Item 5: PH on Ordinance Concerning Amendments to Public Facilities and Services Plan

Home Browse Search

ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Public Hearing: An Ordinance Concerning Remanded Provisions of Appendix B to Ordinance Nos. 20325 and 20326; Amending Ordinance Nos. 20325 and 20326 by Adoption of a New Appendix B; Repealing Section 5 of Each Ordinance; and Providing an Immediate Effective Date Meeting Date: January 9, 2006 Agenda Item Number: 5 Department: Public Works Staff Contacts: Peter Ruffier, Jerry Lidz www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-8606, 682-5880 ISSUE STATEMENT In 2004, at the request of the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC), the City Councils of Eugene and Springfield and the Lane County Board of Commissioners adopted the 2004 MWMC Facilities Plan and associated amendments to the Metro Plan text and the text, tables and maps of the Public Facilities and Services Plan (PFSP). The Home Builders Association of Lane County appealed all of those actions to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). LUBA upheld all of the City Council/Board’s actions except for some of the project descriptions included in the PFSP, which LUBA remanded for reconsideration. The proposed ordinance (Attachment A) will fulfill the requirements of LUBA’s remand by incorporating expanded project descriptions in the appropriate PFSP tables and maps, consistent with information that is already in the record of the public hearing. The projects themselves are unchanged. Due to the need to begin construction as soon as possible to assure compliance with pollution control laws and permits, the proposed ordinance also eliminates the clause making the ordinance effective only after acknowledgement by the Department of Land Conservation and Development. For the same reason, staff will request that the council consider approving the proposed ordinance with an immediate effective date at its January 23 meeting. The amendments proposed to address LUBA’s remand would then become effective immediately upon adoption of identical ordinances by Lane County and the City of Springfield. BACKGROUND In May 2002, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) imposed new and more stringent discharge permit requirements on the regional wastewater treatment facilities. MWMC conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the existing system to determine how to meet the new discharge permit requirements. The result of that evaluation was the MWMC Facilities Plan. It determined that the existing regional wastewater system does not have sufficient capacity to meet state and federal discharge requirements and recommended $144--$160 million (in 2004 dollars) in capital improvement projects to provide adequate treatment capability and capacity for growth through 2025. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060109\S0601095.doc