CC Minutes - 07/09/08 Work Session

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to approach the issue one neighborhood at a time because it did not seem fair. Ms. Taylor saw no reason to delay adoption of Ordinance B or to refer any elements to the ICS project as the people most affected were accepting of the ordinance. She thought there was some urgency as she thought it important to protect established neighborhoods. She maintained that the neighborhood in question had historic significance in that it “came very close” to being named a historic district. She thought the council should respect the neighbors’ needs and concerns and preclude the center of town from becoming all rental units. Such a trend changed the character of people’s homes and neighborhood. She said that if the council chose to, it could always repeal the ordinance. Mr. Zelenka also wanted to move Ordinance B and items 5 and 7 forward because the neighbors approved. However, he acknowledged the politics of the situation and indicated acceptance of the staff recommenda- tion. He expressed concern that the ICS project could go on for some time but meanwhile, “a lot of things could happen to that neighborhood to affect livability” dramatically. Mr. Zelenka maintained that even if the height restrictions were in place in south Eugene, the entire population of Cottage Grove could fit into the area. Mr. Zelenka maintained that the area in the South University Neighborhood was unique in that R-4 zoning was directly adjacent to R-1 zoning. He said “that should not have been allowed to happen” in the context of good planning. However, he acknowledged that density was still needed in the area and that it was an appropriate place for such housing. Speaking to the parking restrictions, he pointed out that the restrictions were specific to the area in question and the parking requirements that had been adopted by the City were intended for one- to two-bedroom units rather than the multiple-bedroom units contemplated in the South University area. He said that 73 percent of University students had automobiles and the issue was what to do with them if parking was not provided. Ms. Bettman said the timelines were not set in stone and the council had been talking about infill standards for some time. She did not think tying the standards in the neighborhood to the timeline reviewed by Ms. Harding made sense, and she was prepared to move forward with all the minor code amendments. She believed the issues involved had escalated because it was “so profitable” to build student housing near the University because the University failed to provide adequate housing for its students. She said the council had always discussed balancing development with neighborhood compatibility and she thought the amendments were a compromise to get to that balance. Ms. Bettman maintained that the community was “cramming” densities which were too high into already established neighborhoods because it was profitable to do so, and building at extremely how densities everywhere else. The City had identified nodes but had not identified a maximum density that worked to achieve the community’s goals. She averred that Springfield was building out at half the allowable density. She did not think Eugene needed to cram density into the South University area when it was not even looking for modest or reasonable densities elsewhere inside the urban growth boundary. Ms. Bettman raised the issue of changing residential zones to commercial zones as another issue. Ms. Ortiz said she would be curious to hear the reaction of councilors who had just spoken to the comments the council had received from CALC regarding the effect of less densification. She did not know if the comments were true and did not have a crystal ball. She had some concerns about Ordinance B but was willing to refer the item regarding the transitions between zones to the ICS project. She had more concerns about the impact of the amendment related to parking given the possible long-lasting ramifications of that MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2008 Page 2 Work Session