01/27/1986 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Discussing the River Road/Santa Clara sewer grant, Mr. Bolton said the "hook up goal II in the grant is not a good reason for annexing property 1.7 miles from the city limits. He said the grant was intended to solve sewer problems in the River Road/Santa Clara area where there is a moratorium on septic tanks. He said the annexation of the Airport Road area was not included when the grant was approved. Mr. Bolton read from a Letter to the Editor published in The Register-Guard on January 25, 1986, from Aaron Jones, owner of Seneca Sawmill. Mr. Bolton said the Fa1kensteins own Tax Lot 803 now and initiated the'annex- ation proposal. They formerly owned Tax Lot 802. The sewer system for Tax Lot 803 was located on Tax Lot 802 and the Fa1kensteins have not financed an adequate sewer system for Tax Lot 803 as other owners have done on their prop- erties. So many buildings have been constructed on Tax Lot 803 that there is no room for a sewer system. He said the owners initiated an annexation propo- sal for properties which are 1.7 miles from the city limits and then proper- ties were selectively chosen to comply with the triple majority criteria. Mr. Bolton said the Department of Environmental Quality and the City permitted the owner to "get into this predicament." Summarizing, Mr. Bolton said many people in the Airport Road area were financing sophisticated private sewer systems while the owner of Tax Lot 803 was reaping profits from the sale of Tax Lot 802. He said the arbitrary exclusion of Tax Lot 1800 to create a triple majority is not legal. He said it will be tested in the courts if the proposal is approved. He suggested the process be slowed so that a plan can be developed to solve the Falkensteins' problems in a legal way. He hoped a legal battle will not be created at the gateway to the city. He urged the council to oppose the annexation. Michael F. Fox, 330 North Adam, agreed with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Bolton. Mr. Fox said a decision in the case of Peterson vs the City of Klamath Falls indicated that land use decisions should be rational. They should not be capricious. Therefore, all the land within the urban growth boundary west of Highway 99 should be included in the proposal. He said the boundary of the proposal was gerrymandered to meet the triple majority criteria. Mr. Fox said the City has encouraged compact urban growth for many years. He said it has become part of the social contract between Eugeneans and their government and approval of the annexation proposal would be a breach of faith. He said the properties in the proposal are outside the developed area and approval of the proposal would be "leapfrogging." Richard Geranian, 29439 West Enid Road, owns Tax Lot 2300 which is two acres. He lives on the property. He said no other owner-occupied tax lots of non-consenting owners were included in the proposal. Mr. Geranian said the 4,000-square-foot building in the back of his property was empty for two years. He rented it recently and, for that reason, the property was included in the proposal. He said there is an 11,000-square-foot building on Tax Lot 2401 which was excluded. Mr. Geranian said the 170-acre annexation proposal includes many lots. It is not the campus-type industrial development people have indicated is needed by the city. He said owners who need sewers should pay for them. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 27, 1986 Page 5