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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 03/12/07 Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall March 12, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Chris Pryor, George Poling. Councilors Bonny Bettman and Betty Taylor participated via speakerphone. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the public forum. Paula Hutson , 1025 Taylor Street, member of the group Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit (3RT), th stated the group’s opposition to building a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on West 11 Avenue. She shared the group’s concerns which included impacts an EmX route would have on traffic, parking, and the number of blocks one would have to walk to the EmX stop. She felt delivery trucks would be prevented from parking adjacent to their delivery destination. She also predicted that emergency vehicles would have difficulty maneuvering around the BRT routes. She said a 3RT member had begun participating in the West Eugene Stakeholders Group. th Charles Snyder , 990 West 12 Avenue, on behalf of 3RT, related that the group had been reviewing studies on BRT, looking at maps, and examining data regarding bus routes and ridership. He said the group had concluded that there was no need to worry about how the BRT would traverse the City until it was decided what its destination would be; the group had realized that where the EmX route would terminate in west Eugene was as yet unknown. He noted that the current EmX route connected the two city centers and that the next EmX route would connect downtown Springfield with the Gateway area. He observed that when current bus service to the west side was examined it was difficult to discern what destination an EmX route should have, because the existing destinations in that area were geographically dispersed. He believed it would better serve the City and the Lane Transit District to focus on selecting a site for another Lane Transit District (LTD) terminal. Michael Carrigan , 469 Blair Boulevard, representing the Take Back America Coalition, stated that the war in Iraq was a local issue as well as a national issue. He reported that Portland and Corvallis had already passed a resolution in opposition to the war. He said he would be turning in a petition opposing the war signed by more than 450 people. He stated that the resolution called for bringing home the troops now and ceasing to spend money on the war. He asserted that the United States needed to invest its human and financial resources in the future of its own children and not in the deaths of children in Iraq. He alleged that MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 1 Regular Meeting the citizens of Eugene had spent $107 million in taxes on the war. He provided examples of what that money could have paid for in local services. He urged the council to approve the resolution. Tom Mitchell , 3355 North Delta Highway, #45, indicated his support for the resolution to oppose the Iraq war. Mr. Mitchell thanked Councilor Solomon and the committee on manufactured home parks for the good work on the proposal regarding park closures. He related that the Housing Policy Board (HPB) approved the recommendations of the committee with a few amendments. He understood from staff that the City Attorney was preparing a draft ordinance and the tentative timeline called for a review by the City Council in a work session on April 18, with a possible public hearing on May 21 and possible action on June 11. He said whatever could be done to expedite action on the park closure issue would be appreciated. He hoped that the council would not delay action because of concern regarding the State preemption provision proposed by the coalition in House Bill (HB) 2735. He related that he and many manufactured home owners traveled to Salem and testified in opposition to the preemption clause. He noted that another hearing was scheduled for March 26. He attributed the groundswell of opposition by park residents to HB 2735 to underrepresentation of approximately 67,000 homeowners in the State. He related that of the 17 members of the coalition who had set forth HB 2735, only two were park residents. He asserted that 12 of them appeared to be related to park owner groups. He felt that homeowners were more fairly represented on the HPB subcommittee. Barbara Mitchell , 3355 North Delta Highway, #45, expressed support for the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations Committee (CCIGR) decision to oppose HB 2735 unless it was amended. She noted that the CCIGR discussion focused on elimination of the preemption provision. She said other problems with HB 2735 included “woefully inadequate” compensation for evicted residents, particularly when homes could not be moved. She called HB 2735 the “park owners’ bill.” She averred that Senate Bill (SB) 837 offered good protections for homeowners. She asked that the council support SB 837. Gordie Albi , 1696 Adkins Street, averred that the President violated the trust of the American people. She said in a democracy everyone shared a part of the responsibility. She recounted a story in which German students blamed the lack of action against Adolph Hitler on fear. It had been pointed out that people who harbored Jews were tortured and were frightened and yet they maintained their opposition. She alleged that 90 percent of the dead in wars were women and children. She felt that the council was the only voice the people of Eugene had and asked that the council please speak out against the war. Noah Mrowczynski , 795 Fremont Avenue, related that he had been to Iraq. He said it was insulting that he had been sent overseas on “nothing but lies.” He opposed the loss of the 600,000 Iraqi people and American soldiers in the war. He considered the deployment of the Oregon National Guard to be exploitation. He pointed out that many National Guardsmen do not get the benefits of the GI Bill because of the requirement that a person be on active duty for 24 months. He asserted that the National Guardsmen serve 18 months and come back to nothing. He shared some of the challenges he had faced since returning from Iraq. He supported the resolution against the war. Dan Goldrich , 2262 Birch Lane, spoke in support of the resolution against the war. He wished to emphasize the proactive clause that called for the United States government to pursue regional diplomatic efforts with bordering countries with the goal of producing regional stability. He felt the City’s resolution sought to stop the next “worst war” before it began. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 2 Regular Meeting Stan Taylor , 1285 McLean Boulevard, stated that he taught Political Science at the Lane Community College (LCC). He said he was also working with LCC administration to create a Peace Center at LCC. He related that as a peace educator he had focused on the Middle East and, in particular, Iraq and the propensity of the United States government to utilize war as its primary tool for projecting its interests in the world. He opined that Iraq was just one example. He alleged that there were plans to reshape this part of the world through more war. He averred that it was time to recognize that the killing had to stop and that diplomacy was the means of bringing peace to the world; that it was time for the United States to be part of the world community. He underscored that change began at the local level. th Drix , 307-½ East 14 Avenue, reiterated his belief that the citizens of Eugene could, by pulling together, solve their problems, from the large problems such as the war in Iraq to the smaller problems like the two holes in downtown Eugene. He underscored that the people had the ideas that were needed to resolve issues. He suggested that Eugene, as a first name, could be everyone’s name in the city of Eugene and everyone who lived in the city could be called Eugene. th Madeline Smith , 594 West 11 Avenue, recommended that the people of Eugene work on using the rest of its oil wisely as there would not always be oil. She predicted that Iraq would be divided into three states. She thought Iran would be hard to control because it could bomb any oil tanker going through the Strait of Hormuz. She felt the sooner the United States decided to negotiate with Iran the better off it would be. Bayla Ostrach , 110 Mayfair Lane, member of the Eugene/Springfield Solidarity Network, read a statement she received from a friend who was serving as a marine in Iraq who was afraid to come home because he did not believe he would get the counseling he needed to recover from the war in Iraq. She asked the council to pass the resolution against the war. th Ruth Koenig , 1204 West 28 Avenue, recalled the President’s lies regarding the weapons of mass destruction and his “empty claims of success” in the conflict in Iraq. She averred that the war wrought “huge amounts of destruction.” She felt the community should speak out to its representatives in Congress. She hoped that the resolution would encourage Congress to cut off funding for the war. She felt the money that was being wasted could be better used to provide services. Majeska Seese-Green , PO Box 11692, speaking on behalf of the Whiteaker Community Council (WCC), conveyed the recent unanimous vote by the WCC to oppose the war. She said she had consulted a Web site that indicated how much tax revenue from each city had been allocated to the war in Iraq. From this information she had surmised that the Whiteaker neighborhood had spent $1 million on the war. She asked the council to imagine what “that kind of money” could do for the community. She hoped that the City Council would unanimously support the resolution in opposition to the war. Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, supported the resolution calling for an end to the war. However, she primarily wished to register her opposition to a ballot measure crafted by Bill Sizemore that would eliminate the requirement for a building permit for any construction costing $35,000 or less. She averred that the populace often did not realize what they were voting for until after the vote had occurred. She believed in oversight for building standards and hoped the council was following the issue. She stressed that, as a remodeling contractor, she thought it was a bad idea. She saw potentially huge issues such as stormwater facilities being overwhelmed because of development undertaken with no oversight. Mark Rabinowitz , PO Box 51222, noted that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) selected ‘no build’ as the closeout for the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 3 Regular Meeting and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) removed the project from the state transportation list. He averred that the City owned two parcels of land as a result of planning for the project. He urged the City to transfer the land from the transportation division to the Parks and Open Space Division. He reiterated