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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 11/22/99 Mtg MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber--City Hall November 22, 1999 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Bobby Lee, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Pap~. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Pat Fart. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. I. PUBLIC FORUM Artemio Paz, 86950 Cedar Flat, spoke as a representative of the North West Eco Building Guild. He raised concern over the building design of the new public library. His concern was regarding the out gassing of chemicals from materials used in the finished library. He stressed the importance of proper ventilation in the Library and the importance of operable windows that would allow for the ingress of fresh air. He also raised concern over the use of synthetic carpet in the children's area of the Library. He submitted a document that the Salem-Kaiser school district used, through its risk management department, that dealt with creating healthier buildings. He noted that the school district would not design a building that had carpet in the classrooms because of the out gassing of chemicals. Mary Bauer, 33 Sunset Drive, stated that her children were chemically sensitive and would not be able to use the new public library because of the use of synthetic carpet in the building. She also cited examples from the Salem-Kaiser school district that allowed for a more healthy building environment. She suggested a book called "Is This Your Child's World" that addressed building design health issues. Kathy Ging, 2878 Harris Street, raised concerns over the materials used in the new library. She also raised concern over the health risks to children by the installation of synthetic carpet in the building. Valerie Wedel, 2310 Grant Street, raised concern over the health risks to children in the new public library if synthetic carpeting was installed. She added that the data on the subject left no doubt about the toxic chemicals out gassed from the finished product. Jan Spencer, 1266 West 5th Avenue, addressed the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organization (WT©). He provided a shod history of the WT©'s work against the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. He read a list of contributors to the WT© meeting in Seattle and MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 1 7:30 p.m. called for a resolution from the Eugene City Council on the subject of the World Trade Organization. Nick Urhausen, 2858 Warren Street, criticized the council for considering selling City Hall to the federal government and suggested current City Hall space could be reconfigured. Charles Biggs, 2405 Willakenzie Road, spoke on the subject of impacts of street classifications on the nodal aspects of development. He called for councilors to evaluate the impacts of street classification on nodal areas. Ann Bart, 245 Maple Street, raised concern over the traffic safety on Maple Street. She asked for a new classification for Maple Street that would allow for less traffic. Mayor Torrey called for responses from members of the council. Councilor Nathanson addressed Ms. Barr's concern over traffic on Maple Street. She noted that the City did not have control over the speed limits on its roads as some of those were set by the State of Oregon. Councilor Kelly thanked the Eco Building Guild for voicing its concerns and suggested that it was possible for a library to address noise concerns without installing carpeting. He sympathized with people who were chemically sensitive and stated that noise reduction, in the new public library, did not outweigh health consequences of installing materials that out gassed toxic chemicals. He urged the library design team to consider alternate materials that were more environmentally sound. Councilor Pap~ reiterated Councilor Kelly's comments. Councilor Rayor reiterated Councilor Kelly's comments and called for the notes of the public forum to be sent to the library design team. Councilor Rayor also commented on the street classification plan. He wanted to examine the problems with street classification that were mentioned by Ms. Bart. Councilor Taylor reiterated Councilor Kelly's comments on the design of the new library. She expressed a desire to be able to change any of the street classifications that proved to be less than effective. She also expressed a desire to pass a resolution on the World Trade Organization at some future time. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to approve the items on the City Council Consent Calendar. Councilor Taylor offered corrections to the October 13 Work Session, page 1. She directed that the third paragraph should read: MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 2 7:30 p.m. "Ms. Taylor said that she had received a call from a constituent about an absentee landlord who rented to a large group of students in a neighborhood of single-family residences. The caller was concerned about the resultant increase in traffic and general activity which changed the character of the neighborhood. Ms. Taylor asked if it was possible to institute some sort of regulations for rental houses to protect neighborhoods." Councilor Kelly offered a correction to the minutes of October 11. He asked that the Urban Renewal Fund be mentioned specifically instead of being referred to as "that fund." Regarding the minutes of October 13, Mr. Rayor said the minutes did not reflect a motion he made to table the last agenda item. Mayor Torrey respectfully requested that the tape be listened to before dealing with Councilor Rayor's request. The minutes of the meeting of October 13 were pulled from the consent calendar until this task could be completed. The motion passed unanimously. II1. PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: ORDINANCE PROVIDING FORAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT TO ESTABLISH A REGIONAL FIBER CONSORTIUM FOR THE OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION OF A FIBER OPTIC SYSTEM; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Councilor Nathanson recommended that the city manager designate a representative to attend meetings. She said that the City Council had, in the past, reviewed and adopted a policy for telecommunications and had looked at a list of priority projects. She added that the City Council should receive regular reports, but she opined that, at this point, she did not see the need for councilor attendance. City Manager Jim Johnson agreed with Ms. Nathanson's analysis. Regarding the consortium ability to purchase and own real and personal property, Councilor Rayor wanted to know what the fiscal liability to the City would be. Mr. Johnson responded that any city dollars that were included in the acquisition of personal property would have to go through the City's budget process. Randy Kolb, Information Services Division Manager, noted that the agreement was structured so that the City would not take on any financial responsibilities without express approval. He also noted that should the City leave the consortium, there would be no financial responsibilities after that point. In response to a question by Councilor Nathanson regarding the benefits of participating in the consortium, Mr. Kolb responded that the City would have the benefit of taking part in the decisions that the consortium made that would affect areas and groups within the city limits such as School District 4J, Bethel School District, and the University of Oregon. In response to a question from Councilor Meisner regarding the cost of staff time for attending the meetings, Mr. Kolb said that the cost would be estimated at about $3,000 annually. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 3 7:30 p.m. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing and called for councilor comments/questions. Councilor Rayor raised concern over lack of information on the subject before being asked to pass an ordinance with the emergency clause. Mr. Kolb clarified that the emergency clause was added to enable the City to participate in a consortium meeting on December 6. Seeing no opposition to moving forward to passage of the bill, the mayor indicated the council would proceed. City Manager Johnson asked that the council consider Council Bill 4714, and ordinance providing for an intergovernmental agreement to establish a regional fiber consortium for the ownership and operation of a fiber optic system; and declaring an emergency. Councilor Meisner, 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. In response to a question from Councilor Lee regarding what cities were involved with the consortium and the impacts of not being a member, Mr. Kolb said that the main impact would be Eugene having no influence on decisions that the consortium made regarding the use of the fiber. In response to a question from Councilor Taylor regarding the reasoning for the emergency clause, Mr. Kolb said that if it passed with the emergency clause it would allow the City to vote at the next regular meeting of the consortium. Councilor Meisner clarified that the council would only vote to become a voting member of the consortium to protect regional interests and not local interests. The result of the first reading was a vote of 5:2, with councilors Rayor and Taylor voting in opposition. As the vote was not unanimous, it was not possible to move to second reading and action. IV. PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: ORDINANCE AMENDING THE JEFFERSON/FAR WEST REFINEMENT PLAN DIAGRAM TO REDESIGNATE PROPERTY IDENTIFIED AS TAX LOTS 11700 AND 11800, MAP 17-03-31-42, FROM PUBLIC FACILITIES AND OPEN SPACE TO COMMERCIAL, AND REZONING THIS PROPERTY FROM PL PUBLIC LAND TO C-2 GENERAL COMMERCIAL Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing and called for councilor comments/questions. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 4 7:30 p.m. In response to a question from Councilor Rayor regarding the locations of the two tax lots, Nan Lawrence of the Planning and Development Department replied that lot 11700 was the lot to the north and 11800 was the lot to the south. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4715, an ordinance amending the Jefferson/Far West refinement plan diagram to redesignate property identified as tax lots 11700 and 11800, map 17-03-31-42, from public facilities and open space to commercial, and rezoning the property from PL Public Land to C-2 General Commercial. Councilor Meisner, 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. City Manager Johnson asked that the Council consider Council Bill 4715 by bill number only. