Court Rules with Developers, Forces City to Listen to Evidence

OREGON CITY, OR-Circuit Court Judge Steven Maurer has rejected this city’s motion to dismiss the appeal of a case filed by developers of the Trail’s End Marketplace here. The developers, Emmert/Brundidge, say they were overcharged $600,000 in transportation fees. Judge Maurer sent the case back to the city and ordered them to hold a hearing to hear the developers’ evidence of overcharging. The city is expected to hold the hearing in February or March, assistant city manager Bryan Cosgrove tells GlobeSt.com.

Meanwhile, Emmert/Brundidge’s requested jury trial on related alleged civil rights violations by the city is tentatively scheduled for June 12. The case is similar to the Dolan vs. City of Tigard, which went all the way to the US Supreme Court. Ruling in favor of the Dolans, the court determined the city must show a “rough proportionality” between the requirements it imposed on the Dolans’ development and the effect the store’s expansion would have on the city.

The Emmert/Brundidge problem began in April 1999, when developers Terry Emmert and Darren Brundidge appealed the city’s initial assessment of $829,826 in transportation fees with regard to two of the company’s retail developments. Their claim was the city building official used the wrong formula and outdated data. Their independent report showed the fees should be closer to $170,710. The city later admitted a clerical error and reduced the assessment, but only to the mid-$700,000 range. The City Commission rejected Emmert/Brundidge’s appeal without a hearing the following month, and the duo filed their action in Circuit Court. Emmert and Brundidge also have appealed the city’s transportation systems development charges on other retail developments it is working on within the new shopping center.