CC Minutes - 11/24/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Torrey remarked that the property owner was interested in making a profit and the policy makers and elected officials were responsible for assuring that the citizens they represented received the highest and best value for the land. He said that Santa Clara was one of the fastest growing areas in the City and was underserved by parks. He said finding available space for parks, particularly closer to the Beltline, was almost impossible and the site under consideration was easily accessible. He hoped the City would find ways to make the project happen, rather than finding ways to prevent it from happening. Ms. Bettman asked for a comparison of costs between the land swap proposal and condemning the property. She asked for a written response from staff identifying the location of the potential Rivers to Ridges links and clarification of the term ~potential." She also asked for the source of figures in the economic analysis that indicated the City would save $2.6 million to $2.9 million in park acquisition, including factors that were taken into account in the analysis, and figures associated with the equivalent benefit in tax savings to the property owner. C. WORK SESSION: West University Neighborhood Alley Improvements Mr. Taylor stated that in June 2003, the council had adopted the final report of the Joint City of Eugene- University of Oregon Task Force on the West University Neighborhood and among the prioritized recommendations was initiation of a local improvement district (LID) to pave the unimproved alleys within the neighborhood. City Engineer Mark Schoening said there were 70 alleys within the West University neighborhood, with 38 alleys that were currently fully improved concrete alleys and 32 alleys, totaling approximately 8,000 linear feet in length, which were unimproved. He said the cost to bring unimproved alleys up to City standards was about $1.6 million. He said the City's design standards called for use of concrete in the West University neighborhood, rather than asphalt, because it was easier to construct with in the tight confines of an alley, provided a more durable surface, maintenance costs were less over the lifetime of the alleys, and it was easier to accommodate drainage down the center of the alley. Mr. Schoening said the financing proposal was for an LID assessing benefiting property owners, with approximately $1.5 million of the projected cost being assessable. He said the assessment code required that alley assessments be calculated on a section by basis wherever an alley was split by another alley or where two streets define the length of an alley; however, staff was proposing forming one large LID that would streamline the assessment process. He said other factors of the assessment code related to land use and based part of the assessment on actual land use and part on zoning, and those were not consistent with use generated by alleys. He said the nonassessable portion of the costs would be eligible for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding under the allocation for capital projects. Mr. Schoening said some public outreach on the project had occurred, including a presentation the October 2, 2003, West University neighborhood meeting, and more would be required. He said feedback at the neighborhood meeting included support for the project and concern about the assessments. He outlined a schedule for the project that included initiating an LID early in 2004, a process to amend the assessment code, and construction in the summer of 2005. He said recommendation was to direct staff to move forward with the project. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 24, 2003 Page 7 Work Session