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill be approved and given final passage. The motion passed unanimously, and the bill became Ordinance 20180. V. PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE CONCERNING KEY WATERWAYS, AND ADDING SECTIONS 6.650, 6.655, 6.670, AND 6.675 TO THE EUGENE CODE, 1971. City Engineer Les Lyle provided introductory comments to the Council. He submitted additional written public testimony to the council. Mr. Lyle stressed that the proposal that was before the council was to designate key waterways where no piping or filling would be allowed to occur. He said that there were a number of benefits associated with the proposal such as; clarifying which open systems would continue to be part of the drainage system within Eugene, furthering the objectives of the last few years to move from a conventional pipe system to a more open natural system for the City's drainage system; providing water quality benefits; and providing a response to some of the anticipated community Endangered Species Act Issues. He stressed that phase one of the proposal could stand on its own as an independent action. Mr. Lyle believed that the process had allowed enough time for public involvement. He outlined the process of the Stormwater Management Department Advisory Committee and noted that there had been a "drop-in information session." He added that there were some issues that needed to be addressed in more detail and asked that the record be held open for written testimony for another two weeks. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. He noted that the rules for the public hearing were the same as those for the public forum. Bruce Anderson, 777 High Street, spoke as a representative of Madstien and Scientific Developments. He urged the council to proceed with caution on the ordinance and closely examine the individual applications of it. He spoke of the impacts of the ordinance to his clients and submitted more detailed information in written form. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 5 7:30 p.m. Kit Larsen, 2162 Kincaid Street, voiced his support of the proposal. Jori Lauch, 715 West 4th Avenue, spoke as a representative of Eugene School District 4J. He submitted written comments to the council and raised concern over restrictions on public lands that the ordinance would create. He suggested flexibility in the ordinance for schools. Michael Roberts, 1919 Myers Road, opined that the proposed ordinance was in direct opposition to the City's growth management Policy 1 goals. He added that pipes did not add pollution to waterways. Moving on, he urged the council to protect the urban growth boundary (UGB) against sprawl and raised concern over the amount of developable land the ordinance would take away within the UGB. He also raised concern over what he considered to be a lack of appropriate citizen involvement in the process. Dave Hauser, 2168 Elkhorn Road, spoke as a representative of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce. He opined that the ordinance was a land use issue. He said that the Council was trying to circumvent the land use process in an effort to fast-track the ordinance. He said that the public had not been properly informed of the ultimate impacts of the ordinance. He raised concern over the second phase of the proposal that would call for a 75 foot no build zone on each side of designated key waterways. He said that separating the proposal into phases was misleading and wrong and said that the Chamber of Commerce felt so strongly on the issue that it was prepared to take legal action to see that appropriate land use processes were followed. Keith Nastiuk, 551 Montana Way, spoke against the proposal. He said that it was a land use issue and raised concern over the speed at which the proposal was being put into action. He stressed that citizens had not been properly informed of the proposal's ultimate impacts to them and called for a postponement of the proposed ordinance. Terry Connolly, 1401 Willamette Street, spoke on behalf of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce. He spoke against the proposal and called for appropriate study of its effects. He stressed the importance of the City confirming that existing development permits would vest under current regulations and of confirming a date for vesting of approved projects that would be on the day the ordinance went into effect and not the day that the concept was introduced. He raised concern over the criteria for defining a key waterway and suggested that there would be an ever expanding list of them within the city limits. He urged the council to consider specific exemptions for the ordinance. Michael Farthing, PO Box 1147, spoke against the ordinance. He raised concern with what he considered the speed with which the ordinance was being implemented and suggested that there was a clear agenda by councilors to stop development in certain areas of the City. He stressed that the proposal was a land use decision and called for the land use process to be implemented. He asked that the record be held open. Margaret Thumel, 1285 Alfaretta Street, spoke against the proposal. She said that it was a land use issue and suggested that some of the councilors had a personal agenda to fast-track the proposal through approval. She added that such fast-tracking would only fuel citizen mistrust of the City Council. She opined that the proposal needed to be reworked to make the proposed phases less vague. Tim Hovit, 3405 Baldy View Lane, said that there were no exceptions for outfall into the channels from abutting properties. He said that the proposal needed massive reworking. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 6 7:30 p.m. Roxie Cuellar, 1255 Pearl Street, suggested putting the phases of the proposal together. She urged the council to do things right the first time and stressed the importance of making sure that maps being used for the proposal were accurate. She added that the proposal needed reworking. Dick Briggs, 80 West 23rd Avenue, stressed the importance of designating the storm water system. He suggested that the council adopt an interim measure while dealing with the proposed ordinance. He urged caution to the council when considering the proposal. Al Johnson, 767 Willamette Street, submitted a letter with technical information regarding the proposal. He stressed that the ordinance before the council was a land use decision. Al Cooper, 2250 Harris Street, urged the council to slow down the process of approving the proposal. He raised concern over the impacts of the proposed ordinance on other policies, land use decisions, and the UGB. He stressed the importance of allowing more time for the process. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. Councilor Lee commented that the City was beginning to see the effects of how the Endangered Species Act and the Storm Water Act were impacting land use decisions and planning. He called on Mr. Lyle to read the names of the members of the Stormwater Management Department Advisory Committee. After Mr. Lyle had read all of the names of the committee, Councilor Lee noted the diverse membership of the committee that had produced the proposal and commented that there was not a personal agenda by the council on the proposal. He commented that the proposal was in reaction to what was going on a national level. Councilor Lee went on to speak in support of the proposal and explained how the open waterways would filter contaminants that were washed into the waterways from the roads. Councilor Meisner reiterated the comments of Councilor Lee regarding personal agendas. He raised concern over permits that were in process during the process of approval of the proposal. Councilor Nathanson reiterated the comments of Councilor Lee. She raised concern as to whether there was enough time to work out any mapping errors and wording problems and called for another round of public review. She suggested having the process go through the Planning Commission. Councilor Kelly commented that the importance of open waterways had been discussed by the Council as early as 1993. He said that Phase 1 of the proposal had its own merit for the filtering that open waterways provided. He said that Phase 2 sounded like a land use decision. He called for more information on the channel modification issue that the representative from School District 4J mentioned. Councilor Kelly said that he agreed with the idea of keeping the record open and with the idea of the council dealing with the issue at a later time. Councilor Taylor did not favor delaying the proposed ordinance any longer than necessary. She commented that any delays allowed more harm to be done. She further commented that even MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 7 7:30 p.m. though the testimony during the public hearing had been primarily in opposition, she had heard from many other citizens who were in favor of the ordinance. Councilor Rayor wanted more discussion on the process. He called for the record to be left open. Councilor Pap8 agreed with Councilor Nathanson's comments. He called for more information on alternate pollution measures. He asked Mr. Lyle to provide more information. He went on to raise concern over property rights and wanted to make sure that the proposal went through the appropriate process. Mayor Torrey urged consistency from the council. He spoke against a rush to judgement and any circumventing of public process. He suggested getting information on what the impacts of a legal challenge of the proposed ordinance would be. Councilor Lee called for an urban watershed council that would educate both the council and the public on what the impacts of the Endangered Species Act would be on future issues. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to leave the record open for public comment through February 28, 2000, and to direct the city manager to revise the draft ordinance taking into account, both the concerns of the City Council and the public, and to process the ordinance through the Planning Commission consistent with city land use processes. Councilor Kelly raised concern over the overall timeline effect. He asked if the Planning Commission would take up the proposal in March 2000. City Manager Jim Johnson replied that the hope was that the Planning Commission could deal with the matter before February 28, 2000 and that the matter could come back to the council after that date. He noted that the record could be left open until July if the council so desired. Councilor Kelly moved to amend the motion to keep the record open until January 7. There was no second. