Item B: Street Assessment Policy

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1. By increasing the number of property owners that share in the assessable cost of a street improvement project, the individual assessments will be reduced. However, this will result in some property owners paying for multiple street improvements over time and paying for more than the street from which their home or business takes access. The boundary of a local improvement district could be based upon a travelshed or by identifying properties on cul-de- sacs or dead end streets that must take access to the street being improved. 2.The scope of individual projects could be reduced with the effect of lowering the total project and assessable costs and thereby reducing the individual assessments. Assessable components that could be reduced or eliminated include street trees, sidewalks, and street lights. However, the existing street design standards are consistent with the council policies supporting alternative modes and neighborhood livability. In addition, the Crest Drive/Storey Boulevard/Friendly Street and Maple Street/Elmira Road projects included numerous exceptions to the City’s design standards and the estimated assessments were still considered too high. An alternative to fully improving unimproved streets is to change the practice regarding the maintenance of unimproved streets. The enhanced pothole program funded in FY09 and FY10 provided an opportunity to maintain several unimproved local streets. The maintenance provided a smooth driving surface, but did not address other needs such as stormwater runoff, traffic calming or the lack of sidewalks or bicycle lanes. At this time, there is not a viable funding source to continue this program. 3.The City’s share of project costs could be increased and thereby reduce the assessable costs and individual assessments. However, increasing the City’s share would require identifying a funding source for the costs. For arterial and collector streets, the City’s share is funded through transportation systems development charges (SDCs) and federal Surface Transportation Program – Urban (STP-U) funds. A source of funds has not been identified for funding the City’s share of costs on local streets. Without any changes to the Eugene Code, the City Council may “buy down” the cost of assessments by increasing the City’s share of project costs. The City Council may also limit the assessable components of an individual project. Both of these options require a funding source to be identified and the allocation method identified in the Eugene Code must still be followed. Through changes to the Eugene Code, the City Council could cap individual assessments or defer the payment of assessments until the sale of property. Capping assessments would require identifying a source of City funds to pay the additional costs. The interest cost of deferring the payment of assessments until the sale of property would increase the cost to individual property owners. Inequities in the Eugene Code Regarding Assessments In the previous work sessions the City Council identified the following two inequities in the Eugene Code regarding assessments: ? The depth of the property as measured from the street to the back property line is not considered in the assessment methodology. Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090928\S090928B.doc