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HomeMy WebLinkAbout960529M1 Minutes-- Eugene City Council May 29, 1996 Page 1 11:30 a.m. M I N U T E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall May 29, 1996 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Tim Laue, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Shawn Boles, Pat Farr, Kevin Hornbuckle, Barbara Keller, Jim Torrey COUNCILORS ABSENT: Nancy Nathanson Her Honor Mayor Ruth Bascom called the adjourned City Council meeting of May 28, 1996, to order. I. APPROVAL OF THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA Mayor Bascom announced that Councilor Nancy Nathanson had requested that the council wait to vote on the last item until she could be present. Mr. Laue moved, seconded by Ms. Swanson Gribskov, to approve the order of the agenda. The motion carried 6:1, with Ms. Keller voting in opposition. II. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER A. Election Results Mr. Torrey thanked Mr. Laue for his high standard of conduct during the Mayoral campaign. B. Article from Science Magazine Mr. Boles distributed an article about a community that met its demise due to drawdown of its natural resource base. He encouraged councilors to read it. C. Short Mountain Landfill Mr. Boles referred to material he received from a citizen, Steven Roberts, regarding an alternative for leachate handling. He asked that the material be considered in relation to the Short Mountain landfill issue. D. Leaf Blowers Minutes-- Eugene City Council May 29, 1996 Page 2 11:30 a.m. Mr. Boles stated that the City of Los Angeles had outlawed the use of leaf blowers. He asked whether there was interest on the council in looking at a possible ban in Eugene and asked to discuss it later in the meeting. E. Certificate of Achievement Ms. Keller announced that the City of Eugene Finance Department had received a certificate of achievement in financial reporting from the association of government financial officers. She congratulated staff on this achievement. F. Project LINK Ms. Keller noted an item in the packet regarding a funding request from project LINK. She reported that this project was intended to link people who need accessible housing with places that provide it. She asked for council agreement to accept an application for funds. Mayor Bascom said she had questions, and asked to discuss the item at the end of the agenda item. G. Mobile Home Project Mr. Farr mentioned that he had received several calls about a mobile home development at Barger and Roosevelt Avenues. He said he supported the project, but wanted to make sure open space and a play area for children was included in the project. H. Bicycle Routes Mr. Farr observed that he had passed a bicycle rider on West 7th Avenue on his way to City Hall, but the rider arrived before him. Mr. Farr said he was concerned about the safety of bicyclists on that route, but was encouraged at the possibility of bicycling as a primary transportation method. I. Councilor Elects Mr. Farr congratulated Councilor-Elect Scott Meisner who was present at the meeting. J. Preference Voting Mr. Hornbuckle announced that a middle school student he has been mentoring will be doing a presentation on preference voting. He said the results of a mock election using the preference system showed that 98 percent of votes cast were effective, as compared to 61 percent in the recent primary election. Mr. Hornbuckle asked that the issue be discussed in depth. Minutes-- Eugene City Council May 29, 1996 Page 3 11:30 a.m. K. Sheriff=s Levy Ms. Swanson Gribskov commented on her relief that the AA@ levy had been passed by voters. She said the Public Safety Coordinating Council and Council Committee on Public Safety would continue to spend a lot of time on the issues. L. Committee Appointment Mayor Bascom announced that Mr. Torrey had been appointed to the Intergovernmental Relations Committee by council officers. M. Open Houses Mayor Bascom announced that the Army Corps of Engineers was holding an open house today regarding the Amazon Channel, and another open house on Thursday for the West Eugene Parkway. N. West Alton Baker Park Mayor Bascom told the council that the West Alton Baker Park group had met last night and was scheduled again in July. She said the Asian community was interested in locating a garden in the park. O. Growth Management Study (GMS) Ms. Norris announced that staff would be coming back to council on June 12 about the GMS. She said the study would likely require extra time from council in June or during the August break. Mayor Bascom then returned to the three items brought up earlier. D. Leaf Blowers (Continued) Mr. Boles spoke to the issue of banning leaf blowers, noting that council=s policy of compact urban growth made this more important. Mr. Hornbuckle agreed, adding that he hears many complaints from constituents about both noise and air pollution from leaf blowers. Mr. Hornbuckle moved, seconded by Ms. Keller, to schedule a work session to review ordinances from other cities regarding leaf blowers. Ms. Swanson Gribskov and Mr. Torrey both said they had not received complaints about leaf blowers, Ms. Swanson Gribskov adding that she did not see this as a high priority. The motion carried 4:3, with Mr. Torrey, Mr. Farr, and Ms. Swanson Gribskov voting in opposition. Minutes-- Eugene City Council May 29, 1996 Page 4 11:30 a.m. F. Project Link (Continued) Mayor Bascom asked about the request from Project LINK, stating that the group would need to understand that council contingency fund requests are one-time only items. Ms. Keller noted that this was understood, and that the application would include information about how funding would be continued. J. Preference Voting (Continued) Mr. Boles spoke to the issue of preference voting, asking Mr. Hornbuckle to bring a specific proposal back to council for discussion and review. The group discussed the possibility of trying the system for an appointment to the Planning Commission, and agreed to consider a proposal to do so, should one be submitted by Councilor Hornbuckle. III. BRIEFING: BUSINESS BICYCLE CHALLENGE Bicycle Coordinator Diane Bishop announced that June 6 was Business Bicycle Challenge Day. She presented background on the three-year-old event as outlined in the agenda packet