Item 2E: Approval to Allow for New Evidence on Metro Plan Amendment

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Approval to Allow for New Evidence on a Metro Plan Amendment during the Public Hearing on the Downtown/Mixed Use Code Amendments Meeting Date: June 24, 2013 Agenda Item Number: 2E Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Alissa Hansen www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5508 ISSUE STATEMENT This item is a request for the City Council to take action to allow hearing participants to offer new evidence on a Metro Plan amendment that is part of the Downtown/Mixed Use Code Amendments scheduled for a City Council public hearing. Approval to allow new evidence does not infer council support for the Metro Plan amendment, but rather allows the City Council to consider citizen comments on all aspects of the Downtown/Mixed Use amendment package. BACKGROUND As part of Envision Eugene, the City Council initiated amendments to facilitate desired mixed use development for downtown, along transit corridors and in commercial areas. Consistent with this direction, the purpose of these amendments is to facilitate compact urban development by changing land use regulations to better align with Envision Eugene. These amendments are also necessary as part of the City’s strategy to accommodate the City's 20-year need for commercial and multi-family housing inside the current urban growth boundary (UGB). The Downtown/Mixed Use amendments are scheduled to come before the City Council for a public hearing on July 15, 2013. Included in the package of amendments is a proposed land use code amendment to exempt a portion of downtown from the traffic impact analysis (TIA) application requirement. This particular amendment is accompanied by a concurrent Metro Plan/TransPlan amendment to revise a policy to allow for reduced levels of service within the same downtown area. The Eugene Code sets out specific procedures for land use code amendments that are different from the Metro Plan amendment procedures. While the land use code amendment procedures do not limit the submittal of testimony or new evidence at the council public hearing, the Metro Plan amendment procedures require that no new evidence be allowed at the council hearing. However, the Metro Plan amendment procedures also allow for the City Council to establish a different process. (See Eugene Code sections 9.7735(4) and 9.7750(1)). Approval of this request would allow the City Council to consider citizen comments on all aspects of the Downtown/Mixed Use amendment package, including the proposal to allow for reduced levels of service within a portion of the downtown area. S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130624\S1306242E.doc