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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/23/12 MeetingMINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber --City Hall 777 Pearl Street— Eugene, Oregon January 23, 2012 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Brown, Pat Farr, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the January 23, 2012, regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Ariana Fancher, Ward 6, supported revisions to the City Code that allowed residents to raise goats inside the city limits. She spoke of the values of goats, including their use for food production, which allowed for sustenance and self - reliance. Alexandra Rempler, Ward 2, spoke of the many United States communities that allowed goat- keeping. Those communities administered codes that prohibited noise, excessive odors, and goats at large, as well as unsanitary conditions that attracted insects by limiting goat numbers to 2 -3 per residential lots. In addition many codes required goats to be dehorned and male goats to be neutered and provided for setbacks. In addition, many cities required goats to be licensed. Ms. Rempler particularly commended Seattle's ordinance to the council. Genie Harden, 85240 Chezem Road, also supported code changes that would allow for urban goats. She asked the council to hold a work session as soon as possible to allow residents to keep goats as soon as possible. She spoke of the many benefits of goats and submitted pages 88 -89 of the City of Eugene Food Security Resource and Scoping Plan, which include the plan's recommendations for changes to Eugene Code 9.5250 to expand the ability of citizens to engage in microlivestock husbandry. Carla Newbre, Ward 1, expressed regret for recent testimony in the public forum aimed at Councilor Poling. and said she had shared her strong disapproval with the individual in question, who was not affiliated with Occupy Eugene and who was unknown to the group's members. She spoke of her work as a peacekeeper at that day's "Ninja March" and said she had offered people peace, love, and happiness or chocolate money; many people accepted the peace, love, and happiness. She wished the council peace, love, happiness, health, and abundance. Joe Tyndal, Ward 7, agreed with Ms. Newbre's remarks about the testimony directed at Councilor Poling and suggested the individual in question may have been an agent provocateur. He suggested the council investigate what he termed "the maneuvering" that led to the Occupy Eugene encampment being shut down. He doubted the police's accounts of Molotov cocktails and outdoor sex. He suggested the police had dumped troublemakers on the site and that Occupy Eugene and the council were "played" by factions manufacturing a case they could not win on its merits. Mr. Tyndal invited Councilor Poling to participate in a discussion with Jean Stacey on an Occupy Eugene broadcast. MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 23, 2012 Page 1 Work Session Dennis Gabrielson, 300 South 10"' Street, Creswell, emphasized with the professor who spoke of profiling at the last public forum as Mr. Gabrielson maintained he had also been profiled by officers when working at night. He went on to aver that councilors misspoke at a recent meeting when they informed an individual they could not open a Police Auditor case because the council was the employer of the Police Auditor. Alley Valkyrie, Ward 1, apologized for the ad hominem attack on Councilor Poling. She said Occupy Eugene wanted to bring the community up, not tear down individuals, and hoped to work with the council toward that goal. Ms. Valkyrie recalled a councilor had suggested an attack on one councilor was an attack on all councilors and advocated for civility. She agreed, but maintained that Councilor Poling's characterization of Occupy Eugene participants as terrorists was a personal attack. All those in Occupy Eugene felt attacked as a result. She said while Councilor Poling might have been insulted by the comments he heard, they were not personally damaging, but to call someone a terrorist had serious implications. Occupy Eugene participants had been harassed and threatened by Councilor Poling's supporters. She was concerned for her safety because of Councilor Poling's accusation. She suggested that the money spent on the security fence at Councilor Poling's house could have fed and housed many people. Eugene Drix, Ward 3, spoke on the "State of Now." He suggested the coming year was a year for change, although the nature of that change was not completely known. He said he attended council meetings on a regular basis and loved it. He thought the democracy embodied by the council process made the community work. He recalled some of his past testimony and said he would be back. Drix applauded the First on Broadway building and applauded the council and City Manager Ruiz for facilitating its construction. He suggested to future residents that noise was part of living in the downtown neighborhood. Terrill Purvis, Ward 5, Occupy Eugene Medical Coordinator, discussed the positive outcomes of Occupy Eugene, which included a free medical clinic on Mondays and Tuesdays supported by donations from doctors and nurses. The clinic had served more than 150 people to date. He said homelessness was still a problem and people still needed help. He reminded the council that one of Occupy Eugene's missions was to help other people in the community. He hoped the work done by the community task force