HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem B: Stream Corridor Acquisition Program
ECC
UGENE ITY OUNCIL
AIS
GENDA TEM UMMARY
Work Session: Stream Corridor Acquisition Program
Meeting Date: January 23, 2006 Agenda Item Number: B
Department: Public Works Staff Contact: Therese Walch
www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-8647
ISSUE STATEMENT
On October 10, 2005, a work session was held with the Eugene City Council on the topic of the City’s
stormwater permit and other program developments. The council motion included an amendment
directing staff to return to the council with a Stream Corridor Acquisition Program, analogous to that in
effect before past reductions, for reconsideration by the council. This work session is to present an
update on the stream corridor acquisition program, additional related contextual information, and
options for City Council consideration and direction.
BACKGROUND
The City Council adopted the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan (CSWMP) in 1993, which
provides a policy framework for services provided by the City through the stormwater user fee. With
CSWMP, the stormwater program was expanded to include protection of stormwater waterway corridors
and related natural resources. Primary waterway corridors and adjoining riparian and wetland areas
were recognized as providing important stormwater functions and values. In CSWMP, it was
recognized that “waterway corridor acquisition would greatly assist the implementation of the
Stormwater Plan multiple objectives.”
On April 24, 2000, the City Council adopted an interim ordinance prohibiting piping and/or filling open
waterways (“Open Waterways ordinance”) until completion of the Natural Resources Study.
On July 10, 2000, in response to recommendations from the Public Works Stormwater Department
Advisory Committee and interest in protecting remaining stream corridors in the community, the council
directed staff to proceed with the preparation of a scope of work for a waterway and open space
acquisition plan.
On August 7, 2000, the City Council directed staff to proceed with a process for establishing interim
setbacks along open waterways until completion of the Natural Resources Study.
At the November 27, 2000, worksession, the council authorized a scope of work for preparing a plan
that would identify “initial high priority stream corridors” for acquisition and a funding strategy.
On October 10, 2001, the council directed staff to proceed with an enhanced stream corridor acquisition
program as reflected in the draft Stream Corridor Acquisition Plan (with some modifications):
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acquisition of approximately 170 acres of priority stream corridors over a seven-year period, with a total
estimated cost to the stormwater fund of $5,180,000 and assuming an estimated $778,000 contribution
(or 10% of the total cost) from donations/grants/incentives. The approved funding strategy included
authorization to: 1) use existing stormwater fund balance to acquire sites considered most at risk to
development, and 2) increase stormwater user fees by $0.50 per month (for medium density residential
users, and a commensurate increase for other user fee categories) to help fund the enhanced program.
The fee increase authorization included a three-year sunset provision.
The first annual report on the progress of the stream corridor acquisition program was provided at the
November 20, 2002, City Council worksession. The council update included a projection that the
acquisition-related stormwater user fee increase would go into effect on July 1, 2003.
Between February 2003 and August 2004, the City Council held a series of four work sessions on the
stormwater program as part of an overall review of the program by staff, due to an approximate $2
million gap between projected revenues and expenditures in FY05. At the July 16, 2003, work session,
an updated progress report on the stream corridor acquisition was provided. The council reviewed the
proposed acquisition-related user fee increase in light of the broader discussion of the entire stormwater
program and rescinded the previous City Council direction to proceed with an increase in stormwater
user fees to fund an enhanced acquisition program.
At the October 10, 2005, worksession, the council authorized budget for additional specific program
adjustments to ensure that the City remains in compliance with its new National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit. The council also directed staff to bring back the
enhanced Stream Corridor Acquisition Program for reconsideration.
On November 14, 2005, the council adopted Goal 5 ordinances protecting significant natural resource
riparian and wetland sites.
Selection of Acquisition Corridors/Sites
The twelve priority acquisition stream corridors identified in the October 2001 Stream Corridor
Acquisition Study represent those waterway segments that were ranked relatively high when measured
against the study’s selection identification criteria including:
Steep slopes and highly erodible soils;
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Connectivity with riverine system;
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Significant natural resources – riparian, wetland, forest;
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High proportion of corridor undeveloped;
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Potential for water quality benefits through corridor protection efforts;
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Potential for additional benefits such as public trail connectivity; and
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Potential for leveraging financial resources.
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Within the priority stream corridors, nine priority acquisition sites were identified. The priority
acquisition sites are those parcels that were most at-risk to development (with active land use
applications) or identified as high-opportunity sites due to direct partnering, leveraged funding
opportunities, restoration potential, or other opportunities. A copy of the October 2001 Stream Corridor
Acquisition Study is available in the Council Office and on the City’s web site: www.eugene-or.gov
(follow links to Public Works > PW Services > Stormwater > Stream Corridors).