his concerns regarding peak oil. He believed that the reason the United States engaged in war with Iraq was because of the oil reserves there. Jerry A. Harden , 1400 Candlelight Drive, #224, said he served as a member of the HPB committee on mobile home park closures. He urged the council to enact the recommendations the committee made and the HPB had approved. He acknowledged that there could be some concern on the part of the council due to the local government preemption provision in HB 2735, which would preempt all local jurisdiction ordinances related to the parks. He underscored his belief that HB 2735 would do serious harm to manufactured home park homeowners. He felt the preemption provision could be deleted, noting that the bill’s sponsor was Eugene representative Chris Edwards. He related that testimony in Salem demonstrated that there was substantial opposition to the preemption clause. He averred that Eugene needed to “grow” the existing inventory of affordable housing and not reduce it. He added that three of the local assisted living centers in the City were going to discontinue serving Medicaid clients. He asserted that this would create an even greater pressure on the existing affordable housing. Terry Holvey , PO Box 51416, conveyed a message from State Representative Paul Holvey in support of the resolution to end the United States involvement in the Iraq war. He hoped that the City of Eugene would support House Joint Resolution 9, slated to be on the floor at the State House later in the week, which requests that the United States withdraw its troop from Iraq. She stated that Mr. Holvey opposed utilization of the National Guard as a “police force for a civil war.” Ms. Holvey related that her son served in Iraq. She said it had been the “worst feeling in the world” to not know if one’s child was safe. She shared that she and Ms. Rich had been “battle buddies” when their children were serving in Iraq in an effort to give one another emotional support. She stated that her son had been awarded a bronze star for meritorious service and described the incident that he had been given the medal for. rd Sara Rich , 390 East 43 Avenue, said she was an angry mother of an Iraq combat soldier. She related that her daughter had been sexually assaulted and sexually harassed by her commander for the year she served. She felt her daughter had returned “a different girl.” She had since met many Iraq veterans who were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She also met families who lost their daughters or sons in the war in Iraq. She wanted to keep recruiters out of the high schools. She wanted the current administration to be impeached. She believed the administration was responsible for the “death and genocide” occurring in Iraq and were responsible for the over 3,200 soldiers who were dead. She noted that this did not include the suicides that occurred. She felt the war was tearing the nation and its children apart. She said she would do what she could to prevent her 12-year-old son from ever having to serve. She related that she was a social worker in Eugene and she could not think of a client who had dental or vision care. She thought the money being spent on the war could be used for a much better purpose. Mayor Piercy closed the public forum and invited comments and questions from councilors. Councilor Bettman expressed appreciation for all who testified. She indicated she would support the resolution to end the war and bring the troops home and she hoped her colleagues would as well. She believed the council’s voice could influence policy. She stressed the importance of “speaking up.” MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 4 Regular Meeting Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone for their testimony. She stated that she had raised three sons. She supported the resolution to end the war. Councilor Clark thanked Drix for his testimony, as well as the others who had testified. He added that the vote on the resolution would not be unanimous as he was not persuaded that the council should take action on a national matter. He especially wanted to thank the people who testified who had served in the armed forces or who had family members who had done so. Councilor Zelenka thanked the people who testified. He said as a former member of the United States Air Force he honored the troops and their sacrifice. He had helped to craft the resolution. He averred that the war was based on lies. He had been moved by the white flag display at the University of Oregon campus. He believed that the United States was embroiled in a civil war with no end in sight. He thought it was time to stand up and ask for an end of the war in order to start rebuilding the destruction. He commended the patriotism that was embodied by dissent. Mayor Piercy thanked everyone for coming. She commented that having people in the community speak up on what they felt was important and right honored the community. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - January 17, 2007, Work Session - January 31, 2007, Work Session - February 12, 2007, City Council Meeting B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4906 Authorizing the Institution of Proceedings in Eminent Do- main for the Acquisition of Property Interests for the Courthouse District Transportation Improvement Project (City Job 4237) D. Adoption of Resolution 4907 Urging the Cessation of Combat Operations in Iraq and the Return of United States Troops Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to approve the items on the Consent Cal- endar. Councilor Zelenka pulled Item D. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar, with the exception of Item D, passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Zelenka offered a friendly amendment to make the following four changes to the reso- lution: 1) “E. The war and occupation has caused an estimated 650,000 Iraqi deaths, including men, women, and children, according to an October 11, 2006, study in the British medical jour- nal, The Lancet.” 2) “I. The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq highlights our dependence on imported oil for our energy needs and uses funds that could be better allocated do developing renewable al- ternatives to fossil fuels.” MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 5 Regular Meeting 3) “J. The more than $107,500,000 spent by Eugene taxpayers to date on the war and occu- pation in Iraq could nearly eliminate our backlog of road repairs; or could have provided one year of Head Start preschool for nearly 14,000 Eugene children; or one year of medical insurance for more than 61,000 Eugene children; or one year of salary for more than 1,775 public school teachers in Eugene; or more than 900 additional housing units in Eugene; or nearly 5,000 four-year scholarships at public universities in Oregon, according to the Na- tional Priorities Project.” 4) “Section 5. That the financial resource used to prosecute the war be redirected, as they be- come available, to address the urgent needs of the most vulnerable portions of our popula- tion, including education, health care and full benefits for returning veterans, as well as to fund the development of non-carbon producing renewable alternatives for our energy needs.” Councilors Ortiz and Pryor accepted the friendly amendment. Councilor Poling said while he wanted to bring the troops home, he could not support the resolution as it was worded. He questioned why the council would take time to discuss an international issue when the City faced so many local problems. He related that constituents asked him this question. He stated that one reason he could not support the resolution was the statement asserting that $107 million in Eugene taxpayers’ money had been spent on the war. He pointed out that this tax revenue had not come out of the City budget; rather it was federal tax revenue. He noted that while the resolution mentioned some wonderful things that the money could be spent on, it made no mention of allocating money to public safety. Councilor Solomon wished to respectfully thank the people who spoke on behalf of the resolution. She underscored that when she ran for her position, she did so in order to make a difference in her neighborhood. She averred that if a citizen wished to influence national policy, he or she could do so by contacting Representative DeFazio, Senator Smith, and Senator Wyden. She said she had opposed these types of resolutions in the past and would oppose this one as well. Councilor Clark supported getting the troops home. He also felt his purpose was to serve local governance. He had heard constituents say that taking on an international issue was a waste of council time. He stressed that the City had pressing problems on which it could make a direct impact, while the war in Iraq was an issue it could have no direct impact on. He read a statement allegedly written by a soldier in Iraq in support of the war in Iraq. Councilor Pryor said he was 100 percent for local governance. He felt it was important to occasionally take some time to talk in regard to significant issues. He appreciated Councilor Zelenka’s amendments and he appreciated the section that advocated for providing enough funds to keep the troops safe while evacuating. He averred that if enough communities came together, a message could be sent. He indicated his support for the resolution. Councilor Ortiz declared that when she ran for the City Council it had not just been for local government. She said for her it was about the council taking a stand as leaders of the community. She stressed that her conscience indicated to her that supporting the resolution was the right thing to do. Councilor Taylor supported the resolution. She said she was grateful to the citizens who had spoken out in support of the resolution. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 6 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman thanked her colleagues for their comments. She averred that the City Council lobbied on national policy “all the time.” Councilor Clark reiterated his opposition to the resolution. He was concerned that Eugene would send a message that would embolden the enemies of the United States. He also expressed concern that a quick departure would cause further deterioration of the civil war situation in Iraq and would result in genocide. He noted that the Secure Rural Schools Act, the funding mechanism that would allocate $47 million to offset the loss of timber revenue to Lane County, was currently attached to the Supplemental Budget to pay for the “surge.” Mayor Piercy disagreed with the notion that the deaths in Iraq were not a local issue. She stated that 200 cities across the country were joining in one voice to oppose the war. She believed this would be an influential statement. Roll call vote; the motion to approve Item D, Resolution 4907 urging the cessation of combat operations in Iraq and the return of United States troops passed, 5:3; councilors Solomon, Pol- ing, and Clark voting in opposition. 