The Eugene City Council will vote tonight on a proposed ordinance that would fine Eugene citizens for repeated police visits to their homes.
The Special Response Fee Ordinance would recover costs associated with gatherings and parties involving criminal violations without burdening taxpayers.
The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The ASUO Executive wrote a new draft of the ordinance and presented it at an October council meeting, and a few amendments might make it into the draft before a vote.
ASUO changes included an amendment stating that 30 people constitute a gathering instead of 10, the number the ordinance currently specifies.
“We felt the draft that is to be presented to the city council has too vague of language, and students could see it as very threatening,” said Christa Shively, ASUO community outreach director.
The ordinance includes varying consequences for the number of visits made to a residence:
— For the first response: A warning will be issued if there are 10 or more people present, and there are two or more citations given out or arrests made.
— For the second response: If the previous conditions apply, a fee will be determined if the second response occurs within 90 days of the first response.
The fee does not include any other citations that are issued, officer pay or the cost of equipment, all of which must be paid separately.
Eugene City Councilman Gary Rayor said the ASUO did a good job of critiquing the ordinance. He agreed that 10 people is too small a number but thinks the ordinance itself is a good idea.
“We’ll look at the entire ordinance and then move to amend certain clauses,” Rayor said. “It’s going to end up with the students not being off that badly.”