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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/19/11 Work SessionMINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon October 19, 2011 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka, Pat Farr. In the absence of Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy, Council President Betty Taylor called the October 19, 2011, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Sustainability Commission Work Plan The council was joined by Sustainability Liaison Babe O'Sullivan and Sustainability Commission Chair Josh Skov and Vice Chair Kathi Jaworski. Mr. Skov reviewed a statement from the commission. He said the commission planned to frame its input to the council in terms of its fidelity to a broader sustainability vision and planned to provide input more frequently in the future. It would emphasize the social equity and economic dimensions of policy issues. Mr. Skov said the commission's work plan reflected a renewed focus on past themes. The commission would focus on how major City transportation and land use initiatives such as the Transportation System Plan (TSP) update and EmX met the council's adopted sustainability goals. He also noted other planning initiatives of interest to the commission. He also anticipated the commission with partner with other groups such as the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and Planning Commission on issues of mutual interest. He referred the council to the work plan and highlighted some proposed activities. Mr. Skov said the commission had consistently elevated climate change and energy when providing input to the council, particularly as it tried to bring the Triple Bottom Line to transportation and land use decisions. He evaluated the commission's performance in those areas, suggesting that reports that 2010 tied 2005 as the hottest year on record validated the commission's efforts related to climate. Speaking to energy, he noted the commission's early work on energy security and the fact that gas costs had doubled since the commission's inception. He said the commission worked hard on those issues on the council's behalf and he believed it had success. Mr. Skov noted the council's past interest in hearing from the commission on how long -term concerns affected the short-term, and he suggested that in many ways, "the long run is here" and decisions regarding the TSP and EmX would matter to people in both the short- and long -term. He invited questions. Ms. Ortiz thanked the commission for its work. She asked how the commission planned to proceed on a food security plan if that item were funded by the council. Mr. Skov clarified that the item had been referred to staff and moved down in priority on the work plan due to the nature of other decisions the council was facing. He deferred to Sustainability Commissioner Shawn Boles for more information. Mr. Boles said the commission hoped to flesh out the scoping report. That would involve other parties such as the County and City of Springfield. He recommended an interjurisdictional approach to the issue. He also noted a relationship between the subject of food security and expansion of the urban growth MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 19, 2011 Page 1 Work Session boundary to accommodate industrial uses given the value of agricultural land for food production. Ms. Jaworski anticipated the commission's focus would be on rezoning of agricultural land for expansion purposes. Ms. Ortiz said it would be challenging to fund the plan given the "fuzzy" nature of the item. Mr. Poling believed people generally understood the importance of having a soft impact on the earth and of taking care of it. He asked for more information about the commission's proposed review of the Rental Housing Code and the work plan item related to revising the Rental Housing Code for energy efficiency. He asked what sustainability goals were involved in that work. Mr. Skov said the commission was considering the Rental Housing Code because the council was considering it. He said the commission believed there was more of a widespread understanding of the economic opportunity created by energy - efficient building as well as recognition that high energy costs disproportionately affected low- income households. The commission hoped to fmd ways to reduce that economic burden. He said the commission had economic and social equity concerns about the code. Mr. Poling recalled that the council had adopted the Rental Housing Code for health and safety issues. While he supported energy efficiency, he did not think the Rental Housing Code was the appropriate place to attempt to legislate energy efficiency in rental housing. He questioned whether he needed to offer the body a motion that addressed his concerns. Mr. Zelenka agreed with Mr. Poling that the Rental Housing Code was intended to address health and safety issues. He believed the focus of the commission's work plan item was on those provisions that related to health and safety yet also had a component of energy efficiency. He cited windows as an example. He said it was not the commission's intent to add energy efficiency measures to the code as something someone could complain about; instead, the commission proposed to find the nexus between the health and safety issues within the