3. PUBLIC HEARING and POSSIBLE ACTION: Brown Measure 37 Claim (M37 06-2); Resolution 4905 Granting a Measure 37 Claim and Modify- th ing a Provision of Chapter 9 of the Eugene Code, 1971, for Property Located on 12 Avenue Between Charnelton and Lincoln Streets, Eugene, Oregon (Assessor’s Map 17-03-31-42 TL 7100 – DMB Green, LLC) City Manager Taylor introduced Associate Planner for the Planning and Development Department (PDD), Heather O’Donnell, and asked her to speak to the item. Ms. O’Donnell explained that the claimant alleged a reduction in fair market value for the lot in question and sought to waive the current 1.0 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and reimpose the previous .65 FAR. She reported that the City Manager concurred that there was a reduction in value and recommended that the current FAR be waived. She requested the council take action following the public hearing because the council was about to recess for a two-week break. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. John Brown , 1260 Charnelton Street, stated that the lot was currently a parking lot. He and his partner wished to put a building on the lot with ground floor offices and a few second floor apartments. He said with a 1.0 FAR it would not be possible to construct the project and make it economically viable. He noted that he had provided pictures of an example building in that area that was developed with ground floor offices and second floor apartments, located at 1178 Charnelton Street, and underscored that his project would include 50 percent more residential units. He wanted to construct a building that reduced the amount of parking needed in the downtown and allowed a company that had been in the downtown area for 30 years to remain. He said if he and his partner did not develop the property it would continue to be a parking lot. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 7 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman wanted to know whether the issue was really urgent. She was concerned that waiving the FAR would cause other regulations that existed before the Land Use Code Update (LUCU) to be reimposed. City Attorney Glenn Klein responded that the claim sought only to waive the 1.0 FAR and reimpose the .65 FAR and nothing more. He emphasized that the resolution would not do anything more than that. He said whether the resolution was acted on at the present meeting or at the Wednesday work session would not make a tremendous amount of difference, but there was a desire not to postpone until after the council break because of the 180-day timeline on the issue. Councilor Bettman asked if acting after the council break would supercede the 180-day timeline. She wanted to know how the council could move forward without some delineation of the magnitude of the claim in terms of value if the City chose not to waive the FAR. She asserted that the City had not conducted due diligence in terms of establishing what the reduction of market value would be. Mr. Klein responded that the 180-day timeline would be exceeded if the action was not taken prior to the council break. In terms of the reduction in value, he had consulted with another appraiser and the appraiser had indicated that there would be a reduction should the FAR not be waived. He said he had not asked for an appraisal. He explained that while it was a valuable tool most governments were not getting appraisals due to the expense. Councilor Bettman opined that efforts to reduce staff time were multiplying negative effects of Ballot Measure 37. Mayor Piercy ascertained from Councilor Bettman that she opposed taking action at the present meeting and action was deferred to the work session scheduled for March 14. 4. ACTION: Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions of February 6, 2007, and Direction on Legislative Policy Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to ratify the Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions as set forth in the minutes of the February 6, 2007, meeting. Councilor Pryor requested to pull SB 187, SB 335, SB 476, HB 2465, SB 293, and HB 2140 for discus- sion. Roll call vote; the motion to ratify the Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions with the exception of six bills pulled for discussion passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Pryor explained that the bills that he pulled for discussion had resulted in a 2:1 vote by the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR). He thought it would be appropriate to discuss the bills in order to confirm the CCIGR vote or to take a different position if the majority so chose. SB 187 Councilor Pryor explained that SB 187 directed the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) to encourage local governments to provide affordable housing. He noted that Urban Services Manager for the Community Development Division of PDD, Richie Weinman, recommended that the stand MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 8 Regular Meeting should be to support the bill from an affordable housing standpoint. He asked councilors Bettman and Taylor to explain their recommendation to oppose the bill. Councilor Bettman averred that the bill leveraged a public good for something that was against the City’s legislative policy. She felt that the definition of affordable housing was very broad. She asserted that a person who made $3 million per year could be subsidized to buy a $1 million house. She alleged that the bill would force local jurisdictions