HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.09.20 City Council Meeting MinutesMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
March 9, 2020
7:30 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Claire Syrett,
Chris Pryor
Councilors Absent: Betty Taylor, Greg Evans
Mayor Vinis opened the March 9, 2020, meeting of the Eugene City Council.
1. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST
• Councilor Yeh - read a list of spring break programming offered by the Library.
• Councilor Semple - spoke about the Kindness Campaign within the city and
challenged community members to count how many acts of kindness they could
perform in 24 hours.
• Councilor Clark- announced the Northeast Neighbors meeting was cancelled over
concerns about coronavirus transmission.
City Manager Pro Tern Sarah Medary - announced that a work session was added to update
council on the City's COVID-19 response; noted the Oregon Health Association issued
interim shelter guidelines and that staff was working with local organizations serving
unsheltered people.
• Councilor Zelenka - reminded everyone about the Franklin Boulevard Transformation
Project open house and encouraged people to attend.
2. CONSENT CALENDAR I
A. Approval of City Council Minutes
• January 13, 2020, Work Session
• January 13, 2020, Meeting
• January 15, 2020, Work Session
• January 22, 2020, Work session
• January 27, 2020, Work Session
• January 29, 2020, Work Session
• February 10, 2020, Meeting
• February 19, 2020, Meeting
• February 26, 2020, Work Session
B. Approval of City Council Tentative Agenda
C. Approval of Motion Relating to Voters' Pamphlet for the May 19, 2 02 0, Primary
Election
MINUTES - Eugene City Council March 9, 2020 Page 1
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MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved to
approve the items on Consent Calendar I. PASSED 6:0.
3. PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum opened with a report from Eugene's youth ambassadors on a recent trip to
Chinju, South Korea, a sister city. Candace Shorack, the President of the Eugene-Chinju
Sister City Committee, introduced the ambassadors, Ashley Morzenti and Jasmine Vasquez,
who spoke about their experience with the cultural exchange.
1. Nate Otto - advocated for adoption of Score Then Automatic Runoff voting.
2. Tom Peck- shared actions council could take to help with help the spread of COVID-19.
3. David Ivan Piccioni - supported STAR voting and raised concerns about deforestation.
4. Samuel Schall - shared how STAR voting empowers voters.
S. Brett Blundon - supported short-term rentals and a reduction in building fees.
6. Chris Widdop - thought complaints about STRs were anecdotal rather than fact -based.
7. Allen Zundel - thanked council for considering whether to put STAR voting on the ballot.
8. Stephanie McLaughlin - expressed interest in sharing data about STRs.
9. Charles Fournier - spoke in support of STAR voting.
10. Wayne Martin - supported making it safer for unhoused people to sleep outdoors.
11. Erika Propst - spoke about traffic calming efforts on Jefferson Street.
12. Kim Hyland - asked council to make decisions on STRs based on validated data.
13. Sue Sierralupe - advocated for bathrooms to be opened for people to wash their hands.
14. Steve Piercy - asked for more traffic calming funds and de -prioritization of parking.
15. Jay Concotta - asked council to refer STAR voting to the ballot.
16. Rich Self - wanted full adoption of recommendations from recent report on unhoused.
17. Travis Johannes - supported Bethel receiving more community development funds.
18. Sara Wolk - explained more about how STAR voting works.
19. Bruce Sisson - shared data from a recent survey on STRs.
20. Jonathan Miller - spoke in support of STAR voting.
21. Joshua Korn - spoke of the ethical issues surrounding 5G technology.
22. Holly Berry - shared concerns about a potential 90-day limit on STRs.
23. Kristina Lang - shared her experiences managing a STR.
24. Anthony Martins - spoke of the challenges of the petition signature -gathering window.
25. Mark Osterloh - said he thought council should place STAR voting on the ballot.
26. Todd Boyle - shared recent report on homelessness from Lane County Legal Aid.
27. Karen Alvarado - shared concerns about the STR ad -hoc committee's process
28. Tim Kovash - voiced concern about the lack of collaboration on the STR committee.
29. Rowan - spoke about his recent experiences researching 5G.
30. Pamela Krause - requested more resources for public health to deal with COVID-19.
31. Hallie Roberts - spoke about the challenges the STAR voting campaign faced.
32. Matthew Yook - wanted an STR tax and greater transparency and access generally.
33. Mark Frohnmayer- urged council to push STAR voting to the ballot.
34. Katherine Dunn - spoke in support of STRs.
35. Will Phillips - urged council to review the data on STRs; noted professionalism of hosts.
36. Tommy "Soybean" Hiura - spoke about STAR voting; sang the national anthem.
37. Linda Sisson - shared concerns about the STR ad -hoc committee's process.
38. Jared Weybright - thanked the City for its support of the McKenzie Watershed Council.
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Meeting
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Semple - spoke about the work of the McKenzie Watershed Council;
shared the City website was going through a redesign and invited people to
complete an online survey to give their input on what they would like to see;
expressed her intent to bring a work session poll to council to discuss the recent
report on the unhoused and its recommendations; noted she was already circulating
a work session poll to add housing status as a protected class; expressed interest in
meeting with people about STRs.
• Councilor Syrett - voiced concern about the process used by the ad -hoc advisory
committee on STRs, which she had intended through her motion to be comprised of
STR hosts and owners, and not include impacted neighbors or hotel lobbyists in its
membership; explained that the City could not require developers to build
affordable housing unless they did so as part of a tax incentive program; expressed
support of residents calling for traffic calming along Jefferson Street.
• Councilor Zelenka - shared information about the City's commitment to Vision Zero
and his support for traffic calming, noting he would like to consider putting more
funding toward the effort; thought registration, license and accountability
mechanisms would prevent some of the problems the community was experiencing
with STRs.
• Councilor Clark - agreed with Councilor Syrett regarding the intent of the motion to
form an ad -hoc committee and thought the committee focus should be on any
unintended consequences of the draft code on the STR owners.
2. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Extending the Term of Ordinance No. 20170
Granting to Northwest Natural Gas Company, a Corporation, a Twenty -Year Non -
Exclusive Right and Franchise to Lay, Maintain and Operate Facilities in the Public
Way Within the City of Eugene, Oregon; and Providing for the Payment of
Compensation to the City
City Manager Pro-Tem Sarah Medary introduced the public hearing.
1. Jim Neu - encouraged council to take steps to phase out the use of natural gas in the
city in order to reach its emissions goals.
2. Patricia Hine - urged council that any extension should result in an agreement to
reduce natural gas emissions.
3. Linda Perrine - expressed frustration with the extension and council's lack of
meaningful action to reduce greenhouse emissions.
4. Tiffany Edwards - relayed the Eugene Chamber of Commerce's support for the
franchise agreement extension so long as the parties involved were negotiating in
good faith.
S. Linda Heyl - said steep reductions in natural gas were needed for the City to meet
its climate goals; asked council to explore specific ways to reduce natural gas usage.
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Meeting
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Zelenka -said carbon offsets were an important tool for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nub dL
Beth Forrest
City Recorder
(Recorded by Cas Casados)
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting.
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Meeting