code, such as windows, and relating them to energy efficiency and making that nexus clearer. Mr. Zelenka thanked Mr. Skov, Ms. Jaworski, Ms. O'Sullivan, and Climate and Energy Analyst Matt McRae for their staff support. He recommended that Ms. O'Sullivan provide send the council with her regular staff update. Mr. Zelenka endorsed the commission's work plan priorities. He emphasized the importance of the items related to EmX and the TSP. Mr. Clark expressed appreciation to staff and the commission. He appreciated Mr. Skov's reminder that the council needed to maintain fidelity to its sustainability goals but reminded the commission that the council also had other goals to consider. He welcomed any additional input from the commission. Referring to the commission's work plan, included as Attachment A in the packet, Mr. Clark pointed out the first paragraph stated the council had approved the CEAP, when it had accepted the CEAP. He believed that was important because it implied to him the council would have a broader conversation about the plan's individual recommendations. He anticipated the council would weigh those recommendations against other considerations, such as the effect of current economic conditions on a particular decision. Mr. Skov did not expect the council to accept every CEAP recommendation and emphasized the commission's focus on the economics of a decision. He did not think the status of CEAP was particularly relevant given the councils adopted goal to reduce community fossil fuel use by 50 percent by 2030. Mr. Clark said the specific policy changes that accomplished such goals needed to be discussed by the council. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 19, 2011 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Brown referred to the commission's work plan matrix and asked when the council would receive the commission's analysis of the West Eugene EmX proposal. Mr. Skov was unsure but thought would happen soon. He noted the commission's work with the Planning Commission through the Coordinated Land Use and Transportation Action Committee (CLUTAC) on that analysis. Responding to a question from Mr. Brown about the commission's proposal to issue a joint statement with the HRC on transportation equity, Ms. O'Sullivan confirmed that she was working to schedule a meeting with the commission to discuss the topic. She said the commission hoped to have a stronger partnership with the HRC and its staff. Mr. Brown termed the work plan both ambitious and important and looked forward to the commission's future reports. Ms. Jaworski hoped the commission and council could have more frequent discussions about how to meet the City's sustainability goals. She also hoped the council perceived the commission as an advocate for urgency on the long -range goals embedded in the Seven Pillars of Envision Eugene. She acknowledged the commission and council might not always agree but she hoped increased communication would provide the City with more opportunities to turn the community wide values reflected in Envision Eugene into specific actions. Mr. Farr commended the commission's good work. He spoke to the issue of food security and hoped the commission did not lose track of the local human condition and the work on food security that had been done by local nonprofits such as Food for Lane County and the City Council. He noted that the Lindholm Company recently did a survey about food security and found that 80 percent of respondents supported food security, particularly as it related to community gardens. Mr. Farr sought clarification about Mr. Zelenka's remarks regarding the Rental Housing Code. He asked if the commission proposed to require weatherization in the Rental Housing Code. Ms. Jaworski said the commission had not discussed the scope of its examination. Mr. Skov agreed that nothing was being proscribed now; the commission was interested in the topic because energy efficiency represented the lowest cost marginal resource for electricity and other energy sources. He acknowledged the scope of the examination was a council decision, but suggested that if there was a high leverage opportunity in this area the commission did not want to miss the opportunity to raise it to the council. Mr. Farr said that weatherization was extremely important to residents, and the City should focus what attention it could on it within the context of the council's goals. Ms. Taylor believed the commission should discuss anything it thought about it and welcomed the commission's input on sustainability issues. Mr. Pryor anticipated the council would continue to discuss the degree to which it encouraged sustainability as opposed to the degree it enforced sustainability. He hoped the commission recognized the balance involved. Speaking to the proposed examination of the Rental Housing Code, Mr. Pryor believed the council first needed to determine its approach toward sustainability. He did not think the council would resist commission recommendations to encourage, incentivize, or assist people with weatherization through the Rental Housing Code. However, the regulatory nature of the code made some councilors hesitate to support the work plan item. Mr. Pryor believed it was appropriate to find. a nexus as long as the commission clearly understood that did not mean the council would turn to a code