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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/09/06 Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall January 9, 2005 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Papé, Bonny Bettman, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the January 9, 2006, regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. Mayor Piercy recognized Councilor Taylor. Councilor Taylor requested permission to change her vote on the earlier motion taken at the work session directing the City Manager to proceed with planning on a downtown development plan; councilors unanimously indicated by head nods that Councilor Taylor had their permission to change her vote. 1. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Papé, moved to elect Councilor Solomon as President of the Eugene City Council for 2006. Roll call vote; the motion passed unani- mously, 8:0. Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Solomon, moved to elect Councilor Ortiz as Vice President of the Eugene City Council for 2006. Roll call vote; the motion passed unani- mously, 8:0. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Mark Rabinowitz , PO Box 5122, Eugene, offered the council what he termed a “haiku” regarding his view of current events in Eugene. His “haiku” questioned the need for the West Eugene Parkway, questioned the justification for Bus Rapid Transit, questioned the location of the local hospitals, questioned the mayor’s sustainable business initiative, questioned tax breaks for large developers, questioned Eugene’s reputation as an environmentally friendly town, questioned the use of eminent domain in downtown, suggested intersection th improvements on West 11 Avenue, called for a central hospital location, called for the elimination of billboards, called for the end of shopping at Wal-Mart, called for locally grown foods and community gardens, and called for support of local food stores. He urged the council to vote no on transnational subsidies and to work to build a farmers market on Broadway. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 1 Regular Meeting Zachary Vishanoff , a resident of Patterson Street, offered the council the following Web site regarding Nike: www.nano.electromagnet.us. He spoke of a Planning Commission meeting he attended earlier that day, specifically the commission’s discussion of the Walnut Street Mixed-Use Task Force, whose meetings were apparently not being noticed to the public. He said the commission was having difficulty locating mixed-use development. Mr. Vishanoff said the basketball arena public forum had yet to occur, and his neighborhood park was proposed to be sold for development, which were two events that he asserted made residents fear infill. He said the interface between the basketball arena and the nearby mixed-use area was obvious, and the City should “level with the neighborhood” about that. He suggested the council allow itself to be educated by the community, or the mixed-use project would be doomed. Kimberly Gladden , a downtown resident, said she worked downtown and did not own a car so mostly patronized downtown businesses. She frequently walked down Broadway and saw many problems in the west end that development had only made worse. Now one had to walk through youth as opposed to around them, and the discarded cigarette butts littering the streets threatened business viability. Tour buses that blocked store fronts did not help. She said many societal problems existed in downtown and pushing youth from neighborhood to neighborhood accomplished nothing; the council had yet to address that. Multi- million dollar tax breaks for large companies did no good. She did not think Messrs. Connor and Wooley spent any time downtown or their properties would not look as they did. Parking was another problem; people did not want to walk from parking structures to the stores they wanted to visit. Her issues needed to be addressed or investment would do nothing at all. rd Ken Harren , 1261 West 3 Avenue, owned a retail store in downtown Eugene. He encouraged the council to place downtown at the top of its priority list. He said that downtowns represent the face of a community and was where government and culture happened. It should be the heart of the economy. People most often complained of a lack of critical mass of business, public safety, and parking. He said the solution was the responsibility of all but the City could lead the way, particularly with regard to parking, which he acknowledged was a difficult problem. He called Eugene a wonderful place waiting to happen and encouraged all to help Eugene realize itself. Walter Hunt , 2745 Spring Boulevard, said he worked in the McDonald Building downtown. He said the council’s work to date had already improved the downtown a great deal, and he cited the hanging baskets and statute of Ken Kesey as examples. He thanked those associated with the First Friday Artwalks. He called for a cleaner downtown, with more frequent sweeping. Mr. Hunt supported the Human Rights Commission’s recommendations related to homelessness and suggested they would help some of Eugene’s core problems. He asked the council to make maintenance and safety of the downtown core a priority. Tracy Joslen expressed appreciation for the many City and County programs that helped people who were in need. She spoke warmly of the dinner services provided by Saint Vincent de Paul soup kitchen in downtown, where she previously worked. Ms. Joslen said sleeping and eating were human rights. Those she encountered at the soup kitchen who managed to survive were amazing people. She said that the youth in downtown might be a problem but they were young and seeking a place to hang out, such as a youth center. She said the City needed to protect the homeless from the criminal element. Ms. Joslen invited the council to visit the soup kitchen and meet the good people who were served there. She advocated for a publicly run shelter for the homeless. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 2 Regular Meeting th Eugene Drix , 740-1/2 East 14 Avenue, said Eugene’s problems were similar to those of other cities. He said Eugene merely needed a new focus. No one would know how a new focus would work. Eugene was unique, and if residents could work together they could succeed. He advocated for a new definition for future generations, since not everyone had children. He said the homeless needed to be known by a new term that people felt more connected with. He asked those in attendance and those at home to think about the issue, and urged a home-grown solution. Lisa Dunn questioned how the City could justify trying to avoid liability for allowing Roger Magana to prey upon women for so long. She asked why City officials were not being charged for tampering and withhold- ing evidence, adding when other people break the law, they pay the penalty. Ms. Dunn asserted that she to move again because after more officers’ names came in the court case, the police parked in her driveway every night for 3-1/2 weeks. She asked why she should have to act in fear. Ms. Dunn said she had seen nothing productive being done for rape victims and the mentally ill as a result of Mayor Piercy’s election, in spite of promises she made. She had expected more change. She said she repeatedly asked for answers and never received one. Her daughter had been removed from her custody because the State believed she was too traumatized because of her exploitation by Roger Magana to raise her. After threatening suit, she was finally able to see her daughter on a regular basis. Ms. Dunn asked that something be done about predators on the streets, suggesting that failure to do so could result in vigilante actions. th Tom Watson , 1963 7 Avenue, questioned the lack of action by the City with regard to Ms. Dunn’s case. He maintained her continuing stress had been worsened by recent events, such as the City’s motion requesting a judge to rule the City had no liability in the Magana case, which the judge ruled against. He suggested that as the City contemplated the dollar amounts involved in settling the case, it would be in the City’s best interests to take care of Lisa Dunn. Mr. Watson suggested $3.3 million would be an appropriate settlement. He averred it would be appropriate for the City to offer counseling to Ms. Dunn. He believed that “damage control” was in order, and suggested to Mayor Piercy that “stepping out for Lisa Dunn” would be a popular thing for her to do. He suggested City Manager Dennis Taylor bore responsibility for the case, noting that City Manager Taylor stated to the council that the City “owned” the International City Managers Association/Police Executive Research Forum (ICMA/PERF) report. Mr. Watson asserted that in recently filed court documents, the City sought privacy for officers other than Lara and Magana who had sustained sexual complaints against them and who were still working for the City of Eugene. He called for a zero tolerance policy for the Police Department regarding sexual complaints. He questioned the council’s lack of action in that regard. He questioned whether the City had time to await the settlement of the lawsuits to hear the results of Police Chief Robert Lehner’s investigations, and called for action. He thought the City Council should take care of Ms. Dunn. Kevin Matthews , PO Box 1588, Eugene, said the council’s action to study the proposed large and dramatic downtown development was reasonable. He contrasted development in Europe with development in the United States and said that “snazzy, chain store” shopping experiences were common and asserted that retail approach had “run its course.” He suggested the council consider establishing criteria that would allow the development to proceed in a way that expressed Eugene. He suggested sustainability criteria, “walkability” criteria, and a requirement for local content. Mr. Matthews feared so much development in a single ownership could become generic. He said the council should demand staff produce a detailed analysis. If the council chose to use eminent domain, it should use it in the public interest. He asked how the use of MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 3 Regular Meeting eminent domain in this case compared to other uses in the public interest the council had not chosen to go forward with, such as the preservation of natural resources or locating a hospital in the core. Mayor Piercy called on the council for comments and questions. Councilor Kelly thanked Ms. Joslen for her remarks and noted the council’s priority initiative regarding homelessness, saying translating that effort into positive change was a challenge. He expressed appreciation for the comments about downtown and the need for improved vitality and public safety. He said that downtown was currently a council priority and involved seeing a variety of efforts to completion. He welcomed suggestions. Councilor Kelly said that there had been a rise in public safety issues in recent months and expressed hope a task team was investigating that and that the council would hear a report in the future. City Manager Taylor said that the issue involved several agencies and staff was working on it. He could provide more information on short-term approaches. Councilor Kelly said he had no words to respond to Ms. Dunn and Mr. Watson’s comments. He acknowl- edged there were issues surrounding cases in process but there was also a human suffering element and he thought that should be carefully considered. Speaking to the comments of Mr. Matthews, Councilor Kelly invited the comments of Mr. Matthews and the public about suggestions for measurable criteria for a development agreement for privately owned property in downtown that would make it unique to Eugene. Councilor Ortiz thanked those in attendance and recognized the Marist High School class in attendance. Councilor Ortiz said that she was always distressed to hear from the victims of Magana/Lara and wanted to preserve the dignity of them to the degree possible. She acknowledged the council’s limitations under the charter in regard to the currently ongoing litigation and expressed the wish the council was privy to that information. Councilor Ortiz thanked Ms. Joslen for her remarks. Councilor Taylor was also touched by the remarks of Ms. Dunn and Mr. Watson