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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/19/09 Public Hearing M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Public Hearing Council Chamber 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon October 19, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, George Brown, George Poling, Chris Pryor, Jennifer Solomon, Betty Taylor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC HEARING An Ordinance Amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area Transportation Plan (TransPlan) to Move Project Nos. 333 and 506 from the Future Roadway Projects List to the Financially Constrained Roadway Projects List, to Update the Project Descriptions for Project Nos. 333 and 506 and to Make Related Amendments to the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan. City Manager Jon Ruiz stated that the amendment would move two Oregon Department of Transportation th (ODOT) West 11 Avenue projects from the future projects list to the fiscally constrained list in TransPlan in accordance with a work plan approved by the joint elected officials and the Land Conservation and Development Commission in order to achieve compliance with state planning requirements. The council was scheduled to take action on the amendment at its November 9 meeting. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing and reviewed the procedures for providing testimony. She noted that several people had submitted written testimony on the matter. Pat Johnston, representing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), read testimony that had been th submitted in writing. She said BLM was concerned about activities related to the widening of West 11 Avenue between Green Hill Road and Terry Street, which had the potential to affect land and water conservation properties in the west Eugene wetlands and impact threatened and endangered species on BLM-administered lands. She said the proposed widening project would cross critical habitat for the Willamette daisy, which was protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. She said BLM could not allow any disturbance on BLM surfaces outside the City right-of-way in critical habitat and there could be issues related to how the road improvements would affect hydrology on the adjacent BLM-administered wetlands. th Jeff Musgrove , Bryceler Drive, Eugene, stated that his family owned two cemeteries on West 11 Avenue th and he supported the amendment. He said the intersection of West 11 Avenue and Terry Street was substandard and urgently needed the improvements planned in Project No. 333. He said adoption of the th amendment would not impede ongoing planning efforts for portions of West 11 Avenue to the east of the project. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 1 Public Hearing Kevin Matthews , president of Friends of Eugene, stated that the project was included in TransPlan just prior to the formal designation of critical habitat by relevant federal agencies. He said the relationship of critical habitat to the project was subsequently missed because the environmental screening maps only showed critical habitat for salmon-related issues. He said the project should not move forward and would not be built. He said advancing the priority of the project would allow development projects to use it as a planned transportation facility and it should not be placed on the fiscally constrained list until the environ- mental work was completed. He briefly reviewed his written testimony, which listed six categories of reasons the project should not advance. Mayor Piercy closed the hearing and called for comments from councilors. Councilor Brown asked if the council could vote separately on the two projects included in the amendment. City Attorney Emily Jerome said staff would prepare separate motions. Councilor Zelenka asked that staff provide maps of the terrain showing critical habitat and environmental work that remained to be done when the amendment came before the council for action. He also asked for information on how the projects would reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Mayor Piercy asked staff to also provide information on discussions that had taken place with BLM and whether the amendment was based on a policy direction that had shifted over time. She questioned whether the amendment was being proposed prematurely. 2. PUBLIC HEARING An Ordinance Concerning Time Extensions for Approved Developments; and Providing an Ef- fective Date Mr. Ruiz explained that the ordinance would provide a one-time automatic three-year time extension for approved land use applications that had not yet expired. As a part of the City’s economic stimulus efforts the proposal would allow projects that had already undergone an extensive public process, and received City approval, more time to be completed. He said council action on the item was scheduled for November 9. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing and reviewed the procedures for providing testimony. Jared Mason-Gere, Willamette Street, Eugene, representing the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, stated that the building industry was facing difficult financial times because of the economic downturn and a shortage of lenders, tenants and buyers. He said implementing the ordinance would not cost the City and would benefit a large number of people in the community. He said adoption of the ordinance would send a positive, business-friendly message to the community and those who were struggling financially. Phil Farrington, Monroe Street, Eugene, representing the Lane County Home Builders Association, expressed support for the ordinance. He said the planning process was rigorous and local economic conditions needed to be given consideration by allowing developers who had completed that process, and secured approval, additional time to finish their projects. He said other communities had enacted similar ordinances to help provide support during difficult financial periods and rejecting the proposal would cause hardship. He urged the council to approve the ordinance as nothing was better than the gift of time. Mayor Piercy closed the hearing and called for comments from councilors. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 2 Public Hearing Councilor Zelenka asked why the extension had changed from the initial proposal of two years to a three- year period. Gabe Flock, Planning Division, replied that the Planning Commission had considered testimony presented to it during a public hearing on the ordinance and recommended expanding the extension from two years to three years. He said the original proposal was based on state legislation that would have extended applications or permit approvals for a two-year period, but the Planning Commission chose to expand that based on testimony and evidence of the continuing economic downturn. He said the state legislation did not pass because of concerns related to Home Rule, but several jurisdictions had taken local action to grant extensions. Councilor Zelenka asked if other jurisdictions had granted two- or three-year extensions. Mr. Flock replied that it varied among jurisdictions and most had several different expiration periods based on the type of permit. Staff would provide that information to the council. Mayor Piercy affirmed the City’s long-term commitment to economic development. 3. PUBLIC HEARING An Ordinance Concerning Citation Authority of University of Oregon Department of Public Safety and Amending Section 4.035 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Mr. Ruiz said the code amendment would increase citation authority for the University of Oregon Depart- ment of Public Safety (DPS) officers to enforce misdemeanors on university property, in addition to the authority they received in 2003. He said misdemeanors, unlike violations, were crimes for which the offenders could potentially be sentenced to jail or assessed fines. The amendment would streamline services, freeing Eugene police for other calls for service and reducing the number of officers assigned to the university. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing and reviewed the procedures for providing testimony. st Malcolm Wilson, East 21 Avenue, Ward 3, Eugene, representing South University Neighbors, stated that the neighborhood association favored the amendment, which would reduce duplication of services between DPS and the Eugene Police Department (EPD) and keep more Eugene officers on City streets and allow DPS officers to respond more effectively on campus. Both departments would be better able to preserve quality of life on campus and in the neighborhoods. He said South University Neighbors joined EPD in supporting the proposed code change. Emma Kallaway , Orchard Street, Eugene, University of Oregon student body president spoke in support of the code amendment. She said she felt the amendment would help build more positive relationships between students and DPS and benefits of the code change included allowing DPS officers to operate more efficiently by being able to issue citations without having to wait for a Eugene police officer, then move on to other campus duties. She said it was important to work within the university’s conduct code and giving DPS more enforcement authority would allow them more leeway when dealing with students. She said of particular importance to students was allowing DPS officers to escort off campus quickly any unwelcome non-students who violated a trespassing code. She urged the council to adopt the ordinance so that DPS officers could focus on crime prevention and use their time as wisely as possible while supporting university students. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 3 Public Hearing Phil Farrington, Monroe Street, Eugene, representing PeaceHealth and the University Small Business Association, supported the ordinance. He said passage of the ordinance would allow EPD resources to be better spent elsewhere in the community. He commended the efforts of EPD and the university to craft a strategy that met public safety objectives in the most efficient manner possible and benefited the entire community, as well as those who lived and shopped in the university area. Paul Shang , Wendover Street, Eugene, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of students at the University of Oregon, spoke on behalf of the university. He asked for the council’s support of the ordinance to grant enhanced citation authority to DPS officers. He said the ordinance was in the best interests of everyone concerned as it would free Eugene police officers for other service and allows campus officers to cite and release individuals, instead of detaining them until an EPD officer arrived. He said it would enable the university to take enforcement action oriented to the campus environment and aid students by allowing DPS officers to enforce the misdemeanors that impacted students – theft and trespass being high among them. He said student government and student leadership were involved in the development of the ordinance, which had a high level of student support. He thanked the council for its time and consideration. th Doug Tripp , East 15 Avenue, Eugene, University of Oregon director of public safety, said the ordinance modification being sought by DPS and EPD was very important for both the City and the university. It was the next logical step in the university’s efforts to shoulder a greater burden to address crimes and violations on campus and in the edge of the campus area. He said expansion of DPS officers’ citation authority to include certain misdemeanor offenses would help the university be more effective in responding to the needs of students, faculty, staff and guests by being able to direct immediate response to criminal activity on campus. EPD would gain greater efficiencies through elimination of the duplication that had existed. He submitted written testimony and thanked the council for considering the additional enforcement tool for DPS officers. He affirmed that the university would continue to collaborate with EPD as a partner in public safety. Mayor Piercy closed the hearing and called for comments from councilors. Councilor Clark complimented the university and EPD for their collaborative work to develop a strategy to increase public safety in an efficient way. He hoped that a similar collaborative effort could result in public safety options for the downtown area. In response to questions from Councilor Brown, EPD Captain Rich Stronach said that DPS officers were employees of the university and were not armed. Their primary responsibility was with university property, but DPS officers also spent time in the near-campus area because of the high concentration of student housing. He explained what constituted minor-in-possession and trespass violations and related enforcement activities. He said currently if DPS wanted to cite someone for trespass, EPD had to be contacted and dispatch an EPD officer to respond and write the citation; the ordinance modification would allow a DPS officer to issue the citation to the offender. Councilor Brown asked if the modification would have any impact on game days. Captain Stronach said that it would allow DPS officers to write open container citations. Councilor Zelenka asked if the ordinance modification would cover all of the violations listed in Eugene Code 4.035. Captain Stronach said the ordinance would grant DPS the authority to issue citations for certain violations; the City Manager would determine which violations would be included in the intergo- MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 4 Public Hearing vernmental agreement (IGA) granting that citation authority. He said there were some violations that would be inappropriate or inapplicable to the IGA. He stated that the Police Chief supported the ordinance. In response to comments from Councilor Poling, Captain Stronach clarified that DPS officers had the authority to stop and search and make arrests on probable cause anywhere, not just on university property, but in practice did not engage in enforcement activities outside of the near-campus area. Councilor Poling commended DPS for moving forward and assuming more responsibility for public safety on campus and in adjacent areas. Mr. Ruiz noted that while campus officers had the authority to take action on probable cause under state law, the ordinance would only apply if a violation occurred on university property. Councilor Taylor questioned how trespass could occur if the university campus was open to the public. Captain Stronach explained that the University of Oregon was private property, but the premises were open to the public. He said DPS did not contact all campus visitors; officers concentrated on those who appeared to be engaged in inappropriate or criminal behavior. He said enforcement would be similar to the downtown exclusion ordinance, which required a violation before someone was excluded from the area. Mayor Piercy said the ordinance would be a tool for increasing public safety on and near campus and addressing the concerns of adjacent neighborhoods about the interface with students living in the area. She was pleased with the collaboration between the university and EPD and the support of neighbors for the proposed ordinance modification. She regarded it as a step toward community policing. Councilor Zelenka asked for a copy of the IGA and a list of violations that would be covered under the ordinance to be included in agenda materials when the item came before the council for action. Police Chief Pete Kerns said the violations the University of Oregon would be authorized to issue citations for had not yet been determined; those would be set forth in the IGA signed by the City Manager and the university. The initial list would be limited to those where there was the greatest need, such as criminal trespass, and expanded if necessary in the future. He said the ordinance would authorize the City to expand that agreement with the university. Councilor Zelenka asked that the agenda packet contain the current IGA and included violations, in addition to the violations that would be in the expanded list. Mayor Piercy stated that the hearings and public records were closed for items 1 and 2, which were land use matters. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 5 Public Hearing (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 6 Public Hearing