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EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Economic Development Committee Recommendations Regarding Updates to the Land Use Code Meeting Date: October 27, 2004 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Tom Coyle www. cl. eugene, or. us Contact Telephone Number: 682-6077 ISSUE STATEMENT A work session regarding the Economic Development Committee recommendations is scheduled on October 27, 2004, to review issues related to the recommendation specific to zoning code amendments. It is requested that the City Council approve the recommendation of the Mayor's Committee that work proceed to update Chapter 9 of the Eugene Code using the identified guiding principles. BACKGROUND On August 9, 2004, four primary recommendations of the Mayor's Committee on Economic Development were presented to the City Council. The report was accepted by the council by a vote of 7-0. Motions related to specific recommendations were postponed with a request that additional work sessions be scheduled to further examine the specific issues. The committee agreed that the development code could be modified to make it easier to use and understand and recommended that Chapter 9 of the Eugene Code be made simpler, and the following guiding principles should be applied to its review and revision. · Intuitive. Staff and the public find the code difficult and confusing, and it is likely more complex than it needs to be to achieve the City's goals. A thoughtful audit of the effectiveness of criteria and standards should be done to measure their value. · Adaptable. At this time, the City's code is 'one size fits all.' It could be more flexible and adaptable on a project-by-project basis. Establishing flexible and adaptable tools would allow City staff to better respond to challenges and issues that come up during the development process. · Enabling. Entrust staff to carry out policies and objectives by utilizing professional expertise. Empower staff to use creative problem-solving to achieve set policies and goals. Provide the framework for bounded delegation. Allow staff to make practical, rational decisions on common sense matters. Common-sense requests by applicants often require exception processes and may be burdensome. · Logical. There should be a discernible path from the standards and criteria to the objective the City is trying to achieve. Make it make sense. Every time amendments to the code are proposed it should be asked 'what issue is the City trying to address, what problem is it trying to solve?' L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M041027\S041027A. doc