The Eugene City Council debated for close to an hour Monday night before it voted to extend two sunset ordinances for the Broadway Mall in downtown Eugene for 90 more days.
The ordinances, which would have expired April 30, prohibit loitering on the mall between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. and also allow police to exclude individuals who commit crimes on the mall from the area for up to 60 days. The regulations affect the area between Willamette and Olive streets. Police staff had recommended the ordinances become permanent, a suggestion with which members of the business community agreed during the public comments period preceding the vote.
“This tool — mall exclusion ordinance — gives police a tool to exclude people; it’s been effective,” said Russ Brink, the president of Downtown Eugene, Inc.
Since the ordinances went into effect in 1998, police have issued 698 citations for exclusions.
“It’s an endless cycle that [the violators] get tired of,” said patrol officer Julie Smith.
Council members raised multiple issues about the ordinances. Councilor David Kelly recommended amending the ordinances to include show-cause wording. The amendment would require a judge to decide whether a person who is issued a citation would be excluded from the mall. The council voted against the suggestion.
“I’m concerned with the issue of due process. There is a clear separation between the actions of police and the laws of the judiciary,” Kelly said.
The ordinances will now expire in July, but the council will re-examine the issues before including the possibility of increasing the size of the zone.
Some of the acts prohibited on the mall include climbing trees or structures, lying down, sleeping (except for children under age 6), riding a bicycle and riding or using a skateboard or roller skates.
In other business, the City Council approved an exemption to extend hours for Alton Baker Park for the 20-30 Club of Eugene to hold a Fourth of July fundraiser.
Spokesman Mike Clark said, “It’s an event we’ve held for 52 years in Eugene and gives the club a chance to raise $10,000 to $15,000 to give to children’s charities.”
The club held the event at the Lane County Fairgrounds last year. It said in its request that returning to the fairgrounds would be cost-prohibitive because of a large deposit that would wipe out any profit it would make from the event.
Councilor Scott Meisner opposed the motion, saying he had a problem with the council supporting an event that would sell alcohol at a beer garden.