and said she would like information about anything the City could do to assist Ms. Dunn. Councilor Taylor thanked those in attendance and noted those who spoke with regard to the need for a youth center downtown. She suggested that could be a good use for the Atrium building if the City decided to vacate it. She agreed with Ms. Joslen that youth needed a place to hang out. She agreed with Ms. Gladden that pushing youth around the community did not solve the problem and recalled the council’s passage of the th skateboard ordinance on 13 Avenue, which drove them downtown; the opening of the downtown streets that drove them to Monroe Park; and enforcement there that brought them back downtown. She hoped the council would think about opening a youth center with assistance from the State or University of Oregon. Councilor Bettman also thanked those in attendance, particularly the high school class. She asked whether urban renewal money could be used to offset the costs of providing additional public safety patrols and social services focused on the urban renewal district. She thought those were benefits to downtown. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 4 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman expressed her admiration of and appreciation to Ms. Dunn for coming forward again. She agreed with the remarks of Councilor Ortiz and said the issue re-emphasized the need for an external police auditor immediately. Ms. Dunn could be directed to the auditor as she was raising new allegations. Following a brief consultation with City Attorney Jerome Lidz, Councilor Bettman expressed her objection to the executive session held earlier in the evening. She said she objected to the process being employed and had deep concerns about whether what happened in that session had to occur in an executive session as opposed to a work session. She said she would not support condemnation of any downtown businesses in order to allow private developers to consolidate their properties. Many of the properties involved were the sites of long-time local businesses and she did not agree with disposing of them for the convenience of a larger project. If the property owners of the involved properties wanted to maximize their investment when selling their properties, they had that right. Councilor Solomon also thanked those in attendance and in particular wished to recognize the seniors in the Advanced Placement Government Class at Marist High School. She noted her own attendance and graduation from Marist High School. She believed all councilors would agree an engaged citizenry was the City’s greatest asset. She asked the students not to hesitate to call if there was anything she could do to keep them engaged. Mayor Piercy suggested that the new citizen review board could also assist persons such as Ms. Dunn. Mayor Piercy agreed with Councilor Kelly about the value of hearing input from citizens regarding the proposed downtown development agreement criteria. Mayor Piercy also thanked the students from Marist High School for their attendance. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to approve the items on the Con- sent Calendar. Councilors Bettman, Kelly, and Papé noted that they had submitted corrections to the minutes earlier that day. Mayor Piercy deemed the corrections to the minutes accepted. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened a meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 5 Regular Meeting 4. ACTION: Resolution 1037 Acknowledging Receipt of the Annual Financial Report of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene, Oregon, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2005 City Manager Taylor noted that the independent auditor had given the City a clean audit both with regard to the general operating budget as well as the Urban Renewal Agency budget. Action to adopt the report must be made by resolution. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to adopt Resolution 1036, ac- knowledging receipt of the Annual Financial Report for the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency and reconvened the meeting of Eugene City Council. 5. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Remanded Provisions of Appendix B to Ordinances Nos. 20325 and 20326; Amending Ordinances Nos. 20235 and 20236 by Adoption of a New Appendix B; Repealing Section 5 of Each Ordinance; and Providing an Immediate Effective Date City Attorney Lidz provided an overview of the remanded ordinance, reminding the council that in July 2004 it adopted two ordinances related to Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) facilities and planning. The first ordinance amended the portions of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) related to public services and facilities, and the second ordinance amended the Public Facilities and Services Plan (PFSP). He said the textual changes made by both ordinances were the same, which was why it was possible to amend the two ordinances in question with a single new ordinance. Mr. Lidz noted the appeal of the ordinances adopted in July 2004 by the Lane County Home Builders Association to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), which subsequently rejected most of the associa- tion’s argument but remanded the ordinances for a more detailed description of Project 300, described generally as the WPCF treatment project. LUBA also suggested two other projects be reexamined to determine if a more detailed description could be developed. Mr. Lidz said the ordinance before the council addressed the issues raised in the LUBA remand. Mr. Lidz referred the council to pages 141-142, 144-145, which reflected the revised text to be added to the Metro Plan and the PFSP. He emphasized that only the project descriptions, not the projects themselves, were being changed. Because there were no changes to the projects, the changes to the descriptions were based on the 2004 record. No new information or record was needed. The public hearing was not required by the LUBA remand or Oregon land use law; rather, the Eugene City Charter required the council to hold a public hearing before it adopted an ordinance. Mr. Lidz said the proposed ordinance would have an immediate effective date to allow the projects in question to proceed immediately. The projects were needed in order to meet the requirements of the City’s National Permit Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and other federal requirements. The projects would take years to build and had been delayed by the litigation. The land use amendments approved by the council were not effective because they could not be acknowledged by the State due to the MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 6 Regular Meeting litigation. Staff asked that the council amend the 2004 ordinances to remove the statement that the ordinances would not take effect until they were acknowledged, as the LUBA remand was sufficiently narrow for staff to believe the substance of the planning work had been completed. If the ordinance was appealed, the City would not have to delay the implementation of the projects. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Kevin Matthews , 1192 Lawrence Street, representing the Friends of Eugene, encouraged the council to adopt the ordinances before it. He spent the remainder of his time discussing what he perceived to be the politics behind the appeal. Mr. Matthews maintained that the Lane County Home Builders Association was operating a concerted campaign to “block, delay, wear down, and bully against” anything that cost its members money. The association actively worked against City policies calling for new development to pay the incremental cost of its impact. Mr. Matthews considered the appeal an example of that. He invited the association to engage more constructively with the City. He thought if the City and association could work on something “bigger than the fifth decimal place of the bottom line of the profit of the home building companies,” there could be bigger improvements in the “first and second decimal place of those profits.” Mr. Matthews asked the council to consider the issue when it considers the impacts of the proposed Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Comprehensive Plan on the parks systems development charge. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. She called for comments and questions from the council. Councilor Bettman referred to Project 300 and asked if any of the new descriptions broadened the projects that might fall under those categories. She asked for reassurance that the City was not creating a situation where a Coburg wastewater connection could occur through the amendment process before the council. Mr. Lidz said there was nothing in the additional specifications for Project 300 that broadened it to that degree. Peter Ruffier, Wastewater Manager, concurred with the remarks of Mr. Lidz. Councilor Poling asked if the Springfield City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners had to take similar actions. Mr. Lidz said yes. Susie Smith, MWMC General Manager, said the Springfield council had a public hearing scheduled for January 17; the Board of County Commissioners placed it on its January 23 agenda. Barring any action that extended the public hearings, staff requested Springfield take action on January 17 with an immediate effective date. Staff also requested the same of Lane County. Councilor Poling asked if there was benefit to taking action tonight as opposed to waiting until January 23. Ms. Smith said staff attempted to schedule such issues as soon as possible and hoped to see action as soon as possible so that the needed projects could go forward. She said it not be a problem if Eugene and Springfield took action on the same date. Mr. Lidz said the council could take action with unanimous consent. Councilor Poling wanted to take action in the hopes that Springfield and Lane County would be spurred to take action soon. He said the projects that were needed were in some instances needed now to both comply with federal regulations and upgrade the plant. Those upgrades were needed as soon as possible. Mayor Piercy determined that the council did not object to taking action at that time. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to adopt Council Bill 4915. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 7 Regular Meeting 6. ACTION: Interim Appointment to Human Rights Commission Councilor Solomon noted the memorandum forwarded by the Human Rights Commission recommending Paloma Reza, one of the five candidates who had applied for the position. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to appoint Paloma Reza to Posi- tion 3 on the Human Rights Commission for an interim appointment to serve the unexpired term of Judith Castro for a term beginning on January 9, 2006, and ending on October 31, 2007. Responding to a question from Councilor Papé, Ms. Walston said the process was dictated by the City Code; however, the council had interviewed most of the candidates now being considered at some time in the past. Councilor Papé wanted to reexamine the process as he did not think it was fair. He indicated he could not support the motion. Councilor Kelly explained to Councilor Papé the process laid out in code, and noted the commission’s unique committee structure. He said the commission’s committee structure created a sort of “farm team” for the commission and helped the commission fill interim vacancies with candidates with experience in the Human Rights Program. He thought that made sense, noting that staff actively encouraged those inter- viewed by the council and not appointed to participate in the committee system. He strongly supported Ms. Reza’s candidacy. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Papé, moved to amend the motion to appoint Ste- ven Smith to Position 3 on the Human Rights Commission. Roll call vote; the vote on the amendment to the motion was a 4:4 tie; councilors Taylor, Papé, Solomon, and Poling vot- ing yes; councilors Kelly, Bettman, Ortiz, and Pryor voting yes; Mayor Piercy voted to support the nominee of the Human Rights Commission, and the motion failed on a final vote of 5:4. Roll call vote; the main motion passed, 7:1; Councilor Papé voting no. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 8 Regular Meeting