Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/26/1986 Meeting M I NUT E S e Joint meeting of the Eugene City Council and Eugene Planning Commission Eugene Community Conference Center--Bloch Room February 26, 1986 11 :30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Richard Hansen, Ruth Bascom. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Jim Ellison, Jerry Gaydos, Eleanor Mulder, Hugh Prichard, Randy Thwing, Rob Bennett. The adjourned meeting from February 24, 1986, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. The meeting of the Eugene Planning Commission was called to order by President Jim Ell i son. I. CITY ANNEXATION PROGRAM e Planning Director Susan Brody said the purpose of the meeting is to inform the City Council and the Planning Commission of the the proposed annexation program developed by a City Task Force. The program was detailed in a February 21,1986, memo to the Mayor, City Council, and Planning Commission from the Planning Department. The memo was attached to the agenda and its subject is "City Annexation Program Overview." She said no action is expected from the council and commission today. The City Council will consider adopting the annexation program after the councilors and commissioners have commented on it. A financial analysis of the costs of implementing the program and of the revenue that could be expected from the program will be presented to the council later. Discussing the background and policy direction for the program, Ms. Brody said the policy direction in the Metropolitan General Plan, the Urbanization Report, and the Urban Transition Policies indicate it is appropriate for the council to consider developing a coherent annexation program. She said the Metro Plan indicates that the cities should be the providers of urban services and that the annexation of industrial lands will be pursued. In addition, the council goals indicate that an annexation program is appropriate. She said the City does not have an annexation program now, although it does have a process for responding to annexation requests. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 1 e e e Ms. Brody reviewed the advantages of annexations. She said the revenue base of the City is increased by annexations and annexations provide an opportunity for economic development. For example, 29 percent of the undeveloped area on the Eugene side of 1-5 is in the River Road/Santa Clara area. The property cannot be intensely developed until it is annexed. She said there is a possibility that the River Road/Santa Clara area will incorporate and become a new city. Terry Smith, Environmental Analyst in the Public Works Department, discussed the River Road/Santa Clara Sewer Project. He said a Deparment of Environ- mental Quality (DEQ) study in the early 1980's indicated that the ground water in the River Road/Santa Clara was contaminated from septic tanks which are in sandy soil. He said several governmental agencies agreed the area needed a centralized sewer system because of the environmental problem, and the Environmental Quality Commission had imposed a limitation on new development in the River Road/Santa Clara area and ratified a consent decree requiring the development of a sewer plan. Mr. Smith said Eugene applied for a grant in 1982 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide the sewer system. In order to comply with EPA regulations, the application stated that sewers will be provided to the River Road/Santa Clara area by annexation or by the extra-territorial extension of sewer service through the establishment of a local improvement district which will levy assessments for the sewers. A sewer connection schedule to gradually service the area was approved with the grant. If the connection schedule is accomplished, an extra-territorial local improvement district will not have to be established. The connection schedule indicates that about 15 percent of the properties will be connected by 1988, 30 percent will be connected by 1990, 75 percent will be connected by 1995, and the rest will be connected by 2000. Jim Carlson of the Planning Department discussed the proposed annexation program. He said the Portland area is also using an annexation program to undergo a logical transition from rural services to urban services. Triple majority annexations are a part of the Portland program. Mr. Carlson said the proposed Eugene annexation program has three components which will be used throughout the city. They are: (l) assistance to property owners who initiate annexations. (2) an urban transition package, and (3) a City information program. Mr. Carlson said the assistance to property owners who initiate annexation requests will involve help from the City staff in developing a logical proposal, staff help in organizing neighborhood meetings which will provide information about annexation, and a focus on specific areas. The specific areas are commercial and industrial properties, developed properties in the RiverRoad/Santa Clara area which will help meet the sewer connection schedule, properties which can be easily provided with City services, and areas with significant numbers of people who want annexation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 2 e e e Mr. Carlson said the proposed urban transition package would involve use of "consent to annex" agreements, elimination of City annexation fees and payment by the City of Boundary Commission fees for the River Road-Santa Clara area, a tax differential program, several changes to the City's sanitary sewer funding system, and a City commitment to increase police service when areas are annexed. He said "consent to annex" agreements will probably be required for all planning and certain building permits, sanitary sewer