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Depoe Bay council pauses Stanley Avenue sewer reimbursement decision after legal debate over per‑lot vs. acreage proration
Summary
Property owner and city attorneys clashed over how to prorate reimbursement under Ordinance 162; the council continued the hearing and directed staff to research the ordinance's legislative history and any Ainsley Avenue precedent before deciding.
Depoe Bay — The City Council on Tuesday continued a hearing on a sewer and water reimbursement request for the Stanley Avenue project after an extended exchange over how to calculate a pro rata share under the city's reimbursement ordinance.
Property owner Jaime White urged the council to use a lot-based allocation, arguing that Ordinance 162 was enacted to create parity with private reimbursements and not to introduce acreage as a new metric. "The ordinance states plainly that when the city extends a sewer main or lateral, it should be reimbursed the same as if the extension were constructed by a private individual," White told the council, and he argued acreage is an imprecise measure because surveyors can report slightly different acreage figures.
City counsel and staff, including city engineer John Christiansen and attorney Elaine Albert, said the ordinance requires a proportionate, or pro rata, allocation and that the council has discretion to consider factors such as parcel size when determining what is proportionate. Albert urged the council to adopt findings explaining the factual and legal basis for whatever method it chooses: "If the ordinance had intended to have it'd be a pro rata per lot, the language would have said so," she said, describing a reading of the plain language that permits weighing multiple factors to reach a proportionate result.
Councilors pressed both sides on technical points: Christiansen noted the geotechnical report in the record evaluated a single-home build scenario and does not necessarily prove the whole parcel is unbuildable, while other councilors asked whether the city's prior handling of a "Ainsley Avenue" project establishes a precedent for per‑lot reimbursement.
After questions and public comments, the council agreed to continue the hearing and directed staff and legal counsel to search the legislative history of Ordinance 162, review prior reimbursements (including Ainsley Avenue) and prepare supplemental analysis and proposed findings for a future meeting. No final vote on the Stanley Avenue reimbursement was taken.
What happens next: Staff agreed to try to provide the requested materials ahead of the next meeting; council members discussed January 20 and early February dates as possible return dates for the matter.
Reporting note: Quotations and attributions in this article come from the council hearing transcript and the council's public hearing record. The city attorney and city engineer were identified on the record as participants assisting the council.
