Item B: Street Assessment Policy

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Very few local streets have been improved under the revised assessment methodology. For local streets the City Council generally does not initiate assessment projects through either adoption of the annual capital budget or by council motion. The petition poll process is the method that the City has relied upon to initiate assessment projects on local streets. This process is time consuming and expensive because property owners want to know what the street improvement will look like and how much their assessment will be before signing a petition poll. It is rarely successful because it requires property owners bearing over 50 percent of the cost to sign the petition poll. In addition, there is not a viable funding source to fund the City’s share of assessment projects for local streets. In 2001, the Agenda Item Summary for the ordinance amending the Eugene Code for local streets included the following information – In the past 20 years, approximately 3.31 miles of substandard local streets have been improved to City standards, representing a street improvement rate of 0.17 miles per year. At this rate, it would take 280 years to bring all of the 48 miles of currently existing substandard local streets up to standards. RELATED CITY POLICIES Chapter 223 of the Oregon Revised Statutes prescribes the right and responsibilities of cities to levy assessments for local improvements. The Municipal Charter, Chapter IX – Public Improvements provides the regulatory framework for public improvement procedures and assessments. The Eugene Code, Chapter 7 – Public Improvements prescribes the process for initiation of an assessment project, formation of a local improvement district, and computation and allocation of assessments to benefiting properties. COUNCIL OPTIONS There are two issues impeding the improvement of local streets through the LID process that the council may wish to consider. The first issue is that the petition poll process is time consuming and costly and rarely results in a successful poll. The options to consider include: 1.Maintain the current petition poll process for assessment projects for local streets 2.Include local street improvement projects in the Six Year Capital Improvement Program and initiate local street assessment projects by council adoption of the annual capital budget. The second issue is the lack of a viable funding source for the City’s share of costs for local street assessment projects. The options to consider include: 1.Identify an existing source of funds such as the General Fund for local street assessment projects. 2.Identify a portion of the proposed General Obligation Bond for Street Maintenance for the City’s share of costs for improving unimproved local streets. 3.Identify a portion of the proposed General Obligation Bond for Street Maintenance for the City’s $1.6 million share of the Crest Drive, Storey Boulevard and Friendly Street improvements. 4.Amend the Eugene Code to assess all of the costs associated with unimproved local street improvement projects to the benefiting property owners. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends that the council direct the City Manager to include unimproved local streets in the draft FY 2010 – 2015 Capital Improvement Program and the FY 2010 Proposed Budget. Z:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080623\S080623B.doc