Eminent domain vote delayed.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Not ready to use the heavy hand of eminent domain, the Eugene City Council on Monday decided to take until fall before deciding whether to proceed with the forced acquisition of two south hills properties that residents want preserved as forested open space.

Residents have been urging the council to acquire the properties of Martin and Leslie Beverly of Eugene and Joe Green of Aurora. The Beverlys own 26 acres near the end of East and West Amazon drives. Green's 39 acres are a few blocks away, between Dillard Road and Nectar Way.

Under eminent domain, the city would attempt to buy the properties. If the sides could not agree on prices, the acquisitions would end up in court, with juries deciding the amounts.

A slight council majority that includes Mayor Kitty Piercy favors the city acquiring the properties, but one of the councilors in favor, Alan Zelenka, said he wants more information before casting a vote for eminent domain.

Zelenka crafted a five-part proposal that, among other things, requires the city to get appraisals on each of the parcels and other information before the council authorities eminent domain, possibly in the fall.

The Beverlys and Green want to put houses on their properties, but their development plans have so far failed to gain city approval. That has left the potential value of the properties - and how much the city might have to pay for them - unknown.

Zelenka's motion instructs the city manager to get appraisals "based on low, medium and high levels of development density."

With a recent change in eminent domain law that essentially makes the city's first offer its last, best offer, Zelenka said that for the city to make an offer, it needs expert witnesses with information on what that offer ought to be.

Councilors also want to talk about from where the acquisition money would come. Councilor Chris Pryor, for example, wants city attorneys to determine whether money from last year's $27.5 million parks and open space bond issue can be used to acquire the land. And if someone successfully challenges the city's use of the money, Pryor asked whether councilors, not the city, would be personally responsible for "paying the money back."

The council voted 6-1 to approve Zelenka's proposal. Councilor Jennifer Solomon cast the dissenting vote.

The appraisal and other information is to be presented to the council in an October work session. Councilors later could vote on proceeding with eminent domain.

Some of the residents who have been lobbying the council to buy the properties watched the council's discussion and vote.

Nectar Way resident Lisa Warnes said she understood why the council is taking a deliberate approach.

"This would not be the first choice, but I think it's a reasonable alternative given that we need all the (councilors') votes," she said. "And we wouldn't have Alan (Zelenka) until he is more comfortable."

Also on Monday, the council approved compensation for owners of manufactured homes who are displaced if their mobile home parks close.

The ordinance, passed on a 7-0 vote, increases payments so the owners of single-wide homes would get $11,000; owners of a double-wide home, $17,000; and owners of a triple-wide or larger home, $21,000. Owners of mobile homes in commercial zones or flood plains would get half those amounts because those parks were not supposed to be permanent, said Richie Weinman, city urban services manager.

Until now, tenants who were elderly, disabled or low income who got less than one year's notice of a park closure could receive up to $3,500 from park owners.

Also, residents who lived in parks in flood plains or commercially zoned land, about half of the city's 34 parks, were eligible for the payments.

The new ordinance will cover all mobile home owners.

Solomon, a West Eugene councilor and the chairwoman of a local government committee that presented the proposal to the council, said the increased payments may help displaced owners of mobile homes, but the money doesn't solve the problem that makes it more likely that park owners may sell someday.

Vacant land is becoming scarce in Eugene, she said, which puts pressure on park owners to sell their properties to developers who will use the land for something else.

There is a "lack of land available to build these various types of housing so we can have a variety of incomes represented in our community," she said.