to expedite the urban growth boundary (UGB) expansion process for affordable housing projects. She declared that the language in the bill was not good. Intergovernmental Relations Manager Brenda Wilson stated that the bill had one hearing and it did not appear that the bill “had legs.” She did not anticipate that it would go anywhere. She noted that “even” the Lane County Home Builders Association had problems with some of the language, though the association had come out in support of the bill. Roll call vote; the vote on the motion to support the recommendation of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations to take a Priority 2 Oppose stance against SB 187 was a tie, 4:4; councilors Ortiz, Zelenka, Taylor and Bettman voting in favor and councilors Poling, Solomon, Pryor, and Clark voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy voted to support the recommen- dation and the motion passed. SB 335 Councilor Pryor explained that SB 335 would change the planning period for the buildable land supply inside the UGB. He noted that staff recommended that the City adopt a Priority 3 Monitor stance but the CCIGR had, by a 2:1 vote, supported changing the stance to a Priority 1 Oppose. Councilor Bettman supported the CCIGR recommendation to oppose the bill. Councilor Taylor said a Priority 1 Oppose would be in concert with previous council action. Councilor Solomon asked if there was any recent news on this bill. Ms. Wilson responded that the last hearing on the bill had been on February 15. She said there was a task force put into place to address the land use issues in Oregon, but no further public hearings were planned for this bill at present. Councilor Solomon indicated that she supported the bill and would oppose the recommendation of the CCIGR. In response to a question from Councilor Clark, Ms. Wilson stated that there were several groups of bills that were moving through the legislature at this time and land use was one group that was being addressed as a whole. She thought the group would be looked at in a “big picture” way, rather than as individual bills. Given that the bill had been through a hearing and had not been rescheduled for another hearing, she did not believe the bill was moving. Councilor Clark found it ironic that the City supported the latest in technology for building green buildings but it did not have the most current technology for land to put the buildings on or the technology for how to decide what the measurement of those lands were. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 9 Regular Meeting Roll call vote; the vote on whether to support the recommendation of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations to take a Priority 1 Oppose stance on SB 335 was a tie, 4:4; coun- cilors Ortiz, Zelenka, Bettman, and Taylor voting in support and councilors Clark, Poling, Solomon, and Pryor voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy voted in favor and the motion passed. SB 476 Councilor Pryor explained that the bill was related to mass transit districts and would require election of five members and appointment of two members of boards of directors for the districts in metro areas with a population of 400,000 or fewer. He said the position of staff was to support the bill. He voted against that position and wanted to bring it to the council for further discussion. Councilor Solomon asked if this bill would retain the districts that currently made up the Lane Transit District (LTD) board of directors. She noted that in the past LTD had found it difficult to find representa- tives for all of the districts. Ms. Wilson replied that it redefined the districts by stipulating that the districts must be nearly equal in population and it added two appointed board members. Councilor Solomon asked if the new districts would have the same requirements for ridership. She added that LTD just recently went through a lengthy process to find someone to represent the district in which she resided. Ms. Wilson replied that in the form the bill had been introduced it did not require candidates to be riders. In response to a question from Mayor Piercy, Ms. Wilson stated that the current position of the CCIGR was a Priority 2 Support. Councilor Solomon asked what the benefit of having an elected board would be. Mayor Piercy responded that it related to council policy. Councilor Pryor explained that his reason for pulling the bill was because he did not know if LTD governance was something the City of Eugene should take a position on. He questioned the necessity of “wading into the fight” if it was not necessary. Councilor Bettman averred that the City had a stake in the governance of LTD. Roll call vote; the vote on whether to support the recommendation of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations to take a position of Priority 2 Support on SB 476 passed, 5:3; councilors Solomon, Pryor, and Poling voting in opposition. HB 2465 Councilor Pryor explained that staff recommended that the CCIGR take a Drop position on the bill as it only applied to schools in Hood River County and, therefore, did not affect the City of Eugene. Mayor Piercy stated her opposition to this bill because she believed allowing the Hood River school district to establish a school on land within three miles of a UGB without adopting an exception to the State land use planning goal would not be good for Eugene’s land use policy. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 10 Regular Meeting Councilor Solomon said she hoped the bill would pass and would have an effect on the City. She stated that the Bethel School District owned land outside of the UGB of Eugene and it needed to build a new high school. She averred that the bill, which was specific to the Hood River County school district, could set a precedent that would benefit the Bethel School District. Councilor Bettman asserted that the bill was inconsistent to the legislative agenda of Eugene. She averred that the Bethel School District could apply for a local exception to the statewide land use requirements. She felt the bill would set “a very bad precedent.” She urged the council to uphold the vote of the CCIGR. Councilor Zelenka concurred. He believed it was a bad precedent and a bad policy. Councilor Clark related that he had heard the concern expressed that such votes create conflict between public good and public bad. He suggested that the bill was an opportunity to remedy this. Roll call vote; the vote on whether to support the recommendation of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations to take a position of Priority 2 Oppose was a tie, 4:4; councilors Zelenka, Ortiz, Taylor and Bettman voting in favor and councilors Solomon, Poling, Clark and Pryor voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy voted in favor of the recommendation and it passed. SB 293 Councilor Pryor stated that a number of bills that related to the use of mobile communication while driving had been generated this session, of which this bill was one. He pulled the bill because staff expressed concerns that the bill did not exempt the use of two-way radios by police, emergency personnel, and public works staff. He said the CCIGR voted to support the bill with the amendment to provide that exemption. He suggested that the council pull the bill for later approval when a more current version came out. Ms. Wilson interjected that she believed SB 293 was now a “dead” bill. She predicted that the Legislature would focus on distracted driving as a whole issue rather than “nitpicking” each activity. Mayor Piercy ascertained that there was no objection to dropping the motion. HB 2140 Councilor Pryor explained that the bill made technical changes to public contracting code. He said major revisions of public contracting had been undertaken one year earlier. He stated that the bill would add language for contracting with government agencies, changing bid thresholds and limiting certain kinds of contracts. He related that staff felt that the bill was primarily a clean-up of wording and that it added clarifications to the revisions. He said both Mr. Perry of the Finance Division and Mr. Klope of Public Works had recommended that the City support the bill. The CCIGR voted 2:1 to oppose it. Councilor Bettman affirmed that the bill made “alleged housekeeping changes” but she felt the changes were very significant in terms of public policy. She said one would change the quote limit for transportation projects from $50,000 to $100,000. She thought this would make so that anything that was under $100,000 would not need to go out for a competitive bid. She also took issue with language regarding pilot projects. She asserted that it circumvented public accountability, as any project could be called a pilot project. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 11 Regular Meeting Councilor Solomon asked staff to verify if the bill would change the language so that a project for $100,000 or less could not be subjected to the bid process. Mr. Klein replied that if it worked like the rest of the code, it referred to the minimum and not the maximum; in other words, the bid process would be optional for a project at that level. Councilor Solomon surmised that the City of Eugene could still require contracts to be bid out. She supported the idea. She felt pilot projects were ways of exploring a different way of doing business. She believed it to be a way to try something new without having to “cement it into an ordinance.” She averred that it was worth a try. She supported having more tools at the table that would help to save money. Councilor Clark said he wanted to support inventive ways of doing things in order to find cost savings in the process. Councilor Pryor said if one looked at Public Works law it was apparent that projects that cost $100,000 or less were already exempted from the bid requirements, with the exception of transportation projects. He explained that the bill sought to bring transportation projects in line with the rest of the public works projects. He disputed the notion that the bill sought to “somehow monkey with the limit.” He agreed that pilot projects encouraged innovation and were not mechanisms to “do things underhandedly.” He thought such projects were opportunities to be creative in procurement. He underscored that the laws from one year earlier had been put in place in part to improve the monitoring and thresholds. He believed the bill represented good changes to the contracting laws. Councilor Zelenka felt that the law indicated that all that had to be shown was a belief that a pilot project would save money. He thought the bill was written so broadly that anything could be considered a pilot project. Mayor Piercy was not convinced that the bill was onerous. She indicated she would oppose the position the CCIGR had taken. Roll call vote; the vote to support the recommendation of the Council Committee on Intergov- ernmental Relations to take a position to change the recommendation on HB 2140 to Priority 2 Oppose was a tie, 4:4; councilors Ortiz, Zelenka, Taylor, and Bettman voting in favor and councilors Pryor, Poling, Solomon, and Clark voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy voted in op- position and the staff recommendation of Priority 3 Support stood. Councilor Taylor noted that it was late in Washington, DC, and signed off. Councilor Pryor reiterated his belief that a close vote on CCIGR recommendation warranted a larger discussion at the council level. Councilor Zelenka commented that the CCIGR minutes were somewhat difficult to understand. He asked for a bill summary to aid in understanding what the bills were. Councilor Pryor stated that the CCIGR was presented with a large stack of bills and in most cases the staff recommendation was accepted. 