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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/26/09 Regular MeetingM I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon January 26, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She noted that the information regarding applications to serve on the Civilian Review Board was available on the City’s website. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. John Brown , 101 East Broadway, indicated that he was commenting on behalf of himself. He thanked the councilors and mayor for their service to the community. He stated that The Register-Guard had printed an article regarding an illegal homeless camp located in Councilor Zelenka’s ward. He explained that a 20-acre property on Moon Mountain Drive owned by an 80-year-old woman who did not live in the area had become inhabited. He related that she had tried for approximately a year to get a response to the illegal camping and it had finally been addressed. He said a very aggressive group of people had lived at the camp; one had stolen a wheelchair from someone in the neighborhood, there had been a lot of drug activity, and a warrant had been issued for one person for sex offenses. He stressed that even City staff would not go to such a camp without police escorts. He explained that the situation had been addressed on the previous Monday, and on Tuesday, the owner of the property had been given a Notice to Abate, requiring her to clean up the mess within 10 days. He reiterated that she had tried for one year to get the City to respond. He said the City had revisited the site earlier in the day and found nine more camps and issued three more citations. He related that staff estimated there to be over 40 cubic yards of debris. He stated that if the owner did not remove the debris, the City’s practice was to have the debris removed and then put a lien on the property for payment. He had identified a number of illegal camps on City and County property. He felt that if citizens only had ten days to clean up such camps then the City should abide by those same requirements. He stressed that if the intent of the law was to protect the environment, it should not discriminate between publicly- and privately-owned land. He hoped the council would give consideration to a potential double-standard, and if the private sector had to clean up this type of mess in ten days, the City should do so also. He provided pictures of the camps located on public lands. Zachary Vishanoff , Ward 3, stated that he had given $1 to Councilor Taylor to purchase Civic Stadium from School District 4J. He related that university students had purchased a house on Moss Street and made it into a center of sustainability and had installed photo-voltaic (PV) panels. He said there were approximately 74 more vacant houses in that area. He urged the City to streamline the permitting process for the Moss Street house and to launch an inquiry into the rest of the houses. He suggested that the university could allow a forum where other student groups would be allowed to do adaptive reuse in a way that would be a complement to the Fairmount Neighborhood. He had also noticed that the university was proposing the construction of an indoor track. He was concerned that the university would want to build it on the Mac Court site. He felt the university was getting “reckless” and “a little ahead of themselves.” Lauren Doxsee , 2136 McMillan Street, stated that Civic Stadium was one of her family’s favorite places to go. She thought having Ems baseball games at the University of Oregon would make it too quiet in their neighborhood. She felt that everyone loved Civic Stadium and urged everyone to bond together to keep Civic Stadium. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 26, 2009 Page 1 Regular Meeting Drix said his purpose was to trigger thought. He averred that the City needed to figure out what it wanted and it seemed to him that they needed to figure out the City’s identity. He suggested that they come up with a “Eugene accent” that would identify people as being from Eugene. He noted that the British sometimes left out the word ‘the,’ such as going “to studio” or “to hospital” and he thought Eugene could adopt this. He said his gift was “the present.” He felt that when he came before the council he made moments “odd and exciting” and this was a present of sorts. He shared some new words, including “canopy thinking,” i.e. rising above the canopy of trees to see the bigger picture. He suggested that they could shorten the word citizen to “cit” and then they could say “cit Drix.” nd Don Dickman , 190 East 32 Avenue, noted that he was a local attorney in private practice locally. He stated that he was a board member of Save Civic Stadium. He felt that everyone involved in saving the stadium had their own personal reason to do so. He explained that he was not a baseball fan per se, but he enjoyed going to the stadium because it was a wholesome experience. He averred that the stadium was very unique and should be saved; the benefits to children, youth programs, and the community were “almost immeasurable.” He shared the board’s belief that a plan was being put together that would provide jobs and economic benefit. He said they wanted to look for the highest and best use of the facility and they were hoping the City would consider assisting in some areas of planning and possibly connecting the group to grant opportunities. At this point, he noted, they were projecting that the cost to the City would be far outweighed by the potential benefits. Jerry Smith , 5041 Saxon Way, averred that most homeless people in this area were people with disabilities. He felt they had been dumped into the City’s neighborhoods by Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). He related that when he had processed applications for the programs in his former work as a social worker, it had taken six months to process; now it took up to five years with everyone being initially denied. He noted that he had been a community organizer in the past. He stated that the State Food Stamp program figures showed that one year earlier there were 12,500 people on food stamps who listed zero income, 3,793 listed monthly income of $350 or less and 3,776 listed no known shelter. He urged the council to review the statistics. He felt that if one looked into the homeless around the City, there were some people from out of town who had not found a place to hide yet. He stressed that there was no legal place to park a vehicle nor was there a legal place to lie down in Eugene. th Jonathan Brandt , 57 West 20 Avenue, was pleased to see that the council was in support of keeping Civic Stadium. He said it was time to think about a vision