memorandum. Ms. Bishop told the council that 76 businesses had signed up to participate in the event. Ms. Keller suggested that organizers consider an alternate event which could be scheduled outside of allergy season, perhaps in the fall when students return. Ms. Bishop noted that Ms. Nathanson had asked that the event be broadened to include other alternative modes, and suggested the possibility of combining the two events. IV. CHECKPOINT: TRANSPLAN UPDATE/STATUS REPORT Tom Schwetz, Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) reported that two recent public meetings on the TransPlan had been well attended, reaching approximately 115 people. He reviewed the material presented at the public meetings by way of a chart illustrating the impacts of various strategies on transportation modes. Mr. Schwetz pointed out the significant reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) were not realized until pricing methods were utilized. Ms. Keller asked why pricing methods were added to the model last. Mr. Schwetz responded that staff wanted to test pricing prior to the symposium. Mr. Boles characterized this as a Acritical issue@ and expressed appreciation for the quality of materials available at the open houses. Mr. Boles asked for information on objective targets of the plan. Minutes-- Eugene City Council May 29, 1996 Page 5 11:30 a.m. Mr. Schwetz then responded to a number of questions from councilors. Mr. Farr pointed out that some geographic locations have modal inequity and needed system improvements as a priority. Mr. Schwetz also reported that a pilot study of bus rapid transit was underway. V. WORK SESSION: LORANE HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Ms. Andersen stated that the purpose of this work session was to give council background and status on work with the property owners on the project. She reviewed the history and background as outlined in the agenda packet memorandum. Ms. Andersen also showed a videotape of buses and trucks traveling on the stretch of the road in question, emphasizing safety concerns caused by poor sight distance. Ms. Andersen stated that any road improvements would likely increase the perception of safety and increase vehicle speeds, therefore increasing the danger of accidents. Ms. Andersen noted that the proposal before the council was heavily opposed by property owners. She said the road was a low-volume collector road in poor condition. She stated that traffic volume was not expected to increase, nor was dramatic deterioration expected. However, she said any superficial maintenance would not be long-lasting. Ms. Anderson said discussions with property owners had brought staff to the conclusion that a transportation study of the whole area might reveal alternatives to the proposed road improvements on Lorane Highway. Ms. Keller expressed appreciation for Ms. Andersen=s presentation and understanding of the issues and the neighbors= concerns. Ms. Keller remarked that looking at the neighborhood as a whole appeared to be a good way to find other options. She pointed out that other streets faced similar issues, such as Birch Lane and Fairmount Avenue that could benefit from such a study. (Mr. Farr left the meeting at 1:00 p.m.) Mr. Laue moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to extend the time on this issue by 10 minutes. The motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Mr. Boles opposed the idea of another study. He said the basic options before the council were 1) to look at the distinctive street approach, 2) do nothing and require the property owners to address safety standards, or 3) let the issue go. Mr. Boles said he would support option one with no bicycle lane, adding that it was compatible with the unimproved street program approved by the council. Mr. Torrey said he would like to hear what the property owners propose, adding that it was Ablackmail to tell people it=s our way or no way.@ Mr. Torrey expressed support for a study of other routes in this and similar areas. Ms. Swanson Gribskov pointed out that the Planning Commission had not acted on the distinctive street proposal. She asked how the study would be funded. Ms. Andersen referred to the staff notes, adding that, if approved, staff would inform the council about the details of the study at the trimester session. Mayor Bascom asked whether banning school bus traffic had been considered. Minutes-- Eugene City Council May 29, 1996 Page 6 11:30 a.m. Mr. Laue noted that this issue had come to the council because of the Lane County Road Fund. He said the issues were cost and fit. Mr. Laue pointed out that the road was unique, and that it had no drainage system. He suggested the City negotiate with Lane County to use the $1.2 million for more heavily used roads, and let this go. By consensus, the council agreed to act on this item at a later time. Mr. Boles said he had specific information requests which he would convey to staff directly. VI. WORK SESSION: ASSESSMENT DEFERRAL FOR UNDEVELOPED PROPERTIES City Engineer Jeff Lankston reviewed the issue as outlined in the agenda packet memorandum. He cited examples like Goodpasture Island Road, Terry Street, and Ayers Road as potential streets where an assessment deferral could be used. Mr. Lankston reviewed the options in the memorandum, asking that council provide direction. Mr. Boles asked that information about underwriting Aleapfrog development@ be brought back to council along with the ordinance. Ms. Keller said this deferral amounts to buying a conservation easement, and she said clarity was needed so that it worked in areas where the City wanted development, while not allowing developers to hold on to property indefinitely. Ms. Swanson Gribskov asked whether a Astairstep@ approach had been explored, citing Sylvan Road as a possible candidate for the program. Ms. Andersen noted that the program could only be used in situations where a funding mechanism is available. Mr. Laue asked that questions from this meeting be answered prior to bringing an ordinance to council. Item VII, Authorization for Hyundai-Related Inspector Positions, was deferred at the request of Councilor Nathanson. The meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda H. Norris City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Hannah Bradford) cc113029.056