enforcement mechanism. Ms. Ortiz said the meeting was an opportunity for the commission to offer its recommendations to the council as well as an opportunity for the council to tell the commission "no." She said that happened with all City boards and commissions. Ms. Ortiz said she would like to see more details associated with the MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 19, 2011 Page 3 Work Session food security plan item because the Willamette Valley was a great place to grow food and because of the need for food that existed in the community. Ms. Ortiz believed the commission's work with the Planning Commission on land use and transportation could be a venue for encouraging the development the City wanted to see. Ms. Ortiz suggested that the commission's Web page include links to related sites such as EWEB's incentive programs or the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency's stove replacement program. Ms. O'Sullivan agreed, and indicated that she would follow -up. Mr. Zelenka believed that one of the roles of the commission was "connecting the dots" and that was relevant to its proposed examination of the Rental Housing Code. He pointed out that broken windows could be a safety issue but were also an energy issue, as were a lack of caulking and holes in walls. He suggested what was missing was a linkage between the program and energy efficiency. The council could add energy savings to its rationale for the program and could create a better connection between EWEB's energy efficiency programs and the code. Speaking to the issue of cost - benefit, Mr. Zelenka discussed the McKinsey Curve, a global greenhouse gas abatement curve that analyzed the measures the United States could take to maintain GHG at 350 parts per million, the threshold for climate change. He said the analysis indicated the goal could be met cost - effectively. Mr. Clark said the council needed to hear about all the implications of the commission's recommendations, including information about short-term costs. Referring to the Work Plan Matrix provided to the council in the meeting packet, Mr. Clark suggested that the heading in the matrix that read "Articulate economic benefits and implications" be revised to read "Articulate economic impacts, both short-run and long- run." Mr. Skov suggested to Mr. Clark that the heading be revised by modifying "economic benefits" with the word "net." He agreed that the commission should not merely be a cheerleader for its recommendations. The commission focused on the long -term because some of the challenges facing the community looked different depending on the time frame being considered. Ms. Taylor believed that sustainability was all about the long -term. She suggested that sometimes cost was not the main driver for a policy. Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to approve the Sustainability Commission FYI 2 work program. Mr. Poling, seconded by Mr. Clark moved to substitute the motion with a motion to request changes to the work plan before approval, specifically the item referencing the Rental Housing Code. Mr. Zelenka suggested as friendly amendment that the council pull the item related to the Rental Housing Code and have that item brought back to the council for review and let the rest of the plan move forward. Mr. Poling declined to accept the amendment and determined from City Manager Ruiz that staff would schedule the item for action on an upcoming agenda. The substitute motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 19, 2011 Page 4 Work Session The motion as amended by the substitute motion passed unanimously, 8:0. B. WORK SESSION: Cal Young Neighborhood Association Boundary Revision The council was joined by Neighborhood Services Program Manager Michael Kinnison and John Jaworski, chair of the newly formed Northeast Neighbors. Mr. Kinnison led the council through a PowerPoint presentation regarding a staff recommendation to reconfigure the boundaries of the Cal Young Neighborhood into three neighborhood associations, a smaller and reconfigured Cal Young Neighborhood Association and two new associations, the Northeast Neighbors and Goodpasture Island Neighbors. Mr. Clark expressed pride in the process that led to the recommendations before the council and thanked Mr. Jaworski for his leadership throughout the process. Mr. Poling concurred. Mr. Farr commended the work of Mr. Kinnison and expressed appreciation that the process had been documented for use in the future. Mr. Zelenka also recognized Mr. Kinnison for his efforts. He believed the City's Neighborhood Program was more energized under Mr. Kinnison's leadership. He was impressed by the hard work done by Mr. Jaworski and other neighborhood residents, and congratulated Mr. Jaworski on the success of the process. Mr. Kinnison indicated he would approach each neighborhood that exceeded the optimum size about the potential of reconfiguring current boundaries. Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to schedule action on the resolutions accepting the charter documents for two new neighborhood associations: Goodpasture Island Neighbors and Northeast Neighbors. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Taylor adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 8 1 ,.-t Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 19, 2011 Page 5 Work Session