for the stadium. He underscored that the stadium was too big an asset to the community to have it languish. He invited everyone to “come to the table and see what we can put together.” Tom Halferty , 4510 Manzanita Street, spoke in support of Civic Stadium. He appreciated the council’s input on the item during its earlier work session. He knew that Dave Hauser of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce was interested in hosting a stakeholder meeting. He noted that the chamber had been important in 1938 when the original money had been raised. He believed they would save the stadium. st Scott Landfield , 29 West 31 Avenue, spoke regarding Civic Stadium. He noted that the council had said that the process was in its second inning. He related that Terry McDonald, director of St. Vincent DePaul, had said the clock would begin ticking the day the Eugene Emeralds left the stadium because a building not in use “wore out quickly.” He supported maximizing School District 4J’s return on the stadium, but he felt there were other ways to see a return. He said when discussing it with Superintendent George Russell, the idea of selling a portion of the property and the school district continuing to use the stadium for sporting events, had been raised. He pointed out that the school district’s generosity could translate into easier passage of school bond measures. Dean Papé , 2088 Bedford Way, acknowledged that it was not easy to be a city councilor, noting that former-Councilor Gary Papé sent his best to the council. He was speaking as a concerned citizen about Civic Stadium. He thought they could be placing the cart before the horse given that the City did not currently own the property. He related that he had practiced in Civic Stadium and had attended many games, both minor league baseball and high school. He averred that because of the condition of the school system and the funds the district needed to improve the stadium, he hoped the MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 26, 2009 Page 2 Regular Meeting City did not spend too much time and energy on it, because this could potentially get in front of the needs of the school district and the future benefit of the children of the community. Richard Larson , 2590 Central Boulevard, supported the City’s effort to find some solution for the “wonderful ten- acre site” that was positioned in one of the “best development locations.” He said the stadium was one of the few places one could go and watch an event for $4. As such, he called it a place for citizens. He felt that it would be a shame to lose the resource. He recognized that the solution to it was not on the table at this time, but if the stadium was torn down, there would not be the opportunity to find it. He encouraged the council to take its time and to seek a solution. He thought there could be a development to which the stadium would be an asset. th Dennis Hebert , 850 East 38 Avenue, stated that he was the President of Save Civic Stadium. He said he had been to almost every game in the past two years and had talked to thousands of people. He related that the overwhelming response was that the stadium should be saved. He recalled that he had brought a petition before the council when testifying previously. He presented the council with a list of the people who had signed it divided by zip codes and countries. He stated that there were overwhelming numbers of people from the City of Eugene and environs, but the names also included people from Ohio, Florida, and Ireland, among others. He declared that they had a treasure in the stadium, not only to Eugene but “to Lane County, America, and the world.” He stressed that it had been a Work Project Administration (WPA) project built in 1938 during hard times. He believed that in spite of facing hard times again, the community could preserve the stadium if it worked together. Joyce Berman , 2440 Charnelton Street, advocated for taking “thoughtful and visionary” action about Civic Stadium. She related that the owner of the Eugene Emeralds had sent a letter letting the Save Civic Stadium members know that if they could come up with $15 million by January 31, to restore Civic Stadium, the Ems would remain there. She said just in case there was “an avid Ems fan with $15 million” she would make this public. She hoped they would retain the stadium with or without the Ems. She noted that the group had contacted other baseball teams regarding the stadium and there were other interested parties. She hoped that with stakeholder involvement they could find a creative way to develop the property that would make the current landowner happy and would still provide smart uses for the community. She averred that the stadium was located in a gateway area. She said 4-J School Superintendent George Russell had indicated his interest in transferring or selling the acreage to the right set of public, private, and non-profit partners who could transform the area into a “mixed use treasure” while still providing important field space for 4J students. She believed it was important for the City to act proactively given that some zoning and use changes would be required. She said it was important for the leadership to begin the process of steering the development in a smart and useful direction for everyone. Majeska Seese-Green , P.O. Box 1214, expressed appreciation for the unanimous decision the City Council had made during its work session to support staff looking into making restrooms available for homeless people. She related that the Whiteaker Community Council board had also supported having rest rooms available in the neighborhood for people who need them. She averred that the problems would not go away. She said they looked forward to helping however they could and possibly involving businesses in the neighborhood to help as well. Steve Sylvester , 2390 Jefferson Street, related that he had written a letter to the Eugene Weekly in September, 2005, suggesting that the Civic Stadium site become the new site for a hospital. He noted that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital had been owned by Triad at the time and it was now owned by Community Health Systems. He recalled that in his letter he had pointed out that two hospitals had been rebuilt after the earthquake in Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Hospital and the Westwood Hospital. He said the Santa Monica facility had been built on 3.2 acres and the Westwood Hospital had been built on a four- acre site. He opined that the people in this area were “nuts” because RiverBend Hospital was situated on 181 acres. He remarked that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital also “had this notion” that a large acreage was needed. He