Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home City Council last week adopted an ordinance that will allow police officers to exclude people from certain city-owned property when they are cited for violating a local or state law.
Under the ordinance, if the subject enters city property, the subject can be cited for criminal trespass. Upon the first offense, the exclusion is for 30 days. If a second offense occurs within 2 years, the exclusion is for 90 days.
Following a third reading of the proposed ordinance, the council voted 5-2 during its regular meeting Feb. 28 to adopt it. Voting to approve the ordinance were Susan Coleman, Lisa Gourley, Ryan Underwood, Mayor Greg Mahler and Dave Trask. James Goble and Diane Gerson voted against it.
The ordinance explains its purpose. The city has experienced litter, vandalism and disruptive behavior in public places, resulting in laws being broken, adding to law enforcement and maintenance expenses and interfering with the general public’s safety, use and enjoyment of its public places. To resolve the problem, the ordinance allows officers to issue an exclusion notice to anyone who violates a city or state law on city-owned property.
The ordinance is modeled on an ordinance already in place for city parks and the Public Library. It does not include city sidewalks and streets. It includes locations like City Hall, the Police Department, parking lots and Public Works.
The exclusion may be appealed to the city manager.
Following the second reading of the proposed ordinance during the council’s regular meeting Feb. 14, councilors were concerned that excluded persons could not enter City Hall or the Police Department if they needed to conduct business.
To address those concerns, City Attorney Robert Snyder added language to provide a route for excluded persons to conduct business with the city.
Under the provision, the excluded person can contact city officials to conduct city business but may not enter the excluded property. The city will be required to use “reasonable means “to conduct city business.
Trask said it would be nice if excluded persons had a path to conduct business.
“It seems a little harsh to not be able to talk to you (city staff) about a situation that is legitimate,” Trask said.
Police Chief Jeff Lynn said it’s difficult to get into specific details for anyone who might be in this situation, but arrangements for an appointment on or off-site can be made through a phone call to Lynn at the Police Department or the city manager at City Hall.
It’s something officials can decide on a case-by-case basis, said City Manager Ray Towry. “We work for the public, and that’s the important thing.”
That wasn’t the only concern of those who previously raised concerns.
“Philosophically, I’m very opposed to this ordinance,” Gerson said, likening it to a “dance of lemons,” in which the people causing the problems move from one place to another (in education it refers to a practice of swapping around poorly performing teachers at the end of a school year). “The elephant in the room is why we’re having this ordinance.”
People can call to take care of business, like paying a water bill, Gourley said. The ordinance will help protect against vandalism and other problems. It’s a tool that helps keep city parks and property nice.
The exclusion lasts just 30 days, she added.
“It’s like an extra tool that might be helpful in certain situations,” Snyder said.
“It’s a Band-Aid for a problem we’re not willing to face,” Gerson said, the homeless. “We, as a council, aren’t addressing the issue.”
Individuals who are cited cannot go to the parks, so they move to the City Hall parking lot, Gerson said. When they cannot go to the parking lot, they’ll move somewhere else.
“It’s an issue we need to address,” she said. “And this doesn’t do that.”
Goble concurred with Gerson’s concern.
Coleman, who had been appointed to the council earlier in the meeting, noted that “they choose to do something wrong,” but that she understands that Sweet Home has an issue with homelessness.
Gourley agreed.
“A person who is homeless has just as much right to sit on a curb or step,” Gourley said. The problem is when they start leaving trash behind. “It’s not hanging out on steps. It’s the other things that happen. I do believe we need to deal with homelessness. I think it’s a symptom of a poor ec0onomy, the unemployment.”
In other business, the council:
n Denied an appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial in January of a variance to allow the construction of a carport, 14 feet by 28 feet, at 4580 Airport Lane. The carport would have infringed on the 5-yard side yard setback requirements for the medium residential zone.
Property owner Anthony McGovern planned to use it to park an RV and argued that the construction would have been consistent with the look of the neighborhood. He said the distance from the property line would be about 2.5 feet, although the property line and the carport would not have been square, and it would be closer at the back compared to the front.
The exact distances were unclear because the property line hasn’t been surveyed, said Planner Carol Lewis.
No neighbors submitted testimony for or against the variance. Underwood recused himself from the council during the public hearing, discussion and vote because he is a neighbor. He moved to the audience during those proceedings and did not testify during the hearing.
Trask said he has a hard time overturning the Planning Commission’s decision when the council gives the commission rules to follow.
“I don’t want to go against what the Planning Commission says only because we set a standard for them to go by,” Trask said. “We have rules. There’s a reason they’re there. If we don’t follow them, I don’t know why we need them.”
Goble said it’s an aesthetics issue, not a safety issue.
“I don’t see a reason not to approve it,” he said.
Gourley said she was concerned about it as a safety issue.
“I’m a little torn,” Coleman said. It may be an improvement aesthetically, but she was concerned about not knowing the precise location of the property line.
The council denied the appeal 5-1. Voting to deny were Coleman, Gourley, Underwood, Mahler, Trask and Gerson. Goble favored overturning the commission’s decision.
n Swore in Susan Coleman as city councilor. The council selected her by ratings in an interview held last month. She filled a seat vacated by Jeff Goodwin, who moved to Corvallis.
n Adopted a new Wastewater Facility Plan, which will include upgrades of the plan to address several operational issues and inflow and infiltration problems. Inflow and infiltration is water that enters the city’s sewer system through deteriorating pipes and cross connections to storm drains during heavy rain events.
During heavy rain events, it can cause bypasses of untreated wastewater into Ames Creek where it enters the South Santiam River. Ongoing sewer line replacement has reduced the frequency of bypasses, one of which was recorded in early February.
Consultants have explained that the city is reaching the limit of improvements it can make replacing pipes and can make better headway against emergency bypasses by upgrading and expanding the Treatment Plant.
n Approved a project to install 15 ramps at intersections for handicap access. The council awarded the project to Ayres West Construction Co. for $33,523.
Public Works Director Mike Adams said that 13 to 15 remain to be completed following this project.
n Re-appointed 17-year-old Colby Montigue to the Youth Advisory Council.
n Officially appointed Thomas Herb Sr. to the Planning Commission. The council voted 6-1. Goble voted no.
n Approved an increase in overdue book fees at the Sweet Home Public Library from 5 cents to 10 cents per day, with a maximum of $3 per item.
n Approved a two-year contract with Municipal Court Judge Larry Blake, effective from March 1 to Feb. 28, 2019, with a monthly salary of $4,285.42.