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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2020)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | JULY 23, 2020 | 9A Fewer vehicles on roads could mean future DMV office closures as revenue falls ODOT’s July revenue forecast reflects the fi- nancial losses the State Highway Fund has sus- tained due to the eco- nomic downturn. This update to the April forecast increases the total estimated reve- nue loss to $170 million for 2020 and 2021. Because the state’s Drain from A1 church,” said the church’s pastor Ray Per- ry at the June 8 council meeting. “Especially not next door to it — espe- cially where we share a property line.” The city’s proposed ordinance, among oth- er stipulations, sets a 500-foot boundary be- tween adult entertain- ment businesses and lo- cations where children might congregate, which includes churches, schools, child day-care centers, libraries, parks and playgrounds. As Top of the Bowl projected economic re- covery will extend into 2024, the impact will expand as well, increas- ing to a total of about $250 million in lost rev- enue from 2020 to 2024, when compared to the October 2019 forecast. This amount is split between cities, counties and ODOT, so the im- pact will be felt state- wide. “Certainly we will need to review the plans, projects and programs we had in place with the previous budget to de- termine where we need to make adjustments,” Brouwer said. “We’ll be working on specifics in the next few months.” Most road projects are paid for with federal dollars and with money allocated by the Legisla- ture to specific projects, so it can’t be used for anything else without a legislative change. However, the reduc- tion in overall funding could impact some of ODOT’s projects. Facing a long-term budget shortfall that has been made worse by COVID-19 and the eco- nomic downturn, the department established a Budget Task Force ear- lier this year. The group has been working through ideas for reducing costs, ad- justing programs and more. This week, ODOT will be sharing these initial ideas with the Oregon Transportation Commission during its virtual meeting as well as discussing next steps to address the budget situation. sits some 25 feet from the adjacent church, it would fall into this cate- gory. However, because the business has already opened, the question of whether the ordinance could be retroactively enforced remains to be seen. “I’m not sure on that,” said Drain Mayor Justin Cobb, adding that other layers of law enforce- ment may complicate the matter. During the July 13 meeting, councilors and staff heard testimony from Ray Hacke, an at- torney with the Pacifi c Justice Institute who re- sponded to a letter sent by the Gateway Family Fellowship church. Pacifi c Justice Institute is a nonprofi t legal de- fense organization spe- cializing in the defense of religious freedom and parental rights. The non- profi t works pro bono in cases which involve the exercise of religion and other civil liberties and made headlines in May when it fi led suit against Governor Kate Brown, challenging her emer- gency powers during the pandemic. Hacke surmised that Drain’s proposed ordi- nance would pass mus- ter in court. The attorney also voiced his concern about the indecency of Top of the Bowl’s nude events. “An adult entertain- ment business has no business setting up shop right next to a church. It has no business set- ting up next to any place where children congre- gate,” he argued. “These places do attract sexual predators.” Hacke also referenced certain vulnerable pop- ulations who go to and from drug, alcohol and sex addiction programs at the church. “Here you have temp- tation coming right to their doorstep,” he said. Meanwhile, City Ad- ministrator Steve Dahl commented there was a concern with an Ore- gon Supreme Court case which would turn the or- dinance into a freedom of expression issue. “My recommendation, when it comes down to it, is not to get the city sued,” said Dahl. “And I’m afraid that if we go with that ordinance, that we will have a suit against in the city in that direction.” Cobb, however, felt differently. “While the Supreme Court has ruled that adult entertainment businesses are a form of free speech and cannot be outright banned, they can be regulated with a ‘time/place/manner’ ordinance, which is en- forceable,” he said. Cobb went on to ex- plain that, as far as he understood the law, such restrictions would be constitutional if the city allows for some space within the jurisdiction on which the business could be established. Hacke, too, said that a “time, place and man- ner” restriction would not violate freedom of speech and that, regard- less of a lawsuit, the ordinance would win in court. Cobb then asked Barker, Dahl and Hacke to work on a fi nal ver- sion of the ordinance to be proposed at the next City Council meeting. Councilors also con- sidered introducing busi- ness licenses to Drain as another strategy for re- stricting nude entertain- ment in the city, though the mayor said he was doing it reluctantly. “I’m a staunch be- liever in very limited government control,” said Cobb. “So enact- ing a business license to me just feels wrong. It’s against my better instincts to want to do this.” Cobb recommended that the city confer with local business owners on the topic before making a decision. “If we’re going to do business licenses, I want it to be as clear-cut and easy of a process as pos- sible,” he said. ORDER TODAY! 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