Item A: River Road/Santa Clara Transition Project

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Public Safety - Solid Waste Collection - Water Supply - Sanitary Sewer Two other services were included in River Road and Santa Clara Urban Services Committee report published in 2002 - public safety, and water supply. Sanitary sewer service was not discussed as a separate topic in the 2002 Committee report, although the “forced” sewering of both neighborhoods in the late 1980’s appears to be a nadir in neighborhood/City relations in the minds of many long-term residents. Sewer service as a transition or heritage issue appears to be moot at this point and will not be further discussed in the context of the transition or heritage options outlined in this White Paper. In addition, the impacts of differences in County and City standards and rates for solid waste collection and curb-side recycling have been recently raised by the City. Based on the above referenced 2002 Committee report and other documents reviewed, the level and quality of police, solid waste and water supply services seem to be generally satisfactory (or at least acceptable) to the two neighborhoods. It should be noted, however, that some City and County officials consider that public safety services are more problematic than the “average” neighborhood resident may perceive. These issues are summarized below. Nonetheless, based on documented perceptions within the neighborhoods, few transition issues and even fewer heritage opportunities attach themselves to these three above referenced services (sanitary sewer is excluded). Therefore, the following section departs from the standard White Paper format, and only briefly discusses one or two issues and ideas for each service. Public Safety A review of documents evaluating community needs and perceptions indicates that public safety services are generally not an overarching issue of concern in River Road or Santa Clara. This notwithstanding, Lane County officials do perceive serious public safety service issues county-wide, and are developing a public safety service proposals in response. In early 2005, Lane County was discussing sponsoring a ballot measure in November 2006 that would form a Public Safety special service district. Approval and implementation of such a measure could shift the equation with respect to County resources available to Santa Clara and River Road, although as a County-wide measure the service district would not necessarily have more impact on River Road or Santa Clara than any other part of the County. This notwithstanding, the County appears as of writing not to be proceeding with this initiative. Both Santa Clara and River Road benefit from the presence of City, County and/or State law enforcement based on municipal boundaries, road jurisdictions, inter-agency agreements, and “undocumented” practice. The “gerrymandered” pattern of City and County jurisdiction in both the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods can, however, make it particularly challenging for local law enforcement agencies to distinguish between their own citizens and other residents (although the onset of in-patrol car computers and other technology has made this a simpler matter than in the past). It is not unknown in areas transitioning from one jurisdiction to another that the law enforcement agency most proximate to the public safety incident will respond (particularly to emergency or major crime incidents) simply because public safety agencies often see it in the interest of overall local public safety to respond to calls and crimes in the community irrespective of jurisdictional status. These are reasonably common issues in urban/rural transitions throughout Oregon and elsewhere, and the complications are sometimes mitigated by one law enforcement agency (typically the county sheriff) “withdrawing” from their jurisdictional territory in favor of a more proximate city police department. Such withdrawals are not necessarily memorialized by intergovernmental agreement. Alternatively, some County sheriffs offices have developed (and taxed for) “enhanced patrol” services on in-county lands immediately adjacent to cities that begin to take on urban characteristics as a result of population growth. 41 River Road/Santa Clara Transition/Heritage White Paper DRAFT 11-24-05 Service provider Review