Item 5: Ordinance Levying Assessments for West University Alleys

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Mr. Klope then turned to a discussion of the assessment process and how individual assessments had been calculated. The Eugene Code describes a process of assessing properties for alley improvements based on both a front footage basis and an area basis. Properties are assigned shares of the total cost, based on their current use and the greatest possible use, determined by the zoning of the property. Mr. Klope finished his presentation by discussing and responding to requests by property owners in the district, requesting consideration of special factors that they felt deserved reconsideration of the proposed assessments. Mr. Klope first responded to several requests where the City Engineer felt that the request did not warrant a modification of the proposed assessment. In these cases the property owners had requested a reduction because the location of their property, or the nature of the use of their property meant that they did not use the alley at all, or used the alley less than adjacent properties. Mr. Klope explained that the assessment was not based on traffic volume in the alley. Mr. Klope also explained that the assessment was based, in part, on future use of the alley. Therefore, it was considered proper to assess a property even though they might choose to not make much use of the alley because future property owners could change and make use of the alley. Mr. Klope also discussed four properties where changes to the original assessment calculations were proposed. In three instances, the property owners had shown that the area used to calculate the assessment either was not correct, or had been changed due to partitioned. In these circumstances the assessments were recalculated to properly measure the actual area of the property in question. In one circumstance, the property owner had shown that while zoned commercial, the property was primarily used as a single family residence. This additional information caused the City Engineer to determine that the present use classification should be changed from commercial to residential. In these four cases, the City could either recalculate all the other assessments, send out new notices and hold another hearing, or the City could elect to cover the additional costs itself. In this case the City Engineer recommended that the City absorb the additional cost, because this would save time, and avoid having to add additional interest charges to all assessments. Mr. Klope also discussed the City's low income subsidy and elderly deferral policies. In this proposed assessment, two properties qualified for the low income subsidy. Approximately twenty property owners, or their representatives, attended the hearing. After Mr. Klope had finished his presentation, the property owners in attendance were invited to address the hearing. The first property owner to address the hearing was Ms. Lee Grey, who lives on Mill Street. Ms. Grey began by noting that the city standard for alleys is seven inches of concrete. Ms. Grey questioned the need for such thick paving, especially in alleys such as hers that get little traffic. In response to Mr. Klope's explanation that the depth was selected to give the alley surface a long life, even in the face of potential later changes in use along the alley, Ms. Grey pointed out that it also made future changes or work in the alley more expensive. Ms. Grey's primary concern was some damage that had been done Alley Assessment Minutes Page 2