CC Minutes - 07/28/03 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Bettman asked if portions of the street not paid for by assessments would be paid for by the City. Mr. Klope affirmed this to be so. He explained that improvements to this street would provide access to two existing lots and would not qualify as an improvement to transportation capacity for the region. He explained that a subdivision could choose to ask the City to build the local streets or they could build the streets themselves, which was the norm. He said that this particular subdivision had petitioned the City to provide the street infrastructure. Councilor Bettman commented that she did not understand how the City could continue to afford to contribute when streets get upgraded, particularly if it was a street that only served the residences of the street. Mr. Klope responded that, procedurally, staff was merely complying with the assessment code as created and approved by the council. Councilor Bettman declared her opposition to this action, stating that there had to be some new capacity in this infrastructure beyond that which would serve the two properties, and possibly formation of a local improvement district (LID) would be less costly to the City. Councilor Kelly asked for a more detailed response on what the transportation SDC would pay for in this project. Mr. Klope replied that the $3,000 would be spent to construct a pedestrian refuge island, which would allow pedestrians to cross halfway and then have a safe place to wait until traffic abated enough in the other lane to finish crossing. He added that the pedestrian refuge island would be constructed on Division Avenue, which was not a local street, but a major connector. Councilor Pap~ noted that he and Councilor Kelly had helped to formulate this funding mechanism through the work that they had done on the AdHoc Committee on Street Improvement Financing. He supported the resolution as it would provide sidewalks. Councilor Nathanson thanked staff for the vicinity map included in the council packet. Councilor Meisner asked how the City's cost in the project compared between the two scenarios, that of the subdivision paying for the improvements or the scenario of the petition request for the City to provide the improvements. Mr. Klope responded that, when the improvements were done by the developer, if they construct elements normally paid for by the City, the developers would then receive some SDC credit to reimburse them for that portion. Councilor Meisner requested that this sort of comparative information be provided on an ongoing basis when items such as this were under consideration. Councilor Bettman said that the City was partially picking up the cost of sidewalks. She noted that a block of residents on 24th Avenue had been assessed for the entire cost of the sidewalks installed there. She felt this to be the flaw in this project and that the City could not afford to offset the cost of expanding the system when the City could not afford to maintain the existing system. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 28, 2003 Page 6 Regular Meeting