HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdmin Order 58-21-02-F -- Wetland Mitigation Bank FeesADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 58-21-02-F
of the
City Manager of the City of Eugene
SETTING WETLAND MITIGATION BANK FEES AND SUPERSEDING
THE FEE SCHEDULE ADOPTED BY ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO.
58-12-07-F.
The City Manager of the City of Eugene finds as follows:
A. Section 2.020 of the Eugene Code, 1971, authorizes the City Manager to determine
and set fees and charges to be imposed by the City for services, goods, use of municipal property,
and licenses and permits.
B. Pursuant to the above authority, on June 6, 2012, I issued Administrative Order No.
58-12-07-F making the most recent changes to the Wetland Mitigation Bank fees and adopting an
updated Wetland Mitigation Bank Fee Schedule.
C. On February 1, 2021, I issued Administrative Order No. 58-21-02, ordering that
notice be given of the opportunity to submit written comments on my proposal to set new Wetland
Mitigation Bank fees. The Notice specified that comments on the proposed amendments would
be received for 15 days from February 10, 2021, the publishing and posting date of the Notice. No
comments were received within the time or in the manner described in the Notice.
D. Based on my investigation pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.020 of the
Eugene Code, 1971, I find that the fees should be set as proposed. (See Exhibit B to this Order)
E. The unamended Wetland Mitigation fees adopted by Administrative Order No. 58-
12-07-F are incorporated into the Fee Schedule attached as Exhibit A to this Order.
On the basis of these findings, I order that:
1. The Wetland Mitigation Bank Fee Schedule attached as Exhibit A to this Order is
the schedule of fees to be charged for the described services effective March 8, 2021.
2. The Fee Schedule attached to Administrative Order No. 58-12-07-F is superseded
by the Wetland Mitigation Bank Fee Schedule attached as Exhibit A to this Order, effective March
8, 2021.
Dated this 26th day of
February
Sarah Medary
City Manager
, 2021.
SAM
SAM
cjb
cjb
CTC
CTC
MR
Administrative Order - Page 1 of 1
PG
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Exhibit A
to Administrative Order No. 58-21-02-F
Wetland Mitigation Bank Fee Schedule
(Effective March 8, 2021)
Per Credit Cost:
$84,200 per credit, plus an annual inflationary adjustment based on the 12-month average U.S.
Consumer Price Index-Urban (CPI-U). The first inflationary adjustment will be applied
immediately following the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of indexes in Q1 2022.
Reserving Credits:
Upon execution of an agreement with the City, buyers may reserve currently available credits for
future purchase at the current year’s purchase price. Credits may be reserved for purchase for up
to 60 days with no deposit. Credits may be reserved for purchase for a period of 61-180 days
with a non-refundable deposit of 10% payable within 30 days.
Exhibit B
to Administrative Order No. 58-21-02-F
Findings – Page 1
City Manager’s Findings
Proposed Wetland Mitigation Bank Fee Schedule Amendments
Pursuant to Section 2.020(2) of the Eugene Code, 1971, the City Manager has considered the
following factors in determining the proposed Wetland Mitigation Bank fee amendments:
(a) Applicable policies, enactments and directives of the Council.
Findings:
The City Council has not adopted any policies, enactments or directives specifically applicable
to the mitigation credit fee structure. Council initially supported the West Eugene Wetland Plan
and the establishment of the West Eugene Wetlands Mitigation Bank in 1992. We have
sponsored a self-supported mitigation bank continuously for over 28 years.
(b) The amount charged by the City in the past.
Findings:
Fees set for mitigation credits have varied over the last twelve years. Below is a brief outline of
pricing history:
January 26, 2009 – AO No. 58-02-24-F was repealed by the issuance of AO No. 58-08-
10-F to establish a fee of $77,000/credit with an annual increase of 2.5% to support
future acquisition of land for continuation of our mitigation banking program.
August 23, 2010 – Based on maintenance and market costs at the time AO No. 58-08-
10-F was repealed by AO No. 58-10-09 which decreased the fee to $58,000/credit with
annual increases determined by any increase in the Consumer Price Index-Urban
beginning on January 1, 2011. The amendment also included a discount for purchases
of 10 or more credits.