formed by the council led to positive things. Jean Stacey, Ward 1, expressed concern that the council direction related to allocations to fund the Egan Warming Center was not being implemented and asked the council to follow -up. She looked forward to the next meeting of the Opportunity Eugene Community Task Force on Homelessness. She believed the council would need to think differently about the City Code because she anticipated the task force might approach the council about waivers to current regulations to facilitate more housing for the homeless. She recommended the council start talking with their constituents about that possibility to avoid controversy in the future when the task force made its recommendations. Sophia Ross, Ward 7, shared the Occupy Eugene mission statement with the council. Miaya Sustaita, Ward 7, shared information about the "Occupy the Courts" event held the previous week. She reminded the council that Occupy Eugene submitted a petition asking the council to adopt a resolution calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment abolishing corporate personhood. She asked when the council would consider the resolution. She was disappointed that Eugene was not the first community to adopt such a resolution. MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 23, 2012 Page 2 Work Session Randy Cain, Ward 1, discussed the "ninja" iconography adopted by many in the Occupy Eugene movement. He said language and symbols were continually redefined by succeeding generations. He had initially been opposed to the use of the ninja iconography,and the combination of the old and new meanings. However, Mr. Cain believed the iconography was meant as a metaphor, not as advocacy for violence. He asked the council to keep that in mind. Jennifer Frenzer, Ward 2, discussed the evolution of the local Occupy movement and said that the movement would continue to work on behalf of its neighbors and other citizens who had issues that needed the assistance of a large number of people to move forward. She discussed some of the activities of Occupy Eugene, its work with other Occupy cities, and its committee structure. She believed the Occupy movement brought awareness to initiate reforms and reclaim the democratic process from moneyed interests. She said Occupy Eugene looked forward to building bridges with all the councilors. Zachary Waddell, Ward 1, suggested that residents had surrendered their authority to the council. People did not understand their liberty was in direct proportion to the responsibility they were willing to assume for themselves. He believed it was up to the citizens, not the councilors, to meet the needs of the community. However, people had been "bought off and manipulated" and had sacrificed human connection for less responsibility and comfort. People were complicit in the crimes of the wealthy because they continued to work and consume. Mr. Waddell asked people to imagine an alternative to the profit motive. People could share their best ideas for free. The products of their labor could be made to last and be easily repaired. Advertising and its creation of false needs would be abolished. He said the only legitimate authority could be found in the people. Consensus, rather than representative democracy, was the only legitimate democracy. He acknowledged it would be a challenge to shift to a consensus - based system. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She determined from City Manager Jon Ruiz that he would follow -up in regard to Ms. Stacey's inquiry as soon as possible. Councilor Farr said he visited the Occupy Eugene encampment and talked to many Occupiers and had not felt threatened personally by Occupy Eugene, but his granddaughter had wondered why he appeared on a deck of cards as the 3 of Diamonds and felt personally threatened by it. He found it offensive, threatening, and outrageous. He could not understand what prompted someone to create such a depiction and suggested it was both cowardly and "off -the- charts" ridiculous. Councilor Brown thanked the advocates for goats for the information they provided and anticipated the council would hold a work session soon. He thanked the participants of Occupy Eugene for attending and for keeping their issues before the council. He said the task force met the next day and he hoped it could develop long- and short-term solutions. Speaking to the resolution on corporate personhood, Councilor Brown anticipated the council would discuss that soon. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - October 19, 2011, Work Session - November 14, 2011, Work Session - November 14, 2011, Regular Meeting - November 16, 2011, Work Session - January 5, 2012, State of the City B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 23, 2012 Page 3 Work Session C. Adoption of Resolution 5052 Annexing Land to the City of Eugene (Dickinson Properties –A 11 -1) D. Appointment to Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 3. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Personal Property Sale Procedures and Amending Sections 2.835 and 2.855 of the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager Jon Ruiz reviewed the ordinance, which shortened the storage time for evidence and allowed the Eugene Police Department's evidence retention schedule to be reconciled with the State standard. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. Responding to a question from Councilor Clark, Property Control Unit Supervisor Jason Peterson of the Eugene Police Department indicated the State standard, Oregon Revised Statutes 982.45(2)(b) called for 60 days' retention; following that, notice of the property's retention must be notice published in three locations for another 30 days for a total retention period of 90 days. The City currently held property for six months. Mayor Piercy determined that no councilors objected to taking action on the ordinance at this time. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to adopt an ordinance concerning personal property sale procedures and amending Sections 2.835 and 2.855 of the Eugene Code, 1971. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Ratifying Ordinance No. 20483 Concerning State Traffic Laws and Providing for an Immediate Effective Date City Manager Ruiz indicated the council was being asked to take action because of a procedural error at an earlier hearing. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to adopt an ordinance ratifying Ordinance No. 20483 concerning State traffic laws and providing for an immediate effective date. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 23, 2012 Page 4 Work Session 5. ACTION: Adoption of Resolution 5053 Approving a Multiple -Unit Property Tax Exemption for Residential Properties located at Willamette and Broadway (First on Broadway, LLCBroadway Lofts) City Manager Ruiz reviewed Resolution 5053, which approved a Multi -Unit Property Tax Exemption ( MUPTE) for a residential development to be located at Willamette Street and Broadway. He recommended approval of the resolution because the development would advance the council's goals for downtown and fill a major downtown vacancy. Councilor Brown recalled his past opposition to MUPTE applications in the West University Neighborhood but supported the use of MUPTE downtown to facilitate downtown residential housing. He thought downtown would benefit greatly from the MUPTE. He believed the developments would encourage additional downtown residential development and the council would then be free to focus the tool on another area of the community. Councilor Zelenka was happy to see housing built downtown, particularly in the two buildings in question. He said the proposal would bring much - needed housing downtown. He had also opposed the further use of MUPTE in the West University Neighborhood but was happy to support the proposal before the council. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to adopt Resolution 5053 approving a multiple - family unit property tax exemption for residential property located at 39 West Broadway. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 6. ACTION: Adoption of Resolution 5054 Approving a Multiple -Unit Property Tax Exemption for Residential Property located at Willamette and Broadway (858 Pearl St., LLC/Park Place Apartments) City Manager Ruiz introduced the item, a resolution approving the application of MUPTE for a residential development at property located 877 East Park Street, a property formerly owned by the City. He recalled that the council approved the sale of the property to the developer, who planned to develop it as apartments. He recommended approval of the application and said it met the criteria related to public benefit. Mayor Piercy believed the Parks Blocks would benefit from the development by making it a more active area. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to adopt Resolution 5054 approving a multiple - family unit property tax exemption for residential property located at 877 East Park Street. Roll call vote: the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 7. ACTION: Disposition of Surplus Real Property City Manager Ruiz asked the council to approve the sale of City -owned property located along Franklin Boulevard. He reported that the City would retain a portion for future right -of -way but the remainder was MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 23, 2012 Page 5 Work Session not needed for public purposes. The City received and accepted, subject to council approval, an offer for the property. Councilor Zelenka acknowledged the configuration of the lot was challenging and asked what would be built there. Urban Services Manager Denny Braud said it was being purchased for retail restaurant development. He indicated that access and egress would be addressed through the permitting process. Councilor Zelenka determined from City Manager Ruiz that the $715,000 realized by the sale would be directed to the General Fund and appropriated by the council for public purposes at some future point. Responding to a question from Mayor Piercy, Mr. Brand indicated the selling price reflected the current real estate market. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to authorize the City Manager to sell the Franklin Boulevard surplus property to Thomas Fox Properties, LLC consistent with the terms outlined in the Agenda Item Summary. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 8. ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mayor Piercy expressed appreciation for the electric plug -ins being installed downtown for charging electric cars. She said it was a great step forward. She noted that Eugene was featured that evening on Antiques Roadshow. She reminded the public that the City was seeking members for its boards and commissions. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 8:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted, '8 ez� jql� Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 23, 2012 Page 6 Work Session