suggested that it would be beneficial to check out the two Los Angeles hospitals in order to see what an urban hospital looked like and “could look like.” He thought they should make an effort to sell this idea to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 26, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She thanked all of the supporters of Civic Stadium for coming. She especially wanted to compliment Ms. Doxsee for her testimony. Regarding Mr. Sylvester’s suggestion, she clarified that the City had tried to get an urban hospital in the downtown core, not unlike the examples he cited, but the hospital was not interested in a “vertical hospital,” preferring a campus-style hospital instead. She also thanked Mr. Smith for sharing the statistics regarding food stamp clients. Councilor Poling supported saving Civic Stadium, but he wanted to emphasize that School District 4J was the owner and would ultimately decide what they would do with it. He encouraged the Save Civic Stadium group to maintain contact with Superintendent Russell. He had liked Mr. Hebert’s comment regarding the future. He said children were the future and they could not shortchange them. He averred that if the school district decided to dispose of the property for something other than Civic Stadium, it was important to remember that they were doing so for the future. Councilor Taylor wished to make it clear that she had given Mr. Vishanoff’s dollar to the Save Civic Stadium representatives. She thought it was very important to try to save the stadium. She declared that school property and City property were all property of the public. She felt they should do what they could to facilitate the best possible use of the property for the public. Councilor Taylor said Mr. Brown was “absolutely right” in his testimony. She added that she also had appreciated Ms. Doxsee’s testimony and the testimony provided by Drix. Councilor Clark thanked Mr. Papé for his testimony, noting that residents of Ward 5 did not often come to testify before the council. He related that he had received a lot of input regarding the Civic Stadium issue from the residents of Ward 5. He acknowledged that the chances of keeping the Eugene Emeralds at the stadium were slim. He was willing to work at finding a solution as long as it did not cost the City more than it could afford and did not cost the school district an opportunity to get money needed for the district’s operations. Councilor Solomon asked for a response from the City Manager regarding the double standard in terms of cleaning up illegal camp sites on privately-owned land and on publicly-owned land. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - November 19, 2008, Work Session - December 8, 2008, Work Session - December 8, 2008, City Council Meeting - November 12, Work Session B. Approval to Tentative Working Agenda C. Approval of Resolution 4963 Annexing Land to the City of Eugene (Koester/Haggard/Carroll [A 08- 4]) D. Approval of Reprogramming of Community Development Block Grant Funds E. Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions of January 21, 2009 Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calen- dar. Councilor Clark pulled Item C. Councilor Taylor pulled Item B. Roll call vote; the motion to pass Items A, D, and E of the Consent Calendar passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Taylor did not see the planned work session on street assessments in the Tentative Agenda. City Manager Jon Ruiz responded that it was scheduled for March 9. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 26, 2009 Page 4 Regular Meeting Roll call vote; the motion to pass Item B, the Tentative Agenda, passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Clark noted that due to the findings of compliance, lack of testimony received, and non-controversial nature of Resolution 4963, annexing land to the City of Eugene, no public hearing was suggested. He asked if staff was certain this was the best way to go. Assistant Planner for the Planning Division, Bill Almquist, replied that the City Council had the option of modifying, denying, or approving annexations in a Consent Calendar in lieu of going to a public hearing. He said it was staff’s position that no public hearing was necessary for the reasons that Councilor Clark had listed. Councilor Clark observed that the City was requesting that a portion of Beaver Street be included in the annexation. He acknowledged that this did not create island annexation issues but he had not seen in the background material whether or not this was an improved road. He did not think the City should annex an unimproved road given the current road conditions. Steve Nystrom, principal planner for the Planning Division, stated that the street was not fully improved, but the City had an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Lane County that it would maintain some of the roads in that area and this was one of the roads that the City was already responsible for in that IGA. Councilor Clark remarked that the IGA could go away and, if annexed, the street would be permanently the City’s problem. He was uncertain he could support it because it caused him concern that the City would intentionally take on roads that were not improved. He thought the City should find a way to motivate the County to bring the road to an “improved status” prior to taking on responsibility for it. Councilor Taylor shared Councilor Clark’s concern regarding the annexation of a substandard road. She also wanted to ask if the water and sewer pipes were adequately sized for a potential increase in development. Mr. Almquist replied that the Public Works Department had determined the wastewater pipes were adequate and the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) had made no comments to the contrary. Councilor Taylor asked if staff knew what the owners intended to do with the property. Mr. Almquist responded that he did not know their intentions and the property was currently zoned R-1, residential. In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Taylor, Mr. Almquist clarified that if the owners of the property wished to change the zoning they would have to apply to do so and it would be heard by the Hearings Official. Councilor Brown asked if the church was occupied and active. Mr. Almquist replied that it was vacant and not currently being used. In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Brown, Mr. Almquist said he was not aware that the property had been tax exempt. Roll call vote: the motion to approve Resolution 4963, annexing land to the City of Eugene, passed 7:1; Councilor Clark voting in opposition. The meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 26, 2009 Page 5 Regular Meeting