Item A: Council Subcommittee on Street Assessment Policy

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reached on a particular issue and helped focus attention on those areas where consensus had not been reached. The consensus recommendations of the subcommittee with respect to each of the issues include:  Do not recommend changing the existing Eugene Code to extend the assessment payment period because the existing Eugene Code allows the extension of the payment period by the ordinance levying the assessments for individual projects.  Recommend allowing the deferral of street assessments until the sale or transfer of property. The deferral would be limited to owner occupied single family and duplex homes and contingent on the availability of funds. The deferral program would be funded internally from funds from other assessment financial assistance programs. Eligible properties owners may defer their assessment or receive a low-income subsidy, but cannot receive both forms of assistance.  Recommend including cul-de-sac and dead-end street properties within the local improvement district of the unimproved street to which they connect. The properties would be assessed at the same rate as abutting properties. Dead-end streets would be determined at the time of LID formation. Unimproved cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets should be improved at the time the unimproved street to which they connect is improved with all of the improvement costs shared within the LID.  Do not recommend a travelshed approach to establishing the boundaries of an LID due to the complexity of identifying the benefitting properties.  Recommend developing a uniform assessment methodology for residential properties based upon a single family residential assessment unit (RAU) with single family and duplex homes being assigned one RAU. While the subcommittee reached consensus on the concept of a uniform assessment methodology for residential properties they did not reach consensus on some elements of the methodology. The following are areas where consensus was not reached and the staff recommendation on each issue:  Values of 0.25 RAU and 0.35 RAU per dwelling unit were discussed for multi-family residential properties. The staff recommendation is 0.25 RAU per dwelling unit because it moderates the shift in costs to multi-family lots related to generally smaller proportionate differences in frontage than in the number of residential assessment units and is more likely to result in whole assessment units, thereby improving public understanding and acceptance.  The use of a per-lot residential assessment requires an initial apportionment of assessable costs between residential and non-residential lots within an LID and there was not agreement on which of two methods of apportionment should be used – proportion of total lot area or proportion of total lot frontage. Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100922\S100922A.doc