Item 5: Ordinance Levying Assessments for West University Alleys

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LAW OFFICE OF BILL KLOOS, PC OREGON LAND USE LAW 375 W. 4TH STREET, SUITE 204 EUGENE, OR 97401 TEL (541) 343-8596 FAX (541) 343-8702 E-MAIL BILLKLOOS@LANDUSEOREGON.COM February 6,2006 Milo Mecham Eugene Hearings Official c/o Lane Council of Governments 99 East Broadway, Suite 400 Eugene, OR 97401 Re: Final Argument on Assessment for West University Neighborhood Alleys LID Testimony of Diamond Parking and Joel Diamond Dear Mr. Mecham: Thank you for the opportunity to submit this letter after my having had an opportunity to review the file at the city engineer's office. I offer the following points for your consideration in your recommendation to the City Council. Generally, these points have been made by me and others either orally or in writing. My intent is to summarize them in a shopping list fashion for your consideration in preparing your report to the City Council. 1. Article 38 of the Eugene Charter requires that procedures for levying assessments shall be governed by general ordinance. Here the procedures, and the resulting costs, for levying assessments have been set in part by Administrative Orders. See orders attached to the written testimony of Lloyd Helikson. This violates the charter provision. 2. Article 39 of the Eugene Charter provides that by 2/3 majority the City Council may amend the general ordinances that prescribe assessments. That was done here, according to the Staff Report, on May 24,2004, when the Council changed the code provisions relating to alley improvements, to require all the costs to be paid by abutting owners. Article 39 also says that when such amendments are made, the changed provisions are not effective for six months, and they may not be applied to any improvements authorized by the council before the effective date of the amendment. Here the authorization for the improvements may have been given by the Council as early as January 12, 2004. 3. The Oregon Constitution provides: "The total of all assessments for a local improvement shall not exceed the actual cost incurred by the government unit in designing, constructing and financing the project." Or Constitution Art 11, sec 11 b(2)( d). Similarly, the Eugene Code, EC 7 .170( 1), anticipates that the assessment will be for the "costs" of the project. Here it appears that the City billed "soft costs" to the project based on "charge out rates" adopted by administrative order. These do not reflect actual costs. Furthermore, the soft costs charged to the project include an "administrative fee," which is set by a city order. This does not reflect actual costs of the project.