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City Council Process The vacation request process serves as a means to evaluate the need for public ways as land develops and uses change over time, and to address the manner in which the City may dispense with public ways. This request for vacation is being considered in accordance with Sections 9.8700 - 9.8725 of the Eugene Code (EC) and Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 271.080 - 271.230 and is being processed pursuant to EC 9.7445 - 9.7455. The public hearing is being conducted consistent with quasi-judicial procedures in State law and as set forth in EC 9.7065 - 9.7095. Notice of public hearing for the requested vacation has been provided in the following manner: On May 25, 2021, notice was mailed to owners of property within 100 feet of the rights-of-way, interested parties, and the officially recognized neighborhood group, the Churchill Area Neighbors; on June 7, 2021, the property was posted with signs in the immediate vicinity of the requested vacation; and on June 7, 2021 and June 14, 2021, legal notice was published in The Register-Guard newspaper. No public testimony has been received at this time. Any additional written testimony received prior to the close of the record will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. Consent of Abutting and Affected Property Owners and Utility Providers In accordance with ORS 271.080, the applicant has provided evidence of consent to the vacation from owners of at least two-thirds of the property within the affected area. In this case, the affected area per State law is the land lying on either side of the vacated area to the next lateral street, and 400 feet beyond each terminus of the rights-of-way to be vacated. Based on the signed consent forms submitted with the application, the applicant has obtained consent for the proposed vacation from the property owners of approximately 89 percent of the affected area for Slocum Drive and 100 percent for Songbird Loop, which exceeds the requirements in Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 271.080 and Eugene Code (EC) Section 9.8710. A map showing the affected area and the area of property owner consent is included as Attachment C. The applicant also received statements of concurrence from affected utility providers for the vacation of the unimproved public utility easement, which can be seen in the application materials. The concurrences demonstrate that the public utility easement is undeveloped, and the properties can be served by their frontage on Willow Creek Road. Determination of Assessment Pursuant to EC 9.8710(5), the applicant is required to pay a deposit equal to the assessment of special benefit resulting from the vacation. The amount of money to be deposited is to be determined by the City Manager. Pursuant to the City Code, the City provided a notice to the applicants of the assessment 20 days prior to the public hearing. At that time, the assessment was determined to be total of $35,660, which only considered the value of the real property because the rights-of-way and easement are unimproved. If the application is approved and the vacation becomes effective, the deposit will be retained by the City; if the application is denied or the vacation fails to take effect for another reason, the money will be returned to the applicant.