I1® RECORD ET PLANNING COMMISSION <br />III® ISSUES <br />PROCEDURAL Bias/Ex arte Contacts <br />At the Planning Commission meeting on August 6, 2019, Vice Chair Tiffany Edwards responded <br />to a letter dated June 18, 2019 from Sean Malone requesting that Commissioner Edwards <br />recuse herself from the decision on remand. The Malone letter alleged that a 2018 email <br />exchange between Commissioner Edwards (who was not a planning commissioner at the time) <br />and a representative of the applicant constitutes an ex parte contact and shows that <br />Commissioner Edwards is biased. Regarding the allegation of ex-parte contact, Commissioner <br />Edwards confirmed that at the time of the email in question she was not a Planning <br />Commissioner so her contact with the applicant's representative did not constitute an ex parte <br />contact. Regarding the allegation of bias, Commissioner Edwards stated that she could make an <br />unbiased decision on the application and was able to set aside her personal views to evaluate <br />the application based solely on the evidence and argument in the record and the applicable <br />approval criteria. <br />Rejection of Testimony <br />At the Planning Commission meeting held on August 6, 2019, the Planning Commission rejected <br />the following testimony submitted during the remand open record period: <br />1. The Planning Commission rejected Susan Ferris' June 12, 2019 letter because it was <br />outside of the scope of the open record on remand, except for the following testimony: <br />® The first sentence of paragraph 1, beginning with "Eugene Code (EC) Sections..." and <br />ending with "...residential lots in this area."; <br />® The portion of the fourth sentence in paragraph 5 that states "This area suffers from <br />erosion"; <br />® Paragraph 6; <br />® The first sentence in paragraph 8 and the phrase "problems with erosion"; <br />® The first sentence of the final paragraph; and <br />® Closing salutation <br />2. The Planning Commission rejected the fourth and fifth paragraphs of Jennifer Mackey's <br />June 18, 2019 email because the Planning Commission determined that they were <br />outside of the scope of the open record on remand. <br />Final Order: Capital Hill PUD (PDT 17-1) Remand Page 3 <br />