connections, free library service, and in-city rates for park and recreation services. He reviewed proposed tax differential programs for properties in the River Road Park District and in the rest of the Santa Clara and Highway 99 area. Mayor Obie said the drug manufacturers are moving to areas outside the cities because the City police forces are cracking down on them. He said it is an issue the whole community must face, and, when areas are annexed, the City will increase police patrols. Councilor Ehrman wondered if the council should consider tax differential programs for areas other than the River Road-Santa Clara area. Mr. Carlson responded that the council may decide to do so. Answering a question from Councilor Miller, Mr. Carlson said the tax differential program would be applied to residential, industrial, and commercial areas. Discussing changes to the City's sanitary sewer funding system, Mr. Smith said the City has tried to mitigate the costs of annexation by installing the sewer system in as large an area as possible to take advantage of economies of scale. He said the "catch Up" charge for the sewer treatment plant which newly annexed properties are supposed to pay may be eliminated. Other changes may involve the Bancroft program, an expansion of the assessment deferral program for elderly homeowners with low incomes, a change in the way the systems development charge is collected, and a change in the financing of the cost for installing the sewer from the right-of-way to the house for people with low incomes. He pointed out that attempts by the City to provide relief from the costs of installing the sewers will necessitate cash expenditures by the Ci ty. Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Smith said the average charge for installing the sewer from the right-of-way to the house and de-commissioning the septic tank is $1,100. It is not a "hook Up" charge. Replying to questions from Ms. Ehrman and Ms. Mulder, Mr. Smith said the present sewer user fee includes charges for storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and capital expansion. The fees for capital expansion are accumulated for major capital construction. The City might be able to increase the sewer fees or use other funds for some of the costs of the River Road-Santa Clara sewer project. There are about 8,500 property owners in the River Road-Santa Clara area and the average household has about 2.7 people. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 3 - Answering questions from Mr. Miller, Mr. Smith said properties can be connected to the sewers without annexation if a local improvement district is formed. Answering a question from Mr. Thwing about the disadvantages of a local improvement district, Mr. Gleason said the cities need property value inside the city limits in order to indebt it for capital improvements. For example, the seweage treatment plant is indebted on the cities of Eugene and Springfield, but Federal regulations required that it be built to serve the whole metropolitan area. Mr. Smith said the "match" money for the intercepter sewer came from present city residents. That arrangement might not be appropriate if a local improvement district is established. Answering questions from Mr. Holmer and Mr. Thwing, City Attorney Tim Sercombe said the Boundary Commission would have to consider whether the establishment of a local improvement district in the River Road-Santa Clara area complied with the Statewide 'Land Use Planning Goals and the Metro Plan. He said a local improvement district can be formed to finance a public improvement such as providing sewers for a large non-continguous area. e Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Carlson said the State law which would apply to the incorporation of the River Road-Santa Clara area will expire on December 31, 1987. Petitions calling for a vote on incorporation must contain the signatures of 20 percent of the registered voters. Mr. Gleason said the citizens of a new city would have to pay an appropriate portion of the debt structure for the sewage treatment plant and the existing trunk sewer system and must assume the EPA limitation on development. Those costs will be great. Discussing the City Information Program part of the annexation program, Mr. Carlson said it will include a package of information about the costs, benefits, and process of annexation; publicity for the annexation program; and cooperation with the Urban Services Policy Committee, Springfield, and Lane County. He said Lane County will no longer provide the level of urban services it has provided in the past. People will have to annex to the cities to get those services. Mr. Miller stated that the status quo, apparently, cannot be maintained. He wondered about the best way of verifying the costs of annexation and incorporation. Mr. Carlson replied that the City will do its best to provide good figures, but costs keep changing. Ms. Schue and Ms. Mulder commented on the City Information Program. Ms. Schue said it is very important to state the reasons the status quo cannot be maintained so that people in the River Road-Santa Clara area will understand it is in their best interests to annex. Ms. Mulder said it is important to explain the costs of a new city. She understood it will be very expensive for the residents. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 4 - Mayor Obie asked the staff to present the cost estimates related to delivering services in a new city to the council. e Mr. Holmer said the River Road-Santa Clara area must become part of Eugene and the annexation process should be encouraged. Referring to the Metro Plan, he read a section that indicates annexation of the River Road-Santa Clara area will be vOluntary. He was not comfortable with the pressure the City seemed to be exerting, but he approved of an annexation program, tax differential, and a resolution of the ground water contamination. He said the City should be a welcoming host to River Road-Santa Clara residents. Ms. Ehrman wondered if the council representation should be changed if all of River Road-Santa Clara area is annexed. Mr. Carlson replied that redis- tricting may not occur for several years if the annexations are incremental. A very large annexation would probably result in redistricting soon. A change in the number of councilors would necessitate a charter amendment. Mr. Gleason said redistricting would give River Road-Santa Clara residents full representation in City government as well as on the EWEB Board of Directors. The existing situation has made it difficult to get citizen participation from that area, he said. Mr. Miller said a change in the charter should be considered because it would maintain a sense of community. He pointed out that the streets in the River Road-Santa Clara area are not constructed to City standards. Public Works Director Christine Andersen said the streets will continue to be maintained by Lane County until the County brings them up to City standards and turns them over to the City. Responding to questions from Ms. Ehrman and Mr. Thwing, Mr. Smith discussed the income and age criteria that might be used to defer some of the sewer costs. Finance Director Warren Wong said about $300,000 has been put aside from Federal Revenue Sharing funds and could be used to defer sewer costs for some households in the River Road-Santa Clara area. Answering a question from Mayor Obie about economic development, Ms. Brody said the City might have to deny some annexation requests if staff resources are not available to help develop a logical boundary within which services can be delivered. She said the Metro Plan indicates that the River Road-Santa Clara area should receive urban services by annexation before urban reserve areas in the Willow Creek area are developed. She said the proposed program responds to property owner initiatives, but help from the City staff is needed to develop proposals. Responding to a question from Ms. Schue, Ms. Brody said the neighborhood meetings arranged by the staff will respond to interest in annexation indicated by residents. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 5 e e e Mr. Gaydos urged the council to direct the Planning Commission to develop criteria for a logical boundary for annexation proposals. Mr. Gaydos said people are requesting annexation and, sometimes, it seems reasonable to include non-consenting owners. He wondered if Mr. Holmer did not want non-consenting owners included. Mr. Holmer responded that he does not oppose triple majority annexations. He agreed that criteria for logical boundaries should be developed. He said he had sensed an aggressive City presence in the River Road-Santa Clara area to initiate annexation requests in the annexation program, and he thought the City should be careful of such actions. He said the annexation program can probably be implemented with existing staff and resources. He is comfortable with a program that responds to citizen initiatives. Mayor Obie emphasized that the proposed program seemed to be a responsive one. Mr. Gaydos wondered if an annexation procedure can be developed that will allow affected residents to vote on an annexation proposal. Ms. Brody said elections are not currently permitted in triple-majority proposals, but the staff will study the issue. Several councilors and commissioners commented on the annexation program. Ms. Ehrman said she approved of extending the Bancroft program and using the fund of $300,000 for a deferral program. She did not think the City should "bankroll" the charge for connecting the sewer from the house to the right-of-way because such an expense for 8,500 households would be great. She did not think such an expenditure would be fair to existing city residents. Mr. Smith responded that only 750 to 1,000 households would qualify for the deferral. Mr. Thwing suggested the City could use the existing $300,000 fund to attract private money to finance the program to deferring the charge for connecting the sewer from the house to the right-of-way. Mayor Obie agreed with Mr. Thwing's suggestion. Mr. Miller said he was concerned with the costs of annexation for people with middle incomes. He hoped all the costs of annexation can be included in one Bancroft loan. Ms. Brody asked the councilors for a response to the proposed tax differential program. They indicated by consensus that they favor such a program. They also indicated they would like the Planning Commission to develop criteria for a logical boundary for annexation proposals. Responding to a request from Mayor Obie, Lane County Commissioner John Ball said land use will be a key issue in the metropolitan area for 20 or 30 years. He said Eugene is the logical provider of urban services and an organized annexation program is important. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 6 e e - II. TRANSFER OF CABLE TV FRANCHISE City Manager Micheal Gleason briefly discussed the proposed transfer of Group W Cable, Inc., from Westinghouse Broadcasting and Cable, Inc., to TCI of Oregon, Inc. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to direct the Metropolitan Cable Television Commission to review the request to transfer control of Group W Cable, Inc., to TCI of Oregon, Inc., and to present a recommendation to the council. The motion carried unanimously, 6:0. Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 1:20 p.m. (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:ky/1994C MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 26, 1986 Page 7