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Exhibit C <br />Findings <br /> <br /> <br />Background: <br />The total area of request, consists of 6,942 square feet of public right-of-way. The areas to be <br />vacated currently serve as surface parking areas in conjunction with the property south of East <br />5th Alley. Lane County and Mildred O, LLC applied for the vacation request as co-applicants. The <br />applicants own all of the properties abutting the alleys proposed to be vacated. The Lane <br />County Board of Commissioners agreed to lease its property to Market District, LLC (an affiliate <br />of Obie Companies), in conjunction with an affordable housing project by Homes for Good <br />(formerly HACSA) on adjacent County property, and approved a development plan for the <br />project. At a March 2018 City Council work session, Obie Companies presented a refined <br />development concept, which includes a 113-unit apartment building, a three-story retail and <br />office building, and 82-room boutique hotel. A conceptual development plan of the adjacent <br />lands is included as Attachments B. <br />The vacation request process serves as a means to evaluate the need for public ways as land <br />develops and uses change over time. This request for vacation is being considered in <br />accordance with sections 9.8700-9.8725 of the Eugene Code (EC) and Oregon Revised Statutes <br />(ORS) 271.080-271.230, and processed pursuant to EC 9.7445–9.7455. The public hearing is <br />being conducted consistent with quasi-judicial procedures in State law and as set forth in EC <br />9.7065 – 9.7095. <br /> <br />When rights-of-way are vacated, ORS requires ownership of the underlying land to revert back <br />to the adjacent lands from which they were originally dedicated. If the vacation is approved, <br />the alleys will revert from public to private ownership by Lane County and Mildred O, LLC. EC <br />9.8710(5) requires the applicants to pay to the City a special assessment equal to the assessed <br />value of the real property and any costs incurred by the city in the construction of public <br />improvements. Payment of the special assessment will be paid in a combination of cash and <br />fair-market value of a 14 foot wide easement over the proposed alley vacations. <br /> <br />The vacation request process provides a meansto evaluate the need for public ways as land <br />develops and uses change over time, and to address the manner in which the City may dispense <br />with public ways. Requests for the vacation of public streets and alleys are considered in <br />accordance with Eugene Code (EC) 9.8700-9.8725 and Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 271.080- <br />271.230. These requests are also subject to procedural requirements at EC 9.7445-9.7455. <br />Compliance with Approval Criteria: <br />The sole approval criterion at EC 9.8725 requires the City Council to find that approval of the <br />requested right-of-way vacation is in the public interest. The full text of the approval criterion is <br />provided below, with findings demonstrating compliance: <br />Exhibit C: Findings <br /> <br />