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Hermiston council pauses proposed Northwest Second Street LID after property-owner opposition
Summary
City council heard strong opposition from adjacent property owners to a plan to pave Northwest Second Street and voted to suspend formation of Local Improvement District 323 for not less than six months rather than proceed immediately.
Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan told the Hermiston City Council that Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to install traffic barricades on U.S. 395 next spring and had "agreed to hold off on installation of those barricades until next spring to provide the city enough time to mitigate the the impending traffic impact" on nearby city streets.
That impending change prompted a staff proposal to form Local Improvement District (LID) 323 to pay for paving, curb, gutter, sidewalk and stormwater work on Northwest Second Street between Elm and Cherry. The proposed LID would assess the adjacent properties for 100% of the project cost.
The plan drew vocal opposition from people representing the five affected tax lots. Rhonda Schroeder, who identified herself as a property owner for the parcels at issue, told the council, "Our family owns all that, and we've been there for about 50 years," and warned the council that paving would increase safety risks for existing tenants and operations on the largely industrial lots. Mary Jane Hughes, who said she manages the storage units on the property, added that heavy trucks and frequent short-term tenants make the site "not like what you think" and said the owners would struggle to cover a large assessment.
Assistant City Manager Morgan responded to the remonstrants' concerns about stormwater and speed, showing the council the city-standard cross section for the street and saying his office had "no concerns with any impacts to groundwater" and arguing that paving could reduce gravel blown onto Elm and therefore reduce safety problems.
After public testimony and council discussion the council first considered a motion to find an "immediate need" for the improvement (a motion that did not reach the unanimous threshold needed to override remonstrances). The council then voted to suspend formation of LID 323 "for not less than six months," a motion made by Councilor Brown and seconded by Councilor Hayward. The motion passed with a 7-1 vote; Councilor Linton voted against the suspension.
Council and staff repeatedly noted that the ODOT barricade project will proceed next spring whether or not the city builds Northwest Second Street, and that failing to address the street now would likely shift significant traffic onto the gravel roadway and produce constituent complaints. Staff told the council that if the formation of the LID resumes later the council would adopt final cost allocations after construction and property owners would have the option to pay assessments up front or finance them over up to 10 years at the city's borrowing cost.
The council did not set a firm date for reconsideration; by ordinance the alternative to suspension would have been to terminate the formation or to continue the public hearing before a decision was made.
Why it matters: The decision delays a taxpayer/beneficiary split on how to respond to a state highway design change that will re-route turning traffic and increase local street use. Council and staff emphasized this is a time-sensitive traffic-management issue but also recognized the legal protections for property owners under the city's LID code.
