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UR-50 Letter - Plan Type Determ c::~ -:" WOODBURN ORE G 0 N Incorporated 1889 July 30, 2003 Doug Ebner Marion County Assessor 550 Court Street Salem, OR 97301 VIA: Fax RE: Woodburn Urban Rencwal Agency Form UR-50 for Fiscal Year 2003-04 Dear Mr. Ebner: On July 15,2003, Form UR-50 was filed with the Assessor's office identifying Part 5: "New" Plans (Reduced Rate) - (Adoptcd after October 6,2001) as the 2003-04 ad valorem tax increment amount to be collected for the Woodburn Urban Renewal Agency plan area. The selection of Part 5 was based on a legal opinion thc Woodburn Urban Renewal Agency received from our consulting attorney, a copy of which is enclosed for reference. On July 29,2003, I received a telephone call from your staff member Marci Ferries, stating that the plan area needed to be corrected to be shown as Part 4: "Window" Plans (Standard Rate)- (Adopted after December 6, 19%, but prior to October 6,2001). Prior to making the change from Part 5 to Part 4, we are requesting a written determination on your office's official position on the type of plan. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2298 (Urban Renewal Plan Area) on August 13,2001. A referendum petition was filed and this ordinance was referred to the voters. The special election on this ordinance was held on March 12, 2002 and the voters passed the measure which authorized the Urban Renew.al Plan Area. Our legal counsel advised us that the March 12,2002 election is the official date in whiGh the plan area was adopted while your office has taken the position that August 13, 200 I isthe adoption.date. As our filin.g officer, a written determination will provide us with the appropriate designation of the plan area not only for fiscal year 2003-04 but also for future year tilings })ftIJe UR-50fonn, Office of the City Recorder 270 Montgomery Street · Woodburn, Oregon 97071 Ph.503-982-5210 . Fax 503-982-5244 Page 2 - D. Ebner, Marion County Assessor July 30, 2003 Upon receipt of your written dctemlination, corrections to the previously submitted form UR-50 will be made if necessary to insure the Woodburn Urban Renewal Agency's ability to collect ad valorem taxes. If you have any questions, feel free to contact either myself or City Attorney Shields at (503)982-5228. Sincerely, /llG~ Mary Tennant City Recorder enclosure (1) cc N. Robert Shields, City Attorney \(Ii ~ JEANNETTE~.LAUNER A T TOR N E Y P.O. Box 217 Pacific City, OR 97135 * REC'D * MAY 1 0 2002 Phone 503-502-1030 . Fax 503-221-7045 e-mail jmlauner@internetcds.com WOODBURN CITY ATTORNEY May 8, 2002 Mr, N, Robert Shields City Attorney, City of Woodburn 270 Montgomery Street Woodburn, OR 97074 RE: Legal Opinion on Necessity to Amend the Woodburn Urban Renewal Plan Dear Bob, You have asked my opinion whether it is legally necessary or prudent for the Woodburn Urban Renewal Agency ("Agency") to amend the Woodburn Urban Renewal Plan ("Plan") given that the Plan's effective date was delayed by referral of the Plan to the voters, I do not believe it is legally necessary to amend the Plan, The Agency may wish to take some action currently or in the future to clarify the record relating to tax increment estimates and the debt service schedule in the Report, but this is not legally necessary. Facts To summarize, I understand that the Woodburn City Council adopted the Plan by Ordinance No. 2298 on August 13,2001 ("Ordinance"). Thereafter, the Plan was referred to the voters and passed in the March 2002 election. You have opined, and I agree, that the ordinance approving the Plan was not adopted until after March 2002 for purposes of certifying the "frozen base" value in the urban renewal area under ORS 457.430. This means that instead of the assessor certifying the frozen base from the 2000-2001 assessed values, the assessor will use the 2001-2002 assessed values. In addition, the initial collection of tax increment funds will be delayed from the 2001-2002 tax year to the 2002-2003 tax year. I note that the Ordinance specifically adopts the Plan, but does not adopt the Report on the Plan ("Report").' Reference to the Report is included in FINDINGS, Section 1 of the Ordinance, I Each urban renewal plan must be accompanied by a "Report" satisfying the requirements ofORS 457.085(3). , N. Robert Shields May 8, 2002 Page 2 of3 'lJ c I ;/ ,/ "9. That the Woodburn City Council further relies on the report on the Woodburn Urban Renewal Plan, attached to this ordinance as Exhibit "B", which is incorporated by reference, the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the public hearing and the entire record before the City Council on this matter," ./ I Analysis of Legal Issues 1, The Woodburn City Council need not amend the Plan. The Ordinance adopts only the Plan and the Plan contains no references to the information that has changed because of the delay in Plan adoption, The only financial reference in the Plan itself is to the limit on maximum indebtedness, which will not change. Since the Council did not adopt the Report2, there is no need to formally amend the Report, 2, The Woodburn City Council need not adopt a new ordinance approving the Plan even though the Report was incorporated as part of the findings supporting the Plan adoption. The Report does include information relating to the financial feasibility of the Plan that may change as a result of the delay in Plan adoption. Specifically, the information in Section 100,A, Property Valuation; Section 500,B, Anticipated Start and Finish Dates of Project Activities; and Section 500.C, Estimated Expenditures and Year of Debt Retirement (Table 4) may be revised because of a different frozen base year or the delay in tax increment collections. The Council adopted the Report as part of its findings in support of the Plan adoption, However, the possible changes in this information since the time the Council passed the Ordinance does not compel an amendment to the Ordinance, I view the Ordinance referral to the voters as analogous to an appeal of a land use decision. The land use decision of the local body, if appealed, is not a final decision until all appeals are exhausted, However, the fact that some of the facts relied on to make the initial local decision may have changed does not affect the legality of the decision. In this case, the facts relied on by the Council to adopt the Ordinance may have changed3, but the decision is still legally valid after the referral vote. I will point out that there is nothing illegal about adopting a new ordinance approving the Plan and making reference to a corrected Report, even though a new ordinance is not legally required, but that ordinance would then be subject again to appeal and/or referral. 2 The Council's action in adopting only the Plan was legally correct under ORS 457.095. 3 Based on my understanding of the modified facts, I believe that there is no material change to these facts. . N. Robert Shields May 8, 2002 Page 3 of3 ,.., " i!", i ".. 3, The Agency is Cree to make changes to the Report either currently or in the Cuture to inCorm the public oC the updated financial Cacts. .<~#/ / Since I have concluded no action is legally necessary to reflect possible changes in the Report contents, the Agency need take no additional action at this point. Staff may wish to inform the Agency of the changes as a matter of information. However, if the Agency chose, it could adopt an amended Report (or a list of changes to the Report) to inform itself and its constituents as to those changes based on the delayed effective date for the Plan confirm that the changes are not material to the conclusions of the original Report, thereby "closing the loop" as to the Plan's basis in fact. There is no special procedure in ORS 457 for taking any action relating to the Report, Therefore, the Agency can approve the changes by its usual manner of making decisions, which may be by resolution or even by a motion approving a staff report with the changes listed. Finally, the Agency can always consider these Report changes to such time as the Agency ma; take another action relating to the Plan that would require a change in the Report, In conclusion, I believe that the Ordinance adopting the Plan is a valid and effective Ordinance. The Plan is therefore effective without additional Agency or Council action. I would be happy to discuss these conclusions with you at your convenience. Sincerely, .~ Jeannette M. Launer 4 The Report should be reviewed for any changes whenever the Agency considers a substantial amendment.