The Corvallis City Council will be voting on the Caldwell Annexation and proposed Annexation Agreement on September 16th. 

The property in question is a ~16 acre flag-shaped property with single access point to West Hills Road, between the roundabout and the hill crest.
The property has no sanitary sewer access. 
Storm water will be discharged into Dunawi Creek.
The city WILL use Eminent Domain to force neighboring farm owners to provide access for sewer through their property (wetland/riparian corridor).
Limited sight distance on arterial road. 
Annexation agreement states that traffic control will be addressed by developer but arterial status on West Hills Road limits traffic control measures. 
The property, if annexed will be zoned RS-12 (medium-high density). 
A considerable portion of the property is designated wetland and part of the Dunawi Creek riparian corridor. 
Development of this property will permanently obstruct the iconic view of Marys Peak from 53rd Street. 

Please sign this petition if you believe this is not the right way or the right time for this annexation.

 

 

 

 

Text of Annexation Agreement:

1     

Effective Date:  Upon approval of Corvallis City Council  

Parties:  Caldwell Farms LLC,  an Oregon limited liability company (“Developer”)  2773 SW Titleist Circle Corvallis, OR 97333  

 City of Corvallis, Oregon, a municipal corporation (“City”)   501 SW Madison Avenue P.O. Box 1083 Corvallis, OR 97339-1083   

RECITALS:  

WHEREAS, Developer owns certain real property within the urban growth boundary, but outside of and adjacent to the city limits, of the City of Corvallis, as described in Exhibit “A” attached to this agreement and more generally located as illustrated on Exhibit “B” attached to this agreement (the “Property”); and  

WHEREAS, the Property is currently designated on the City’s Comprehensive Plan Map as Medium- High Density Residential and if Medium-High Density Residential is the Comprehensive Plan designation at the time of annexation, the zoning of the Property will be Medium-High Density Residential (RS-12); and  

WHEREAS, Developer desires to have the Property annexed to the City; and  

WHEREAS, the City has adopted a Land Development Code regulation for the approval of annexations that requires the Council to first determine that a site proposed for annexation is capable of being served by urban services and facilities required with development; and  

WHEREAS, the City does not want annexation to impose express or implied obligations on the City to make and fund infrastructure improvements or to acquire easements or rights of way to serve the Property; and  

WHEREAS, after an initial public hearing, the City Council tentatively determined that the Property was not eligible for annexation because the Council could not determine that the Property was capable of being served by adequate Public Facilities; and   

WHEREAS, Developer is willing to assume any obligations and costs required to make and fund the required infrastructure and to acquire any required easements or rights of way, as described in more detail below; and  

WHEREAS, prior to approving the proposal, City Council has requested that Developer enter into an Agreement which will waive many of Developer’s rights and remedies with regards to conditions that may be placed on development of the Property by City should public facilities be insufficient to support the development, and which will commit Developer in good faith to make certain 

Annexation Agreement 

2   

enhancements and observe restrictions concerning the Property at such time that the actual development of the Property begins; and  

WHEREAS, the Parties do not intend for this Agreement to be a land use document to comply with the requirements of a Development Agreement as set forth in ORS 94.504 to 94.528; and  

WHEREAS, prior to approving the proposal, the City Council held a public hearing on the annexation proposal and considered this this agreement in a public meeting; and  

WHEREAS, nothing in this Agreement limits the use of the Property for any lawful purposes so long as any required City approval has been obtained; and  

WHEREAS, nothing in this Agreement shall require Developer to develop the Property or prohibit Developer from stopping any development after it has begun;    

AGREEMENT:  

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the above Recitals and the promises of the Parties, the Parties agree as follows:  

1. Incorporation of Recitals. The Recitals are hereby incorporated into the Agreement as if set forth herein in full. 2. Location. The Property is adjacent to the City limits of the City of Corvallis and within the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) for the City of Corvallis, as more fully described in Exhibit A. 3. Term. This Agreement shall commence on the date upon which it is approved by the Corvallis City Council and shall continue until superseded or terminated by agreement of the parties. a. The parties may enter into other agreements, including, but not limited to, Development Agreements, at any future date. If a future agreement proposes to supersede this Agreement in whole or in part, it must be approved by the Corvallis City Council. b. This agreement shall be effective upon approval of the annexation of the Property by the City Council.  c. If the annexation of the Property is not complete by December 31, 2019, this agreement shall be terminated.   

4. Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, specific terms shall be defined as follows: a. “Property” means all the land described fully in Exhibit A. b. “Public Facilities” means the physical infrastructure necessary or beneficial to the development of real property in the City of Corvallis. For purposes of meeting the minimum requirements for the annexation of this Property, such facilities are limited to sanitary sewer, storm water, sidewalk or street facilities. c. “Development” has the same meaning as given for “development” in Chapter 1.6 of the Corvallis Land Development Code (LDC) d. “Developer” means any person or legal entity having the right or responsibility to control the development of the Property. This term includes, without limitation, all 

Annexation Agreement 

3   

owners of any portion or all of the Property at the time that portion is proposed for development.  This term excludes any person or legal entity that exercises control only as a trustee or security holder. e. “Objective Engineering Standards” means engineering standards which are widely used in the municipal engineering field and are produced by an agency of the State of Oregon, an agency of the United States federal government or a national engineering technical association. Examples of acceptable sources of Objective Engineering Standards include, but are not limited to, The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), American Association of State Highway and Transportation (AASHTO), and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).  5. Waiver of Rights and Indemnification. If, following annexation into the City, Developer proceeds with development of the Property, Developer agrees that if the City determines, based on adopted City of Corvallis facility master plans or Objective Engineering Standards, that Public Facilities are insufficient to support a proposed development, and there is a reasonable relationship between any condition or denial and said deficiency in Public Facilities, and the City therefore conditions or denies an application based on such a determination: a. Developer will waive the right to claim that such condition or denial, based on the lack of adequate sanitary sewer, storm water, sidewalk or street facilities, constitutes a moratorium. b. Developer will waive any right to seek judicial or administrative relief, including, but not limited to, claims for injunction or damages, that may result from the delay or denial of development opportunities based on the lack of adequate Public Facilities. c. Developer waives any right to appeal any condition or denial based on the lack of adequate Public Facilities, or to seek any other form of judicial or administrative relief on theory that the condition or denial places a “disproportionate burden” on Developer. This waiver is intended to include, but not be limited to, claims that the disproportionate burden constitutes a partial or complete taking of Developer’s property without just compensation. This waiver shall relieve City of any requirement to make individualized findings that justify a condition on the proposed development or denial of the proposed development, but the condition or denial must be directly related to a deficiency in Public Facilities caused or contributed to by the proposed development, for this waiver to apply.  The City may not rely upon this waiver to prohibit or hinder Developer from completing any process that allows Developer reimbursement from system development charges, where eligible, or from third parties that may connect future development to the sanitary sewer, storm water or street facilities, or that allows Developer to otherwise benefit or recoup costs related to the disproportionate burden these requirements for sanitary sewer, storm water, sidewalks or street facilities place on Developer’s Property. d. The Developer and its successors and assigns will indemnify and hold harmless the City of Corvallis, its agents, officers, and employees, from any of the following claims including, but not limited to, the attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred by the City in resisting the following claims related to the annexation or this Agreement: i. Any claim challenging the enforceability or binding nature of this Agreement; ii. Any other proceeding of any kind or nature wherein Developer or its successors or assigns seeks damages or injunctive relief as a result of any City decision to deny, condition, or limit development activities, based on the 

Annexation Agreement 

4   

lack of adequate Public Facilities. 6. Developer Agrees. If Developer proceeds with development of the Property, in consideration of the promises made by the City, Developer agrees as follows: a. Sanitary sewer services to serve the Property shall be in accordance with the City’s master plan which calls for gravity service from the Property to sanitary sewer manhole 839. b. Storm water conveyance from the Property to Dunawi Creek shall comply with the requirements of the Stormwater Design Standards and Oregon Drainage Law. Both sanitary and storm facilities will require offsite easements and improvements. c. If Benton County requires a conditional use permit for the construction of sanitary sewer transmission mains across property outside of the city limits, the responsibility and risk related to obtaining the County’s conditional use permit is the Developer’s, and the City shall not be held liable for any failure to obtain the approval of Benton County. d. Currently there is not a sidewalk on the south side of West Hills Road between the Property and 53rd Street, which will serve this Property. The development will either need to provide a paved pedestrian sidewalk/path connection on the south side of West Hills to 53rd Street, or construct a pedestrian connection to the existing sidewalk on the north side of West Hills Road. The City may require that the pedestrian crossing include roadway widening to accommodate a raised pedestrian island and possible pedestrian signal. Location and final connection design shall be as approved by the City Engineer in order to respond to any issues of sight distance and speed characteristics identified in the traffic study described in paragraph e. below. e. Although the Developer’s engineer has provided evidence to indicate that there is adequate sight distance for the posted speed, testimony was provided during the public hearing which indicated that actual speeds significantly exceed posted speeds. At the time of development, the Developer shall complete a traffic study to confirm whether or not actual speeds create safety concerns for automobiles/bicyclists entering and exiting the new street constructed with the development that intersects with West Hills Road, as well as for pedestrians trying to cross West Hills Road at this location. Should the traffic study indicate that actual speeds exceed the standards necessary for maintaining adequate sight distance, the Developer shall propose and install additional off-site improvements such as median islands, signage, pavement markings, or other measures to encourage slower speeds. For phased developments, the City Engineer will determine with each phase whether the previous traffic study is adequate or requires updating due to changes in background traffic conditions. f. Developer will use Objective Engineering Standards and the City Master Plans and design and construction standards to determine the Public Facilities needs for development on the Property. g. Developer shall allow City to record against the Property a lien or other security instrument, in favor of City, that is sufficient to secure the costs of the City if the parties agree that City should acquire off-site easements or rights of way from third parties required by the Public Facilities needs of the Property. h. Developer shall make no claim for compensation or payment of any kind, other than eligible System Development Charge reimbursement, from the City for any on-site Public Facilities required to serve the Property or extend through the Property. i. No development may occur on the Property until the Public Facilities are 

Annexation Agreement 

5   

constructed or secured. j.  7. City Agrees. The City, in consideration for the promises made by Developer, agrees as follows: a. With this agreement there are currently sufficient Public Facilities to annex the Property into the City of Corvallis. This does not imply that any or all available Public Facilities are sufficient for any particular development. b. While the City’s conditions or denials may place a disproportionate burden on the Developer to make Public Facilities improvements, any such conditions or denials must be reasonably related to the Public Facilities needs which result from development on the Property. Objective Engineering Standards and the City Master Plans and design and construction standards will be used to determine the Public Facilities needs which result from any proposed development. Notwithstanding the foregoing, both parties agree that the Public Facilities needs of third parties or the public generally may also be a contributing factor to the Public Facilities needs which result from development on the Property. The needs of such third parties or the public shall not limit the City’s discretion to impose conditions or denials on the Developer. c. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the City agrees that upon Annexation, and subject to the terms and limitations of this Agreement, the Property shall enjoy the same right to development as applies to similarly situated property in the City of Corvallis. This is a material consideration for the Developer to comply with the conditions and requirements set forth in this Agreement. d. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, Developer has full entitlement to apply for development of all or any part of the Property and shall be entitled to the same consideration shown to similarly situated Developers. e. If the Developer is unable to obtain offsite easements or right-of-way for Public stormwater, wastewater, or transportation improvements as required in City Master Facilities, the City will obtain them. If the Developer determines it is unable to obtain these required offsite easements or right-of-way, it shall enter into an agreement with the City to ensure that all property acquisition and infrastructure construction costs, fees and/or damages are borne by the Developer. The Developer shall retain any rights to recoup its costs or for reimbursement for these facilities from future development or as system development charge reimbursement, to the extent and in the manner in which it is allowed by law or City ordinance.   8. Miscellaneous. a. Binding Effect. This agreement shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the parties and their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors, and permitted assigns. The terms of this Agreement shall be recorded in a form approved by the City so as to provide a record of this Agreement that runs with the land as described in the attached Exhibit “A”. b. Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests, or obligations under this Agreement shall be assigned by any party without providing the other party, prior notice of the assignment and an assignment of any outstanding security satisfying a requirement of this agreement. c. No Third-Party Beneficiaries. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended or shall be construed to confer on any person, other than the parties to this Agreement, any right, remedy, or claim under or with respect to the Agreement. 

Annexation Agreement 

6   

d. Further Assurances. Each party agrees (a) to execute and deliver any other documents and (b) to do and perform any other acts and things, as the other party may reasonably request, in order to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of this Agreement. e. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oregon, without regard to conflict-of-laws principals. f. Exhibits. The exhibits referenced in this Agreement are a part of this Agreement as if fully set forth in this Agreement. g. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement shall be invalid or unenforceable in any respect for any reason, the validity and enforceability of any such provision in any other respect and of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be in any way impaired. h. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes all prior understandings and agreements, whether written or oral, among the parties with respect to such subject matter.  

BY WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereby execute this Agreement.  

CITY OF CORVALLIS   

By: ____________________________      City Manager  

ATTEST:      APPROVED AS TO FORM:   

_______________________________  __________________________ City Recorder      City Attorney    

CALDWELL FARMS, LLC   

By: ____________________________       Member