of the design process. He said that he would agree with Councilor Rayor if the original estimates were for a three-floor library but stressed that the first estimate was for a four-floor building. Councilor Rayor said that the City should have been warned by the architects that the budget total was being approached and that the extra space that was added was ill-advised. Councilor Pap~ said he would support the challenge but was still angry that the community did not get what they paid for from the project designers and reiterated that someone would be held accountable. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to increase the library construction project from $32.229 million to $34.229 million, with $1 million to come from the Eugene Public Library Foundation and $1 million to come from the Urban Renewal Agency. The motion passed, 6:1, with Councilor Rayor voting no. The meeting adjourned at 11:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jim Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Joe Sams) MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2000 Page 19 Regular Meeting