Ordinance No. 20046 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PUBLIC :NEARING A public hearing concerning the final assessment was held on April ~ 7, ~ 996, at 6:OO p.m. in the McNutt Room of the Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl Street. Hearings Official Milo Mecham presided. A copy of the minutes of that hearing are attached as Exhibit A. A copy of the Memorandum provided by City Staff is attached as Exhibit B and Exhibit C. As described in the minutes, eight members of the public spoke at the hearing. Their comments focused primarily on the appropriateness of assessment of their individual property. Since these comments require a particular response, they can be addressed in the findings section below. FINDINGS AND RECGMMENDATIGNS Prn~Pr~~~rP The Hearings official finds that notice of the public hearing was provided and the public hearing was conducted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Eugene Code. Method of Assessment Several property owners ~Kjosness and Santacroce~, in letters and by testimony at the hearing, challenged the method of assessing property by area, rather than by usage. The method of assessment by square footage is set forth in Eugene Code 7.175. The City has on numerous occasions reviewed this method of assessment. The Council's decision has always been that no other method would be more equitable than the one historically used by the City. The alternative of assessing properties according to the potential sewer usage suggested by several members of the public appears to be significantly more expensive to implement and subject to a great deal more dispute. Assessment by area is, to a certain extent assessment by usage, because larger lots can be more intensively used. Even the discrepancy that is claimed to exist because some persons lots are nearly the same size, but have more or less area within 160 feet of the sewer line reflects the potential usefulness of the sewer hookup to that portion of the property that can be more intensively developed with the availability of sewers. The Hearings Official does not recommend any change is the method of assessment. Assessment of Parcels in Common Ownership Several persons expressed concern about the City's policy of assessing parcels in common ownership where one parcel abuts the street where the sewer is being installed and the other parcel is behind the first parcel Whittle, Roderick. Where a parcel is within 160 feet of the street where sewers are being installed, but is separated from the street by different ownership, the city does not assess the property because it will be difficult for the property to gain access to the sewer. This is not true when the two parcels are in common ownership, and therefore the SANTA CLARA AREA SEWER BASINS "N" "P" "Q" AND "R" Page 5 FINAL ASSESSMENT -FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS