Item 2H: Ratifiaction of Unanimous IGR Actions

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Mr. Poling preferred to adopt a Priority 3 Support. He felt the bill would give greater local control over city-initiated annexations. Ms. Ortiz asked why staff had recommended a neutral stance. Principal Planner Steve Nystrom explained that the current city policy was that the City did not initiate annexations. He said it was questionable how much the bill would actually affect Eugene. He felt that on the positive side the bill would provide a little more latitude. He thought the bill presumed that if a community had gone through a process to bring a property into its limits, why should it have another vote to annex the property and make it a part of that city? He stated that if the council changed direction and the City became more active in annexations, it would become a more significant question. Ms. Piercy averred that given the drama around the issue, support of this bill could throw up a red flag for some constituents. She supported remaining neutral. In response to a question from Mr. Poling, Mr. Nystrom explained that the City had purposefully limited itself in the range of ways available by state law that it could employ in the annexation processes. He said the City did not invoke its right to annex property belonging to people unwilling to be annexed. Ms. Ortiz supported retaining the neutral stance, as staff had recommended. The staff recommendation was retained. HB 2994 Ms. Wilson stated that HB 2994 would require cities to provide urban services to territories approved for annexation within three years of the date of proclamation. Staff had recommended adoption of a Priority 3 Oppose position. Ms. Ortiz averred that a lot of annexation- concerned about this. Mr. Nystrom related that staff opposed the bill from a home rule perspective. He said three years was the benchmark Eugene already used. He stated that because the City was not annexing properties and annexations were owner-initiated, most properties already had services extended to them and those that did not were often owned by people who were willing to pay for the services. Ms. Ortiz wondered why State Representative Chris Edwards was putting forward legislation that was annexation had been Rep. Edwards when he ran for office. She opined that She averred that the legislators did not support all of the issues the City of Eugene supported. he asserted that annexation was a winning issue for people. She thought they could point out that they were already utilizing the three-year criterion. She reiterated her support and preference for home rule. Ms. Wilson stated that the bill had not been scheduled at this point, but it could go forward in a block of bills. Mr. Nystrom noted that most of the annexation issues in Eugene arose from the River Road and Santa MINUTESCouncil Committee on Intergovernmental Relations April 1, 2009 Page 10