HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/19/10 Public HearingMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Council Chamber -- --City Hall 777 Pearl Street
Eugene, Oregon
January 19, 2010
10:00 a.m.
COUNCILORS PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Andrea Ortiz, Jennifer Solomon, Chris Pryor,
George Poling, George Brown, Betty Taylor.
Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the public hearing of the Eugene City Council to order.
1. PUBLIC HEARING
An ordinance Providing for Withdrawal of Annexed Properties from the Willakenzie Rural
Fire Protection District, the Santa Clara Rural Fire Protection District, and from the Santa
Clara Water District.
City Manager Jon Ruiz stated the public hearing was for an ordinance to withdraw annexed land to the
City from public service districts. There were eleven properties to be withdrawn from three service
districts. City Council action was scheduled for February 8, 2010.
Ms. Piercy opened the public hearing and called for public testimony. Noting no one wished to address
the council, she closed the public hearing. There were no questions from councilors.
2. PUBLIC HEARING
An ordinance Prohibiting Smoking outside City -owned Buildings Providing Services to
Children and Amending Section 6.230 of the Eugene code, 1971.
City Manager Jon Ruiz explained the purpose of the proposed change. was to provide healthier .
atmosphere and better protection for children using City services by prohibiting smoking outside of City -
owned buildings such as libraries, pools, sports parks and community centers. The proposed ordinance
extending the prohibition to the curb outside affected buildings was anticipated to be easier to communi-
cate to the public and thus take fewer resources to enforce.
Ms. Piercy opened the public hearing and called for public testimony.
Stephanie Young- Petersen, 135 East Sixth Avenue, identified herself as an employee for the Lane
County Public Health Department, and a resident of the City of Eugene. She focused on research on
second -hand smoke exposure and trends for eliminating this exposure in outdoor environments. Public
awareness of the adverse health effects of second -hand exposure had grown as had the political will to do
something about it. Oregon had a strong statewide smoke --free work place law due to the early leadership
of the Eugene and Corvallis City Councils. In May -2007, researchers at Stanford University released the
results in the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association on one of the first in -depth studies on
the issue. The study concluded that a non - smoker sitting a few feet downwind from a smoldering cigarette
was likely to be exposed to substantial levels of contaminated air. The researchers noted that although
some outdoor environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) may be considered brief and of little concern to an
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average healthy individual, in 2006 the U.S. Surgeon General concluded there was no safe threshold of
exposure to ETS . She added second- hand exposure could be more problematic for young children who
did not yet have well developed immune systems and smaller breathing passages. Emerging evidence
around third --hand smoke exposure showed toxins coming off of people's clothes were dangerous enough
that infants should not be held by people who were smoking. other Oregon cities, including Corvallis,
Hillsboro, Independence, and others, already had ordinances similar to that before the council.
Ms. Piercy noted this would not only be safer but would also create a more livable space in front of the
Eugene Public Library.
Ms. Ortiz asked the City Manager to review who had requested the annexations and the reasons for the
requests.
Mr. Ruiz observed staff had left but offered to provide the information to councilors.
Mr. Poling asked what other cities had ordinances with similar restrictions on outdoor smoking.
Mr. Klein replied other cities had been studied when the original smoking ordinance was developed.
Other cities were not looked at for the proposed ordinance because it was designed specifically to deal
with the library, community centers, and other City -owned buildings where the primary purpose was to
provide activities for children. He added staff could conduct the research before the council took action.
Mr. Clark asked Mr. Ruiz to provide him the information Ms. Ortiz had requested.
Mr. Ruiz agreed to send the information to all council members.
Ms. Piercy thanked the members of the public for attending this evening's meeting and testifying.
The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Ruiz
City Manager
(Recorded by Linda Hem y)
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