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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2003)
BAXTER AIR POLLUTION TOPIC OF GATHERING A public meeting about the possible health hazards of the chemical fumes emitted by the J.H. Baxter wood preserving facility will be held from 6 to 8 pm Tuesday, Dec. 9 at the American Red Cross Building, 862 Bethel Drive. The Oregon Public Health Service has agreed to consult with Bethel, Trainsong, and River Road neighbors concerned about the potential hazards of the chemicals emitted by the Baxter plant on Roosevelt Boulevard, ac- cording to Becky Riley of the as-yet un- named coalition organizing the meeting. Riley says agency representatives are holding the meeting to gather and record in- formation about residents’ health symptoms and concerns, and they will also “present in- formation and answer questions about the hazards of wood preserving chemicals and how people are exposed to these chemicals from the Baxter plant.” The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) recently declared the J.H. Baxter plant a suspected nuisance due to a surge of complaints in the past two years from residents of the three neighborhoods about strong chemical odors from the facil- ity. Concerns about health hazards, not just odors, have prompted residents to ask health officials to get involved. Residents note that several of the chemi- cals emitted into the air by the Baxter plant, including creosote and pentachlorophenol, are classified by the EPA as probable human carcinogens. “My eyes water and I get an instant headache, and sometimes even nausea, if I go out into my yard when the fumes are strong,” says Leslie Maguire, a Trainsong resident quoted by the group. “The plant operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and fumes are routinely present in the air here. Sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own home. I know this is not a healthy situation for anyone.” — Ted Taylor DEVELOPERS SHOOT SELVES IN FOOT In the last Legislature, homebuilder lob- byists went after development fees cities charge to limit growth subsidies. But, ironi- cally, the bill that they helped pass could ac- • As we go to press, hundreds of angry Eugeneans are meeting (on-line at least) to mount opposition to the City Council’s new ordinance restricting gatherings of 25 or more people downtown without permits. Free assembly is one of our basic constitutional rights and this absurd regulation is a blatant violation that should be immedi- ately rescinded. Not only is the ordinance on shaky legal ground but it discourages spontaneous gatherings (for any purpose), imposes excessively intimidating penalties (fines up to $1,000) and invites selective enforcement. Hats off to Councilors Kelly, Bettman and Taylor for opposing it. Let’s get this atrocity off the books and save the city some legal fees and police overtime. Such an oppressive rule invites civil disobedience. Will police break-up Friday’s Artwalk? • We were pleased to see Rep. Floyd Prozanski get a nearly unanimous vote from Lane County commissioners to fill Tony Corcoran’s District 4 Senate seat. Anna Morrison predictably favored a less qualified candidate. What happens next? After Floyd resigns from the House, a similar process kicks in to fill his House District 8 seat, 8 DECEMBER 4, 2003 tually dramatically increase Eugene’s system development charges (SDCs). The transportation SDC Eugene charges de- velopers could increase roughly 50 percent as a result of Senate Bill 939, city staff estimate. “This may be one of those be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenarios,” Eugene City Councilor David Kelly said at a recent coun- cil discussion of the change. Councilor Bonny Bettman noted the “irony” that the local home builder lobby had opposed a similar change on a city SDC advi- sory committee she served on a few years ago. Bettman had supported the higher SDCs. Although the new legislation will re- quire the city to rework its rate structure, “ul- timately I think it’s probably a good thing.” Currently, Eugene charges its parks and transportation SDCs on the basis of an estimate of what it would cost to continue the current level of city services for the expanded popula- tion that new development would add. SB 939 requires that the city instead base those SDCs on an actual list of planned building projects in an official capital improvement plan (CIP). City SDC staffer Fred McVey told coun- cilors that the bill could have the impact of which is all in Lane County, so Douglas County Democrats and commissioners won’t have a say. Filling the position over the holidays will be awkward, but the bigger issue is, who will get the nod? Mitzi Colbath would be a great choice, but we hear she hasn’t been a regis- tered Democrat long enough (180 days before taking office) to meet the appointment rules. Her stint as an independent apparently left her in a bind. She will be able to run for the seat in 2004, but the appointment will have to go to someone else. Lots of folks are likely inter- ested. Lobbyist and former TV newsman Doug Barber has already announced his intentions. What about Councilor Nancy Nathanson? Yes, she is a Democrat, despite her poor voting record on the environment. We hear Nancy also wants to be mayor, but Torrey still hasn’t declared his intentions. Nancy might try for the House and if that doesn’t fly, go for Torrey’s job. Meanwhile, Kitty Piercy is getting lots of encouragement to run for mayor, particularly if Torrey bows out. She’s currently accepting pledges (not cash) and we hear $10,000 in promises have already come in, half of what she figures she needs to evaluate her support. To pledge, e-mail her at kittypiercy@earthlink.net making the CIP more controversial. For ex- ample, the policy issue of whether or not to build a new bridge to Valley River Center is undecided, but including it in the CIP could make SDCs go up. City attorney Jerome Lidz told councilors that if such a bridge project were included in the CIP but then later removed because of op- position, the higher SDCs charged develop- ers would not need to be refunded. The as- sumption would be that the higher SDCs charged would be used for another road pro- ject to meet the transportation demand in a way other than the bridge, according to Lidz. Mayor Jim Torrey, elected with big dona- tions from developers, expressed surprise that lobbyists for home builders had passed a bill that could mean easy increases in fees for their constituents. “Somebody could jack up the CIP and increase the SDCs with what, a public hearing?” Compared to other cities, Eugene’s SDCs are already among the lowest in Oregon, city surveys have shown. Most other cities moved to the CIP method of calculating developer fees years ago to limit taxpayer subsidies for growth. — Alan Pittman • After the media packed up their pens and cameras at the City Council Monday night, councilors reportedly were told some extra funds have appeared in city coffers due to high- er than expected tax collection, settlement of telecom suits, etc. Councilor Bettman, backed by Councilor Papé, moved to set aside $500,000 to assist McKenzie/Triad in locating a hospital site south and west of the river. The money could be used to offset system development charges or to help acquire land. Great idea and a sound investment. Siting this hospital close to the city center will save taxpayers a bun- dle when it comes to providing city services. • Feisty Tim Hermach of the Pacific Green Party is think- ing of challenging Ron Wyden for the U.S. Senate in 2004 or maybe going for Bobby Green’s seat on the County Commission. Hermach, founder and president of the Native Forest Council, would be an energetic con- tender in either race. The mild-mannered enviro turns into a real animal when you push his political buttons. But if he’s on the November ballot for the Senate, he will draw votes from the left. Wyden can be as irritating as a chihuahua with diarrhea (his idiotic Medicare vote, most recently), but he’s still better than anything the Republican camp is likely to field against him.