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilor Kelly offered a friendly amendment to keep the record open until January 7. The second of the original motion did not accept the friendly amendment. Planning Director Jan Childs suggested keeping the record open for a period of 3-4 weeks and then let staff come up with a revised draft that would then go to the Planning Commission for another separate public hearing. The Planning Commission recommendation would then come back to the City Council for a final public hearing and action. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor PapS, moved to amend the motion by leaving the record open to December 6. Councilor Taylor wanted to clarify if it was legally required that the council send the matter to the Planning Commission. City Attorney Glenn Klein replied that it was not required, but he thought that it would address some of the concerns expressed by the City Council. Roll call vote, the amendment to the motion passed, 6:1, with Councilor Taylor voting no. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 8 7:30 p.m. Mayor Torrey called for discussion on the main motion (as amended). Councilor Kelly questioned the last part of the motion as amended. City Manager Johnson clarified that the intent was to hold more public comment sessions on the proposal. Roll call vote, the motion passed 5:2 with Councilors Taylor and Kelly voting against. VI. ACTION: ORDINANCE CONCERNING ARTERIAL AND COLLECTOR STREETS; AMENDING SECTION 9.045 OF THE EUGENE CODE, 197'1; REPEALING THE STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY MAP ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE NO. 19922 AND ADOPTING THE NOVEMBER 1999 STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY MAP; AND ADOPTING THE NOVEMBER 1999 STREET CLASSIFICATION MAP; AND ADOPTING THE NOVEMBER 1999 EUGENE ARTERIAL AND COLLECTOR STREET PLAN AS FINDINGS ACTION: RESOLUTION 4608 ADOPTING REVISED DESIGN STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR EUGENE STREETS, SIDEWALKS, BIKEWAYS AND ACCESS WAYS, AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 4500 ACTION: RESOLUTION 4609 ADOPTING DESIGN STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR TRANSIT FACILITIES AND REPEALING RESOLUTIONS NOS. 4391 AND 4501 AND DESIGN STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES ADOPTED AND/OR AMENDED THEREIN City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4716, an ordinance concerning arterial and collector streets; amending Section 9.045 of the Eugene Code, 1971; repealing the street right-of-way map adopted by Ordinance Number 19922 and adopting the November 1999 street right-of-way map; adopting the November 1999 Eugene Street Classification Map; and adopting the November 1999 Eugene Arterial and Collector Street Plan as findings. Councilor Meisner, 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 that time. Councilor Kelly thanked staff for their work on the plan. Councilor Nathanson asked about the concerns of Ms. Bart regarding the classification of Maple Street. Traffic Engineer Dave Reinhard of the Public Works Department replied that the council decision would not affect the evaluation of the safety concerns at Maple Street and Roosevelt Boulevard and potential improvements to address those concerns. Councilor Taylor asked about the difficulties of changing the plan later. Mr. Reinhard responded that council could change the plan by ordinance at any time. He added that the design standards MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 9 7:30 p.m. were adopted by resolution and had a provision that they could be amended administratively with notice to the council. Councilors Meisner and Nathanson commended staff for their work on the plan. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously. City Manager Johnson asked that the council consider Council Bill 4716 by number only. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, and the bill became Ordinance 20181. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to adopt Resolution 4608 adopting revised design standards and guidelines for Eugene streets, sidewalks, bikeways and access ways, and repealing resolution number 4500. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to adopt Resolution 4609 adopting design standards and guidelines for transit facilities and repealing resolution 4391 and 4501 and design standards and guidelines adopted and/or amended therein. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Torrey noted that there was an executive session to be held after the regular meeting. He asked if any of the councilors wanted to postpone the executive session due to the lateness of the hour. Councilors agreed by general consensus to hold the executive session. The meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Joe Sams) MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1999 Page 10 7:30 p.m.