07/11/1983 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

to pay fo r them. Those who did not si gn the peti tion either di d not want to be a part of any city, did not want property taxes increased by annexation, or felt e annexation would result in reduced property values. He urged the council to approve the request. Robert E. Moulton. 294 Sterling, deferred his time to the other speakers. Bruce G. Johnson, 2124 Silver Lea Court, reported that he had told the Planning Commission that 80 percent of the residents would prefer to be left alone, but that this was no longer a viable option. He stated that a task force was set up to study the alternatives and had reported that annexation to the City of Eugene was the most viable remaining option. He urged the council to grant the petition. John Hoag. 2155 Dalton, said that he was in favor of the petition for reasons already stated by previous speakers. He offered to respond to obj ections frOOl councilors. Speaking in opposition: Don Williams. 107 Mayfair, said he was the chairperson of the River Road Community Organization and felt compelled to speak in opposition to the request, particularly in view of the controversy over process. He said that only a weak case had been made for refusing petitioners the right to withdraw, and noted that the date of this public hearing had been changed from July 25 to July 11, with insufficient notice to some people who wished to testify and were now on v ac at ion. He also questioned whether sufficient legal notice had been given. Mr. Williams went on to state that if withdrawals were permitted this would no e longer be a triple majority petition. Noti ng that a petition for a proposed city of Santa Clara now had enough signatures for it to go to the Boundary Commission, he asked whether the City of Eugene was still the logical provider of services for this area. Mr. Williams said that he would like clarification on the likely increases in property taxes after annexation. Mr. Williams then went on to respond to Mr. Hamilton's list of services, nQting that most of them were non-issues. He said that the Santa Clara fire station would still be the closest to the area after annexation, and would probably be the provider of this service under contract to the City. He commented that the River Road Parks District was in financial trouble due to its shrinking tax base with these annexations; that Eugene's Public Works Department had a three-year waiting list for street lighting; and that sewers were going to be provided within the next few years whether or not the area was annexed. He noted that the provision of police protection was the only real issue. John Mehringer. 165 West Hilliard Lane, felt that this public hearing had not been 1 egally noticed. He urged the council to reject the petition. noting that it was not logical to annex a peninsula within the proposed city of Santa Clara at this time. He asked the council to reject the request or set aside the decision until proper notice of a hearing had been given. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 11, 1983 Page 5