HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A: Background on Extra-territorial Extensions
ECC
UGENE ITY OUNCIL
AIS
GENDA TEM UMMARY
Work Session: Extra-Territorial Extensions
Meeting Date: January 23, 2008 Agenda Item Number: A
Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Steve Nystrom
www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541/682-8385
ISSUE STATEMENT
The City Council has requested a work session on extra-territorial extensions to better understand the
nature of these requests and the process recently adopted by the City Council.
BACKGROUND
On December 10, 2007, the City Council adopted an ordinance (No. 20400) establishing procedures for
processing annexations, withdrawals from service districts and extra-territorial extensions. The passage
of Senate Bill (SB) 417 abolished the Boundary Commission, which served as the responsible
governmental body for review of annexation requests and extraterritorial extensions within Lane
County. Effective January 1, 2008, the City must approve any extensions of water or sewer service from
within the City to areas outside of the city limits. Therefore, it was necessary for the City to adopt a
review process and criteria for considering applications proposing extra-territorial extensions, in place of
the Boundary Commission. While the City Council did so with its passage of Ordinance No. 20400, a
work session was requested to further discuss the City’s policies related to extraterritorial extensions.
An extra-territorial extension is defined in the ordinance as an extension of water or sewer service from
inside the city limits to serve property located outside the city limits. The ordinance further restricts
these extensions to property within the Urban Growth Boundary, except as provided for in previously
approved resolutions.
Adopted Policies
The City has long-standing policies, in Resolution No. 2643 (attached), that were applied as the City
made recommendations to the Boundary Commission regarding extra-territorial extensions. The
provisions addressing extra-territorial extensions in Ordinance No. 20400 are based on the policies in
Resolution No. 2643. This resolution emphasizes that the provision of city services should be limited to
residents of the city. However, the resolution also acknowledges that there are some unique
circumstances in which an extra-territorial extension outside of the city may be in the best interests of
the city. Therefore, the resolution set forth specific criteria under which requests for extra-territorial
extensions could be approved. These criteria were imported into the recently adopted ordinance in order
to maintain the City Council’s current policy direction.
Process and Criteria
Section 9.8121 (see attached Ordinance No. 20400) stipulates the process and approval criteria for extra-
territorial extensions. Under the Eugene Code, requests for extra-territorial extensions are subject to a
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Type II land use process. This process requires public notice to properties within 300 feet and an
administrative decision by the Planning Director. That decision can be appealed to the City’s Hearings
Official who would hold a public hearing to consider the matter.
Section 9.8121 also provides the criteria of approval for all extra-territorial extensions. Each request
must meet all of the criteria in order to be approved. Most notable are the following criteria:
The property cannot be annexed for reasons other than the mere fact that the property is not
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contiguous to the city
The property is not vacant
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The provision of service will not prolong non-conforming uses
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Section 9.8121(8) provides two exceptions to these criteria:
If the extension is the only practical remedy to a communicable disease hazard; or
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The property is within a dissolved water district in which EWEB is providing service.
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As the criteria in Section 9.8121 indicates, the intent is to provide a means for water or sewer service for
existing developed properties which cannot otherwise annex to the city. Conversely, these provisions
specifically discourage extra-territorial extensions as a means to accommodate growth or new
development without first annexing to the city. Resolution No. 2643 (on which these criteria were
based) provides a clear policy position that the urban services should not be provided outside of the city
except under unique circumstances. The provision of such services to the Airport, Lane Community
College and sewer service to River Road are examples of such circumstances. The Metro Plan provides
similar policy direction by prioritizing annexation as the primary means to receive urban services
(Policy 21, page II-C-6). The City’s land use code also supports this policy direction as explained
below.
Relationship to Annexation requirements
When discussing extra-territorial extensions, it is also important to understand the City’s existing
requirements for annexation. As noted above, the criteria for extra-territorial extensions are intended to
address existing circumstances, rather than accommodate future development potential. The
requirements for annexation provide an additional tool to ensure this occurs. These requirements were
not amended or impacted with the City Council’s adoption of Ordinance No. 20400. These provisions
have been in place for many years, with only a few revisions made since 2001 (LUCU). In general, the
following activities could not be considered without first annexing to the city:
Zone Changes
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Partitions and Subdivisions
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Planned Unit Developments
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New dwellings
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New commercial or industrial development
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Expansion of existing commercial or industrial development which result in a need for additional
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urban facilities and services
Based on these requirements, the approval of any extra-territorial extension would not enable a property
to further develop. The triggers described above would apply to all properties regardless of the urban
services that are currently provided to the site. Quite simply, if a property owner of land outside the city
limits requested approval of any land use action listed above, they would first be required to annex to the
city before any such application could be processed, regardless of whether they had previously obtained
an extra-territorial extension or not.
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It is also important to note that adoption of this ordinance not only ensured consistency with existing
city annexation policies, it also ensured the same level of protection for prohibiting urban development
outside the Urban Growth Boundary as it did before the Boundary Commission was abolished.
Application History
As staff has indicated, the circumstances under which an extra-territorial extension can be granted are
very narrow, and therefore, are likely to be limited in number. This has been the case for the past
decade. Over the last ten years, two sewer extension requests and one water extension request have
been submitted within Eugene’s UGB. Of the three applications, one was submitted by the City of
Eugene and another by EWEB. As this data indicates, staff does not expect to see any notable change in
the number of requests, as the recently adopted ordinance incorporated the same criteria that have been
used over the last 30+ years. In fact, as additional capital projects are implemented (such as the Legacy
sewer extension), annexation will become feasible for a greater number of properties, thereby potentially
reducing the need for extra-territorial extensions.
Conclusion
Based on the information provided above, staff would expect extra-territorial extension requests to
continue to be a fairly rare occurrence. Given that the same criteria have been carried over in the
recently adopted ordinance, the City Council has ensured these requests will be evaluated in a manner
consistent with their long-standing policy direction.
As is the case with annexations, staff will continue to monitor the application process for extra-territorial
extensions as it relates to the newly adopted ordinance. Depending on the results, further discussion
with the City Council may be warranted to explore specific amendments.
RELATED CITY POLICIES
Discussion of this item is intended as a follow up to the recent proceedings regarding the adoption of
Ordinance No. 20400. This ordinance was adopted as a result of a state mandate (SB 417) which
required local jurisdictions to assume the responsibilities for processing annexation requests.
COUNCIL OPTIONS
No formal action is required. The City Council requested this item to more fully understand the recently
adopted process concerning extra-territorial extensions.
CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION
No action is required on this item as this is an information session only.
SUGGESTED MOTION
No action is required on this item. Therefore, no motions are offered by the City Manager at this time.
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ATTACHMENTS
A. Ordinance No. 20400
B. Resolution No. 2643
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Staff Contact: Steve Nystrom
Telephone: 541/682-8385
Staff E-Mail: steven.a.nystrom@ci.eugene.or.us
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