ORS 308.225 instructs the assessor to disregard any changes or proposed changes to the boundary lines of taxing districts for assessment and taxation purposes in the ensuing fiscal year if the change is not filed in final approved form by March 31. The March 31 date and the approval by the Department of Revenue only relates to the boundary change for assessment and taxation purposes. It does not effect or relate to filings for any other purpose. ORS 308.225 also details the level of description for the boundary change.
What do we do to resolve anomalous line-work? Perhaps we find an overlap or a gap exists between existing line-work and the new parcel, or maybe a given legal description shows that one leg of a parcel adjoins a highway right-of-way for which a readily available description does not exist. One method for resolving this is to obtain a copy of the county property assessment map from the Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR). If existing records don?t resolve the anomaly, an estimated resolution is employed. This method is not ideal, but experience and an informed idea of what the city intends, helps to minimize error (Educated guesswork).
If an obvious overlap occurs with a new annexation and the existing city limits, we assume (guess) that the overlapped area is intended to be included in the revised boundary. It doesn't matter that it overlaps, the intent of the city is to include it. If a sliver or gap between parcels becomes apparent to us, we call the city planning dept. and ask for a clarification. Many of these anomalies occur by mistake, and aren't supposed to exist. We ask for what the city intends. We have found that these types of problems occur more often in communities that have limited resources. The number of occurances varies from year to year, but a figure of 5% is probably close to the average.
For clarity, unless the boundary follows the centerline of a street or highway, an offset is employed to an estimated right of way. This offset averages 10 feet, and merely indicates that the line follows a right of way. Rights of way are seldom an even number of feet. Exceptions to the 10? offset placement will occur when the placed line is between two converging or parallel highways or roads. and it seems reasonable to split the difference which may be less than or more than 10?. Another exception may occur when the line parallels a feature that has many vertices and it?s reasonable to use fewer to place the boundary.
As annexations are entered, we print out scale plots of newly annexed areas and transfer that information onto our counter maps. Printed records of the annexations are placed in Current City Map Corrections file drawers.
The Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) is responsible for reviewing and approving annexations for assessment purposes as per O.R.S. 308.225. Occasionally annexations do not contain a correct description or accompanying maps. DOR works with the annexing body to resolve the issues. Annexations are also recorded in the Secretary of States Office as per O.R.S.198.780. The Secretary of States Office catalogs, but does not review the annexations for accuracy. Prior to a cooperative effort between ODOT and the Oregon Department of Revenue, the information in the Secretary of States Office was used by ODOT to determine new city limits.
Unfortunately, not all cities have consistently complied with O.R.S.198.780. Traditionally, the only annexations available to ODOT were those that had been received by the Secretary of States Office. Currently, information from the DOR can be cross-referenced with information from the Secretary of States Office to solve discrepancies.
Our maps are a graphic representation of the sum of information available to us. Our maps are not an exact replica of the real world due to the amount of information collected, the number of places it was collected from, and due to the fact that no map (digital or hand drawn) paints a perfect picture. As a matter of record, maps are not legal documents. Text (survey) descriptions of a property is the legal definition of a property.
Annexations are entered into our city limit base layer. A hard copy of the annexation is filed in house and a scanned .tif image is placed on our ftp site. The ftp address is <ftp://ftp.odot.state.or.us/tdb/trandata/maps/cl_tiffs>.