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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2014)
Councilors Betty Taylor and George Brown have voiced concerns that MUPTE is not a useful planning tool as it stands, and Taylor thinks it should end outright. The program diverts millions of dollars of tax revenues from the city, county and schools, with the promise of increased future taxes when the exemptions end. Taylor says she is “totally opposed to MUPTE, and I don’t think a committee would help.” Mayor Kitty Piercy supports MUPTE and says she thinks the council will “listen to the requests of the Eugene Neighborhood Leaders Council” and the MUPTE Advisory Group (MAG) “and use those recommendations to form the criteria of the MUPTE to better ensure it is a focused, fair and accountable tool that the city can use judiciously for needed future multi-unit housing that would otherwise not be doable.” The ad-hoc MAG is recommending a review process that would provide standards for future applications, and a system for evaluating projects after they are built. MAG was formed in response to concerns from local environmental groups and complaints from workers at Capstone and other MUPTE projects. “We are not interested in placing a moratorium on MUPTE,” says Philip Carrasco of Grupo Latino de Acción Directa. “It is a valuable tool to promote the city of Eugene’s values and goals, like preventing sprawl … MUPTE just needs transparency and increased public participation.” If a MUPTE review panel is created as expected next year, one big issue would be who gets appointed. “The membership of the committee would undoubtedly be predominately people friendly to developers,” Taylor says. “Also, some who would be flattered to be in association with wealthy people.” Taylor is also concerned about what power the panel would have relative to the council. Carrasco, who is a member of MAG, says he wants the review panel to include a representative from labor, the Human Rights Commission, a graduate student from the UO’s Department of Planning, Public Police and Management, a public health person and a city councilor. — Ted Taylor COUNTY DISCUSSES ORDINANCE TO BYPASS NDAA DETAINMENT LAW On Dec. 16 Lane County commissioners discussed whether to question federal law and pass an ordinance that challenges two controversial sections of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA, a sweeping defense bill that sets the budget for the military, dates back to the post-9/11 period and is renewed every year by Congress. The controversial sections of the bill include provisions to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism. The current version of the $585 billion NDAA passed the Senate Dec. 12. Currently, the legal counsel for the County Commission, led by Steve Dingle, is reviewing the proposed ordinance. At issue is the impact the ordinance would have on labor unions, including the Lane County Peace Officers Association. Colin Farnsworth, a local representative of People Against the NDAA (PANDA), says he suspects the legal counsel is delaying the review on purpose. “They’re giving us a run around,” he says, because the ordinance “has the potential of creating a lot of work and controversy.” During the Dec. 16 discussion, Commissioner Jay Bozievich said, “I don’t want to follow up a bad national law with a bad local law.” Commissioner Pete Sorensen tells EW that he supports an anti-NDAA ordinance for Lane County. “We’re not going to help the federal government comply with this law,” he says. Local governments across the U.S. have passed similar ordinances, including the state of California. “My focus is getting Lane County to join the list,” Sorensen says. The controversial sections were included unchanged in the final bill awaiting President Obama’s signature — it passed the House Dec. 4. Sorensen says that means the issue is even more urgent for Lane County. “We need to be doing a lot more on the local level,” he says. The federal government, Sorensen says, has said it will not exercise its powers to enforce the controversial sections of the bill. “It doesn’t mean a new president can’t use the power,” Sorensen says. Farnsworth says the ordinance would be largely symbolic but could have practical impact. For example, the Lane County sheriff, Farnsworth says, “would be required by law to arrest anyone breaking the law,” which could potentially include federal agents. If this ordinance passes, a drone strike would count as murder in Lane County, Farnsworth says, and assault and battery would be illegal, even for the sake of national security. Both Farnsworth and Sorensen agree the anti-NDAA ordinance has support from the Lane County Commission from both sides of the political spectrum, though, as Sorensen points out, the County Commission is technically a non-partisan institution. Sorensen describes the situation as “civil libertarians on the left agreeing with civil libertarians on the right.” EUGENE OPERA PRESENTS Gaetano Donizetti’s The ELIXIR LOVE of December 31, 2014 & January 4, 2015 HULT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Tickets: 541-682-5000 eugeneopera.com eugeneweekly.com • December 18, 2014 9
