Item C: Street Assessment Policies

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Very few local streets have been improved under the revised assessment methodology. For local streets the City Council generally does not initiate assessment projects through either adoption of the annual capital budget or by council motion. The petition poll process is the method that the City has relied upon to initiate assessment projects on local streets. This process is time consuming and expensive because property owners want to know what the street improvement will look like and how much their assessment will be before signing a petition poll. It is rarely successful because it requires property owners bearing over 50 percent of the cost to sign the petition poll. In addition, for local streets there is not a viable funding source to fund the City’s share of assessment projects. The Crest Drive, Storey Boulevard, and Friendly Street project is a local street improvement project that has been initiated, but where an LID has not yet been formed. In 2001, the Agenda Item Summary for the ordinance amending the Eugene Code for local streets included the following information – In the past 20 years, approximately 3.31 miles of substandard local streets have been improved to City standards, representing a street improvement rate of 0.17 miles per year. At this rate, it would take 280 years to bring all of the 48 miles of currently existing substandard local streets up to standards. City Council Identified Issues The City Council identified the following issues with the current assessment policy at its June 16, 2008, work session – Financing ? Extend payment period beyond 10 years ? Defer assessments until the sale of the property LID Boundaries ? Use a travelshed approach to identify benefiting properties ? Include cul de sacs to the street being improved ? Include all properties that must use the street to be improved to access property Individual Properties ? Consider the depth of the property in the assessment formula ? Consider a per property assessment regardless of the property frontage RELATED CITY POLICIES Chapter 223 of the Oregon Revised Statutes prescribes the rights and responsibilities of cities to levy assessments for local improvements. The Municipal Charter, Chapter IX – Public Improvements provides the regulatory framework for public improvement procedures and assessments. The Eugene Code, Chapter 7 – Public Improvements prescribes the process for initiation of an assessment project, formation of a local improvement district, and computation and allocation of assessments to benefiting properties. Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090309\S090309C.doc