City of Florence Planning Commission
250 Hwy 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
 

RE:   Proposed Annexation Resolution 01-01-09-02
        40 acres north of Munsel Lake Road

Dear Commissioners:

Early in 2000, the City Council determined that it would be in the best interest of the City to
terminate certain agreements with the District.  Unfortunately, contained within one of those
agreements were provisions for withdrawal of service area from the District through annexation.  Because the City and the District now have no formal agreement regarding annexation withdrawals, both are bound by Oregon Revised Statutes.

The District did not receive notice or information about the annexation until January 8, 2001, only one day before the original hearing.  The hearing has been continued, and we therefore submit the following comments.

The District must object to the proposed annexation until the following issues are resolved to the District’s satisfaction.

     1.   Annexation of this property without an agreement between the City and the District regarding withdrawal would deprive the District of future income from new hook-ups and current hook-ups.

     2.   Annexation of this property without an agreement between the City and the District regarding withdrawal could preclude the District’s ability to provide water to persons, if any, currently living within the withdrawn service area.

     3.   Unless the City has the infrastructure and capacity to provide such water now or in the future, the owners of the property could be adversely effected by annexation of this property without an agreement between the City and the District regarding withdrawal.

     4.   No provision has been made to pay the District for the infrastructure, if any, which would be required to be transferred to the City upon annexation and withdrawal of this property.

     5.   No provision has been made by the City to provide water to this property.  Absent an
agreement with the District for provision of water to property outside the District’s service
area, the District may not be able to provide water to this parcel in the future.

     6.   The City has not indicated whether it intends to withdraw the property from the District, or leave the property within the District’s boundaries.  If the City determines that the property will be withdrawn on annexation, but does not so recite in its annexation ordinance, then pursuant to ORS 222.250, another public hearing must first be held on the subject of
withdrawal.

In conclusion, the District objects to this annexation until such time as the above issues are resolved and the City and the District have adopted a mutually acceptable agreement for provision of water to the effected parcel.

Sincerely,

Ted Condo
Chairman of the Board

cc:     Florence City Council
         Paul Vaughan