5. ACTION: MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 12 Regular Meeting An Ordinance Providing for Withdrawal of Territories from the River Road Water District and the River Road Park and Recreation District, and from the Santa Clara Water District Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4939, an ordinance providing for withdrawal of territories from special districts. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Klein ascertained from the Mayor that the ordinance that had been voted on included the amendment provided to the council prior to the meeting. 6. ACTION: An Ordinance Amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan Land Use Diagram; Amending the Willakenzie Area Plan Pursuant to Section 9.7750(4) of the Eugene Code, 1971; Adopting a Severability Clause; and Providing an Effective Date (Huntington Crossing) Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4943, an ordinance amending the Metro Plan and Willakenzie Area Plan. Councilor Bettman expressed concern that redesignating the area would create the opportunity for commercial development, potentially including a strip mall. She asked what kind of influence the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process had and whether or not the council had any influence at this point in order to ensure that any commercial development would be small-scale. City Manager Taylor asked Associate Planner for the Planning and Development, Lydia McKinney, to speak to the question. Ms. McKinney explained that the base zone would be medium density residential use and commercial use would only be permitted in the zone district through a PUD process and would be required to be at the level at which it would serve the residents of the PUD. She said there was also a policy in the Willakenzie Area Refinement Plan that supported the limitation of commercial uses. She related that staff had sought advice from legal counsel as to how commercial uses could be further limited should the ordinance be approved because of the Willakenzie Area Plan policy that supported having some commercial use. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, Ms. McKinney stated that the area in question was comprised of seven acres. Councilor Bettman asked what the absolute minimum of dwelling units per acre there would be. Ms. McKinney responded that the minimum would be approximately 67 residential units. Councilor Bettman asked what commercial development would be permitted with the ordinance. Ms. McKinney replied that she could only think of one residential PUD that allowed commercial development, Valley River Village. She explained that it had gone through the PUD process and had commercial development that included a bagel shop and a gas station. She noted that the PUD included well over 1,000 dwelling units. Councilor Bettman asked if a gas station would be a permitted use if the council approved of the ordinance. Ms. McKinney replied that she did not believe this was a permitted use within the Willakenzie Area MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 13 Regular Meeting Refinement Plan. She also did not think the argument could be made that a gas station would be a neighborhood commercial use that would serve less than 200 residents. In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Bettman, Ms. McKinney clarified that the minimum residential density would be calculated on the entire acreage and would not be calculated after commercial use was factored in. Councilor Solomon asked on behalf of a constituent how the change would reduce existing transportation impacts given that residential use would be increased. Ms. McKinney replied that the land was currently zoned Industrial and industrial uses had a much higher traffic impact than residential uses. Councilor Solomon asked if old Coburg Road would come under the jurisdiction of the City of Eugene. Ms. McKinney responded that this had not happened yet but it would be part of the process. Councilor Zelenka asked for clarification of the commercial use policies. Ms. McKinney responded that the commercial uses permitted in the PUD would have to be in the C-1 category, i.e. neighborhood commercial. She explained that this would include a small neighborhood store or an office but would not include a gas station. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:1; Councilor Bettman voting in opposition. 7. ACTION: An Ordinance Adopting Hazardous Substance User Fees for the Fiscal Year Commencing July 1, 2007 Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4944, an ordinance adopting hazardous substance user fees. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. The meeting adjourned at 9:59 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 12, 2007 Page 14 Regular Meeting