CC Minutes - 11/13/01 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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IV. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Assessment Procedures; Amending Sections 7.010, 7.100, 7.125, 7.130, 7.150, 7.160, 7.175, 7.250, 7.295, 7.299, 7.400, 7.405, 7.407, 7.410, 7.420, and 7.425 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Providing an Effective Date Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing and called for council comments/questions. Councilor Bettman expressed her disappointment that no one wished to testify on the issue. She said she could not support the ordinance since it had many issues that remained, for her, unresolved. She commented that the ordinance was better than the existing language but that better than existing was not good enough. She noted that the nonassessable portions would be costs picked up by the City and stressed the importance of a more equitable plan. Councilor Rayor noted that property owners would only pay for 100 feet of their lot frontage. He commented that there had been a lot of misinformation spread about costs of assessments and stressed that the maximum cost assessment would be approximately $7,000. He said the ordinance was essentially a housekeeping measure. Councilor Kelly expressed his appreciation of the staff work involved in the process. He also expressed his disappointment that there had been no public testimony at the hearing since there had been even more notice of the hearing than was usually provided. He stressed that the assssment proposal resulting from the committee was the best that could be done. Councilor Pap~ thanked staff for its involvement in the process. Councilor Meisner expressed his appreciation for the work done and said he would support the ordinance as it was presented. Councilor Taylor also expressed her disappointment that there had been no public testimony. She raised concern that the proposed ordinance was not equitable and not enough of an improvement over the existing ordinance. Councilor Nathanson believed that the revised policies addressed the fairness issues. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman regarding the use of access fees, Acting City Engineer Fred McVey said access fees were used when there was additional access taken by development to a lot when access had not been taken at the time of street improvement. He said access fees were a response to not having paid an assessment and their amounts were figured with the same formula as an equivalent assessment. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2001 Page 4 Regular Meeting