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<br />September 18, 2019, Work Session – Item 1 <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL <br />AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY <br /> <br /> Work Session: Alley Access Lots Meeting Date: September 18, 2019 Agenda Item Number: 1 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Alissa Hansen <br />www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5508 <br /> <br />ISSUE STATEMENT At this work session, City Council will be provided with an overview of the development standards for alley access lots in the R-1 Low Density Residential zone. Requested by City Council through a poll initiated by Councilor Semple, this work session is intended to provide answers to Councilor Semple’s questions. This is an informational item and no council action is requested. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND Alley access lots are lots that front or abut an alley but do not front a street, and typically are created from the rear portion of an existing lot. In the R-1 Low Density Residential zone, there are approximately 66 existing alley access lots in Eugene (approximately 20 of which are vacant). The creation of new alley access lots in R-1 has been prohibited since the adoption of the land use code update of 2001. The following questions were posed in advance of the work session. <br /> <br />What are the current rules for alley access lots? <br />What are reasonable changes to make the land use code fair for all property owners? <br />How could it affect infill/density/livable small lots to help our need for more housing? <br />What other areas of the land use code (flag lots) should we consider in response to our recent <br />Claim 49 discussions? Answers to several of these questions are provided below. Staff will walk though these topics in more detail at the work session. <br /> <br />Current Development Standards for Alley Access Lots in R-1 The standards that apply to existing alley access lots were changed in 2014 as part of the Single-Family Code Amendments. As part of Envision Eugene, the City Council initiated land use code amendments to promote accessory dwellings and allow for the creation of new alley access lots. As initiated, these amendments were intended to create additional capacity within the urban growth boundary and implement several Envision Eugene strategies under the housing affordability, neighborhood livability and climate change/energy resiliency pillars related to smaller homes. Ultimately, the ordinance that was adopted did not allow for the creation of new