May 8, 2012 – AO No. 58-12-07 repealed the previous AO decreased the per credit fee
to $55,000 and reduced any interest fee for purchases to zero percent as a due to a lack
of credit sales as a result of an ongoing national economic downturn and the premise
that that the program would ultimately be discontinued.
April 3, 2013 – Due to a lack of credit purchases from the previous reduction in price and
resultant reduction of program staff the City began “liquidating” 11.29 surplus credits
from the West Eugene Wetlands Mitigation Bank with an Invitation to Bid. Minimum bid
was set at $39,000/credit.
February 27, 2014 – Invitation to Bid on 6.98 surplus wetland mitigation credits from the
West Eugene Wetland Mitigation Bank continued with an updated minimum bid price of
$41,000. The West Eugene bank closed in 2015.
Current price – The Coyote Prairie North Mitigation Bank is still in operation, and current
fees were set for this bank by AO 58-12-07 on May 8, 2012. The program is seeking to
establish the Amazon Prairie Mitigation Bank with construction beginning in the summer
of 2021. Documents for the establishment of the Amazon Prairie bank are currently
under review by the Department of State Lands (DSL) and the Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE). Following the annual increases adopted from AO No. 58-10-09 the fee has
Exhibit B
to Administrative Order No. 58-21-02-F
Findings – Page 2
increased to the current amount of $62,540/credit over the last eight years.
(c) The full costs of providing the service supported by the fee.
Findings:
The cost of providing credits for compensatory mitigation is based on several factors including
the following:
Restoration Costs – calculated as the sum of all anticipated costs for a new mitigation
bank including project design and engineering, construction, planting, wildlife hazard
mitigation (due to proximity of the Eugene Airport), a portion of salaries funded by the
mitigation bank, monitoring, reporting, and maintenance for up to eight years of project
implementation.
Cost of Future Acquisition – to purchase additional property that will sustain our award-
winning program into the future.
Long-Term stewardship costs – Thirty percent of Restoration Costs received from the
sale of mitigation credits will be retained for future management of the Amazon Prairie
Mitigation Bank.
Administrative Costs – for marketing, contracting, and program coordination.
Cost Description Estimate
Restoration Costs $4,280,682
Future Acquisition $1,625,000
Long-Term Management $1,284,205
Administrative Costs $718,989
TOTAL $7,908,876
The values in the above table were calculated using a formula provided by the Department of
State Lands for determining credit prices. The draft Mitigation Bank Instrument submitted to the
Department of State Lands and the Army Corps of Engineers in February 2020 provides an
estimate of 94 mitigation credits to be generated by the Amazon Prairie Mitigation Bank.
Detailed calculations for these estimates are retained in program files.
The full cost per credit, based on the figures above is estimated to be $84,200.00.
(d) The amounts charged by other comparable providers.
Findings:
DSL reports the average weighted statewide price per mitigation credit for FY 2017 as $97,340.
The price per credit at the mitigation banks closest to Portland was about three times the price
as elsewhere in the Willamette Valley. Mitigation banks located in the mid-Willamette Valley
have set current per credit costs in the $80,000 to $85,000 range.
In comparison, our current fee structure places the cost of mitigation credits at approximately
$20,000 below the fees set by other mitigation banks in our region. In a best-case scenario our
fee structure would be responsive to several factors including the costs outlined above plus
regional market costs for credits.
Exhibit B
to Administrative Order No. 58-21-02-F
Findings – Page 3
(e) The revenue needs of the City as determined by the adopted city budget.
Findings: The City’s Mitigation Bank Fund (536) is an enterprise fund which requires a balanced
budget to keep the business model sustainable. The proposed update to the fee schedule for
mitigation credits is based on current restoration and operating costs and includes funding for
long term management and land acquisition required to support this self-supporting program
into the future.
Factors listed above that are irrelevant or inapplicable in determining the amount of the
fees, if any:
Not applicable.
Signature: Shelly A. Miller
Shelly A. Miller (Feb 26, 2021 12:13 PST)
Email:
Signature:
pgordon@eugene‐or.gov
Email:
smiller@eugene‐or.gov
Craig Carnagey
Craig Carnagey (Feb 26, 2021 14:13 PST)
Email: CBurke@eugene‐or.gov Email: ccarnagey@eugene‐or.gov
Signature:
Email:
mrodrigues@eugene‐or.gov
Matt Rodrigues (Feb 26, 2021 14:28 PST)
Signature:
Signature: