Item B: Update on Street and Lighting Fee Development

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ATTACHMENT B Public Works Administration City of Eugene MEMORANDUMMEMORANDUM 858 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541) 682-5241 (541) 682-6826 FAX Date: November 15, 2007 To: Mayor Piercy and City Council From: Kurt Corey, 682-5241 Public Works Director Subject: Street Utility Fee Alternatives This memorandum presents information to the City Council related to methodological options for determining the fee structure and rates for a proposed street utility fee. The fee as proposed by the Council Subcommittee on Transportation Funding Solutions (subcommittee) was generally defined as using parking as a measure of system usage, with a number implementation details to receive further definition and refinement through development of an implementing ordinance and methodology. A range of alternatives exists for development of the fee and are presented in this memorandum. Staff seeks further council direction on these alternatives prior to developing a draft ordinance implementing the fee. Background The intent of a street utility fee is to provide a utility based funding mechanism to pay for benefits to City residents and businesses provided by the City’s transportation system. The fee would be established by ordinance to be paid by all customers having possession or control of premises in the city with the purpose of providing funding for operation, maintenance and preservation of the transportation system. The council has expressed support in the past for a utility-type fee as a part of a package of transportation funding mechanisms. Previous proposals for a similar fee relied on vehicle trip generation estimates to measure customers’ usage of the transportation system. Through the work of the subcommittee, the potential for use of parking as a basis for a street utility fee was identified and emerged as a favored option. Key factors for favoring a parking-based street utility fee included: ?Parking spaces as a measure of transportation system usage has a rational basis in that vehicles must use the system to get to and from parking spaces; in general, the greater the number of parking spaces at a site, the greater potential for the number of vehicles using the transportation system to come and go from the site. B,SUF P17 ATTACHMENT TREET TILITY EE AGE OF