Minutes - 06/20/1994 Workshop
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COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES
June 20, 1994
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READING
QQQl. DATE. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, CITY OF WOODBURN, COUNTY
OF MARION, STATE OF OREGON, JUNE 20, 1994.
0003 CONVENED. The Council met in a workshop session at 7:00 p.m. with the
Planning Commission to learn more about Neighborhood Associations.
ROLL CALL.
Mayor
Councilor
Councilor
Councilor
Councilor
Councilor
Councilor
Kelley
Figley
Galvin
Hagenauer
Jennings
Mitchell
Sifuentez
Present
Absent
Absent
Absent
Absent
Present
Present
Staff Present:
City Administrator Childs, Community Development Director Goeckritz
Planning Commission members present: Joanne Bjelland, Lillian Warzynski
Even though there was no quorum of the Council or Planning Commission, the
workshop continued since the workshop is for informational purposes and no
decisions will be made.
0050 NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS.
Community Development Director introduced Tom Griffin-Valade who has been
a Community Service Counselor for more than 10 years with the City of Salem
and, more recently, with the City of Portland.
Mr. Griffin-Valade provided a brief overall description of neighborhood
associations and insights as to the responsibilities of neighborhood
associations.
He stated that neighborhood associations are a means of communicating and
sharing knowledge in a timely and respectful manner. They have been around
for many years in several Oregon cities. Neighborhood Associations are an
effective way of meeting obligations under State Land Use Goal #1 which
provides citizens an opportunity to comment on land use decisions, a means
for receiving Community Development Block Grant funds, a means to show
citizen involvement when applying for other grant funding, and a means in
which citizens can participate in a way that is both reflective and cooperative.
Neighborhood Associations also serve as a training ground for future Councilors
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COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES
June 20, 1994
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and Planning Commission members. When decisions are made, there is no
assurance that the neighborhood association will always prevail on decisions
made by each body.
Neighborhood associations are also involved in self-help projects and become a
matching resource to the City which ultimately gets specific projects completed
earlier than anticipated.
The responsibilities of neighborhood associations include communication with
their neighbors and listening to what their neighbors say in order to find out
what are important issues to them. On the other hand, elected officials must
listen sincerely to the neighborhood associations. Both sides must have
respect for each other, otherwise it will not work.
Mr. Griffin-Valade provided copies of enabling ordinances and other
publications pertaining to neighborhood associations as reference material.
During a question/answer period, a variety of issues were addressed. Mr.
Griffin-Valade stated that the number of neighborhood associations within the
City would depend upon the various needs of the community. For example,
Salem has 19 associations while the City of Portland has 90 associations. In
some cases, associations will ban together on an issue of importance that
effects more than one area while in other cases it may only involve one
association. In larger cities, general fund monies may be available to offset
costs associated with administering an organized program which may involve
hiring one or more City staff members to oversee the program. Minimal
funding could be an alternative that would involve for paying printing costs.
There is no requirement that any City funds would have to be made available
to a neighborhood association.
In most cases, neighborhood associations are formed because of negative
issues. In Mr. Griffin-Valade's opinion, associations who only address negative
issues are not always correct since they are provincial in nature. When there
are multiple associations within the City, there is no guarantee that one
association will dominate over others since issues are different for each group.
In those situations, Mr. Griffin-Valade suggested that there be some sort of
structure to communicate with each other. There is no obligation for the
Planning Commission or elected officials to do what the association suggests
and their only responsibility is to listen to each other. In regards to community
policing, this concept is a positive way of starting associations since crime
prevention is a priority for many citizens. Mr. Griffin-Valade also discussed
situations in which individuals within an established boundary elect not to
participate. Cities must determine their own procedures on this issue along
with the role of neighborhood associations. In his opinion, the most effective
program will involve some costs to the City if only to send a notice of pending
issues to a designated representative of each association.
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In regards to size of an association, Salem has as few as 300 households in
one association and as many as 5400 households in another association. Mr.
Griffin-Valade reviewed how associations operate including required meetings
and notifications to households within the association. Attendance at
meetings is often driven by the issues involved. Boundaries are set within the
association's by-laws often with input from city officials. Neighborhood
associations are often comprised with like groups but it is more advantageous
to have broad boundaries established by neighbors who have a variety of
income levels, age groups, and housing types in order to have an influence on
the elected officials. Involvement of neighborhoods associations will always be
there as long as there are issues within the community. There are times when
a neighborhood association will need an attorney to represent their interest but
disparity may exist between associations when one group cannot afford an
attorney to represent them. Mr. Griffin-Valade also suggested that some
consideration be given to mediation rather than having a continual involvement
of an attorney representing an association. He also stated that recognizing a
neighborhood association is a long-term commitment which takes a lot of time
to develop. He suggested that a system be put into place to solicit information
from the citizens but the ideal situation would be for the formation of several
neighborhood associations to encompass a variety of different groups. He also
suggested that representatives of associations be trained to be pro-active
versus reactive on issues that may affect their neighborhood. Timely notice by
city staff of upcoming issues is a positive approach of keeping associations
informed and allowing them some time to respond.
Just prior to the conclusion of the workshop, those individuals in attendance
had an opportunity to express their views on this issue. Councilors and
Planning Commission members present spoke favorably of the neighborhood
concept but also felt that it needs to be encouraged throughout the City in
order to work effectively.
The workshOp ended at 9:05 p.m..
APPROVED
ATTEST /1~/~
Mary ennant, Recorder
City of Woodburn, Oregon
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