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Public Works <br />Engineering <br />City of Eugene <br />M <br />EMORANDUM <br />858 Pearl Street <br />Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br />(541) 682-5291 <br />(541) 682-5032 FAX <br /> Date: <br />July 17, 2008 <br /> To: <br />Mayor Piercy and City Council <br />From: <br />Mark Schoening, 682-5243 <br /> City Engineer, Public Works Engineering <br />Subject: COUNCIL ASSIGNMENT: EUGENE CODE AMENDMENTS TO ALLOW USE <br /> OF SDCS ON UNCLASSIFIED STREETS, IF IMPROVEMENT INCREASES <br /> CAPACITY <br />This memo is in response to the Council Assignment – “Provide information on how Eugene Code <br />could be amended to allow use of SDCs on unclassified streets, if improvement increases capacity.” <br />The Eugene Code provides local policy for the development and expenditure of SDCs within the state- <br />wide framework of SDC provisions of the Oregon Revised Statues (ORS). Eugene Code sections most <br />relevant to the question point specifically to compliance with the requirements of State Law. ORS <br />223.307 Authorized expenditure of system development charges states in part: “Reimbursement fees <br />may be spent only on capital improvements associated with the systems for which the fees are assessed <br />…”; “Improvement fees may be spent only on capacity increasing capital improvements…”; and, “Any <br />capital improvement being funded wholly or in part with system development charge revenues must be <br />included in the plan and list adopted by a local government pursuant to ORS 223.309.” In order for <br />SDCs to be used on a capital project on an unclassified street, the project would need to meet these <br />requirements. Changes to the Eugene Code would not modify the statutory requirements. <br />In addition to ORS requirements, the City Council has by resolution directed that transportation SDC <br />reimbursement fee revenue be dedicated to “SDC-eligible capital improvement costs associated with <br />preservation and maintenance of Eugene’s arterial and collector streets”. <br />Capital Improvements to the System for which Fees are Assesses <br />Eugene’s transportation SDCs are currently based on the arterial and collector street and off-street <br />bicycle path portions of the transportation system. In order to allow reimbursement fee expenditures on <br />unclassified streets the SDC methodology would need to be modified to include such streets in the <br />basis for the fee. This would require analysis of the capacity elements and characteristics of <br />unclassified streets. Any modification of the transportation SDC methodology would trigger a major <br />modification from the current level of service methodology approach to one based on an adopted <br />project plan and list. In addition, to allow reimbursement fee expenditures on unclassified streets the <br />Council would need to repeal or modify the resolution directing use of such fees on Eugene’s arterial <br />and collector streets. <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />