Item 5: Ordinance Levying Assessments for West University Alleys

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., PeaceHealth January 30, 2006 To: Milo Meachem, Hearings Official - City of Eugene From: Philip Farrington - Peace Health Re: West University Alley Improvement Project While PeaceHealth is pleased with the physical outcomes on the alley improvement project, and has enjoyed collaborating with City staff and representatives, we have concerns about how the costs are being apportioned for project assessments. PeaceHealth owns property abutting the alley east of Patterson/south of Broadway (Tax Lot 6900, see Attachment 1) and the E. 11 th Alley between Patterson and Hilyard (Tax Lots 400 and 800, see Attachment 2). The former property is a vacant residentially zoned parcel used as a parking lot for contractors working at Sacred Heart Medical Center. The latter abuts commercially zoned tax lots housing the Physician & Surgeon's North medical building, a parking area used primarily to support valet parking services at the medical building, and a slip lane for vehicle egress from a parking garage immediately west of the medical building. Prior to the alley improvement project, both alleys were paved with asphalt. Per information received from City staff (Attachments 3 and 4), PeaceHealth will be assessed a total of $106,422.09 for improvements on these two alley projects. Additional information provided by staff (Attachment 5), reflects the actual paving costs for each alley, as well as other "soft costs," such as charges for City engineering and survey staff. It's my understanding that for street projects, there is a limit on allocating such costs to the abutting property owners to less than 25%. In the case of the alley improvements, however, the entire cost of City staff time was allocated to the abutting property owners, representing about 30% of the total project costs being assessed. City Code (EC 7. 1 75(6)(d)), provides that assessments for alley improvements ".. .include all the costs of the alley improvement, including, but not limited to: 1. Catch basins and pipings from catch basins to storm sewers for properties specially benefited by the basins; and 2. Intersections of alleys, and intersections of alleys within streets." It would appear that the allocation of alley improvement costs was based upon an interpretation of Code that "all the costs of the alley improvement" would also include all staff time necessary to administer the project. However, my interpretation is that the Code requires that all "hard" costs be included in the assessment for alley improvements, and while only two types of such capital costs beyond mere paving are included, the intent was not to include a sample but not all possible infrastructure improvements. I don't believe Code intended for property owners