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Stream Corridor Acquisition Program Status
Map 1 shows the priority stream corridor sites identified in the October 2001 Study and their status:
acquisitions completed; sale pending; not available; and remaining potentially available sites. Since
October 2001, 36.3 acres of stream corridors on eight sites have been acquired (coded blue on Map 1)
for a cost to the stormwater fund of $1.2 million. Recently, the City and property owner signed an
agreement on one additional parcel (coded purple on Map 1) that includes 5.5 acres of priority stream
corridor at a cost to the stormwater fund of approximately $185,000. Much of the acquisition success
to-date has been achieved through joint stream corridor and parkland acquisition. Experiences with
implementing the enhanced stream corridor acquisition program have shown that negotiations tend to be
very time consuming and do not always result in successful acquisitions. The cost for real property
officer staff time for negotiations has averaged approximately one third of the stream corridor
acquisition expenditures to date.
Since October 2001, three potential acquisition sites have been developed and several sites have
progressed well into the development process. The development review process has yielded varying
degrees of waterway protection. Negotiations on several potential acquisition sites have been
unsuccessful, for a variety of reasons. In some cases, the property owner is only interested in selling the
entire parcel. In other cases, the owner desires to wait until a future development review process is
completed before negotiating acquisition of the stream corridor (to ensure that the owner’s ability to
develop is not compromised by the acquisition). In these cases, when acquisition negotiations occur
after a development has been approved, the City has faced the prospect of purchasing entire lots at
finished lot prices which has been cost-prohibitive.
Approximately 6.7 miles of priority stream corridors are still potentially available for acquisition (coded
salmon on Maps 1 and 2). Map 2 shows the remaining potentially available acquisition sites in relation
to the sites that are protected by the recently adopted Goal 5 ordinance, and in relation to sites that may
be protected by future water quality protections further described below. Most of the remaining
acquisition sites have Metro Plan land use designations of “L” for low-density residential. Cost
estimates vary widely, but for undeveloped low-density residential tract land, staff has seen recent
appraisals of $37,000/acre (for hilly tracts) to $150,000/acre (for flat tracts). When the development
process for a site has progressed quite far (at which time the owner/developer is confident that
acquisition will not compromise the develop-ability of a site), and if the City desires more protection
than what the owner/developer is required to provide through the development review process, the City
may be faced with purchasing entire lots at finished lot values on the order of $8-$10/square foot
(equivalent to $350,000 per acre assuming 8,000 square foot lots).
Acquisition Funding Levels
Historically, the funding level for “channel easement acquisition” was approximately $150,000 per year.
The focus of “channel easement acquisition” prior to 2001 was to acquire rights-of-way or easements
along drainage channels to facilitate access for maintenance purposes. Subsequent to the October 2001
City Council direction to proceed with an enhanced stream acquisition program, a portion of the
stormwater fund balance was utilized to acquire eight stream corridor sites. The acquisition-related
stormwater user fee increase was projected to go into effect beginning in July 2003, but with the July
2003 City Council decision rescinding support for the fee increase, the stream acquisition program
funding level reverted to $150,000 annually. From July 2003 to present, negotiations on priority sites
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have been conducted as opportunities arise and as funding allows. The pending acquisition of 5.5 acres
of stream corridor in the Willow Creek area, in conjunction with parks acquisition and shown on Map 1,
is an example of what can be accomplished within the existing funding level.
Open Waterways Ordinance (2000)
The Open Waterways ordinance, a prohibition on piping or filling applicable to all waterways, was
adopted by the council in April 2000. The ordinance was subsequently challenged and remanded back
to the City by the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) in January 2001. The City appealed but lost the
appeal in July 2001 and the ordinance is no longer in effect. At the time that the council approved the
stream corridor acquisition study and funding strategy in October 2001, there were no waterway
protection measures in place except in the west Eugene wetlands area. Therefore, the stream corridor
acquisition program served to fill a gap in protections for the stream corridor sites most at risk of impact
from new development.
Goal 5
With the adoption of Goal 5 protection measures in November 2005, the majority of the remaining
potentially available stream corridor sites are protected from encroachment of future development
activities in the form of setback buffer areas. Map 2 shows the relationship of the remaining acquisition
sites to the recently adopted Goal 5 protections and illustrates a strong relationship of Goal 5 protections
to the remaining acquisition sites, in linear miles. The Goal 5 buffers are applied to each side of a
waterway and range in width from 20 feet to 100 feet, depending on individual resource site conditions.
Most of the remaining acquisition sites with Goal 5 protections have 40 foot-wide buffers (80 feet total).
By comparison, the minimum targeted area for acquisition would potentially result in 150 foot-wide
buffers assuming successful negotiations with property owners.
Proposed Water Quality Protected Waterways
Implementation of water quality protections for certain sensitive and impaired waterways is a part of the
current stormwater program workplan. In this context, impaired waterways are those that are listed by
the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality as being “water quality limited” for not meeting state
water quality standards for certain pollutants, and their tributaries. This is not a specific element of the
City’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, but is a best practice
employed by other Oregon communities and is consistent with the goals and policies of the City’s
Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan. Staff is working to identify waterways for protection
and a draft ordinance is under development at this time. The water quality waterways ordinance is
tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration in November 2006. In addition to showing the
relationship of remaining acquisition sites to the recently adopted Goal 5 protections, Map 2 also shows
the relationship to the proposed water quality protections. The map shows a strong relationship of
proposed water quality protections to the remaining acquisition sites.
PROS Comp Plan
The Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for City Council
action on January 18, 2006. The stream corridor acquisition sites and corridors identified in the October
2001 Study are consistent with PROS Comp Plan objectives. Staff’s experiences with stream corridor
acquisition have been that the City is most successful when acquiring in partnership with parks
acquisition. Stream corridor acquisition funds can be used to leverage larger acquisitions for multiple
benefits to the community, and in-line with adopted plans and policies.
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Program Developments with Financial Impacts
It is expected that an annual increase on the order of 2-3% in stormwater user fee revenue will be
necessary to maintain the existing program service level. As discussed at the October 10, 2005, work
session, there are several developments in the stormwater program that will have or are likely to have
additional financial implications in the near future. The stormwater permit-related program adjustments
that the council authorized at the October work session will require an additional $327,000 annually
(FY07 dollars and indexed for inflation in future years). Generating sufficient additional revenue to
fund the permit-related adjustments alone would require a one-time rate adjustment in the neighborhood
of 3.5%, effective July 1, 2006.
Implementing water quality waterway protections, described above, will likely have some financial
impact for administration and enforcement. Implementing the River Road Santa Clara Basin Plan,
including capital projects to address the continued use of drywells in light of more stringent Safe
Drinking Water Act regulations, could have significant financial implications for the City. Future Total
Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), or pollutant load allocations, for the Willamette River watershed will
require Eugene, along with other agencies in the Willamette River watershed, to take measures to reduce
certain pollutants to ultimately achieve compliance with state water quality standards. Lastly,
discussions about the long-term financial stability for transportation system operations, maintenance,
and preservation is scheduled for February 15, 2006, at which time the council will be considering
options for shifting the cost of existing operations such as the Urban Forestry Program from the Road
Fund to the Stormwater Fund.
RELATED CITY POLICIES
Two Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan (1993) policies pertain to stream corridor
acquisition:
Policy 1.1: Incorporate the beneficial functions (flood control, stormwater conveyance, and
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water quality treatment) of natural resources into the City’s system.
Policy 7.1: Develop a financing strategy that accurately reflects the priorities and resources
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necessary to meet the program needs of the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan.
COUNCIL OPTIONS
1.Continue funding stream corridor acquisition at the current level (approximately $150,000 per year).
Continue to negotiate with property owners on priority stream corridor sites as identified in the
October 2001 Study as opportunities arise and as funds allow.
2.Increase stormwater user fees by $0.50 (for medium density residential user and commensurate
increase for other user fee categories) to fund an enhanced stream corridor acquisition program.
Begin a concerted effort to acquire the remaining potentially available stream corridor sites
identified in the October 2001 Study, on a willing seller basis.
CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends that the council approve Option 1: Continue to fund the stream corridor
acquisition program at the current level (approximately $150,000 per year) and continue to negotiate
with property owners on priority stream corridor sites as identified in the October 2001 Study as
opportunities arise and as funds allow.
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SUGGESTED MOTION
Move to direct the City Manager to continue to fund the stream corridor acquisition program at the
current level (approximately $150,000 per year) and to continue to negotiate with property owners on
priority stream corridor sites as identified in the October 2001 Study as opportunities arise and as funds
allow.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Priority Stream Corridors Acquisition Status - January 2006
B. Relationship of Goal 5 Protections and Proposed Water Quality Protections to Remaining
Acquisition Sites
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Staff Contact: Therese Walch
Telephone: 682-8647
Staff E-Mail: therese.walch@ci.eugene.or.us
Staff Contact: Sarah Medary
Telephone: 682-4842
Staff E-Mail: sarah.j.medary@ci.eugene.or.us
L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060123\S060123B.doc
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