Item 5 - PH on Laurel Hill Plan - Laserfiche WebLink

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1. Land should be developable under the designation given to it. The applicant states that the property is "disturbingly unsuited for residential use". Testimony from the neighborhood representative at the public hearing concurred with the applicant that the site was not suitable for residential development, but did not agree with the assertion that the owner should be able to develop the land in some other way. Staff assert that the refinement plan amendment process is the correct process to remedy the inappropriate designation of a property, and that in broad terms there is a public need to designate the property under one of the designations the Metro Plan indicates as suitable. As the property is wholly unsuitable for residential development, and as described in the record, is suited to commercial development, there is a public need for correcting the designation. 2. The public need to provide sufficient commercial services commensurate with the increase in residential housing densities reflected in the recently amended Eugene Code. While housing densities were not necessarily increased within the approved East Ridge development, the increasing residential growth throughout the Laurel Hill neighborhood increases demand for nearby adjacent commercial land. Given the constraints of the other existing commercial land as discussed under Item 4 below, there is a greater public need for viable commercial sites such as the subject property. Approval of this amendment will help respond to that public need. 3. The public need to replace commercial designated land that has been debited from the inventory due to the realignment of the Glenwood interchange as a result of the Cooperative Improvement Agreement (CIA). Staff analysis concludes it is not obvious from the information submitted that commercial land has been reduced by right-of-way. Staffnotes that the maps in the refinement plan do not clearly delineate existing rights-of-way for the Glenwood (Brackenfern) extension, or Moon Mountain and Glenwood Drive realignments, which are mostly within existing ODOT right-of-way. While there may be some minor losses resulting from realignments of the roads, they are unlikely to have a major impact to the total acreage available for commercial purposes. Although LHVC refute the likelihood of loss of commercial lands due to realignment of roadways, testimony submitted on September 28, 2004, by neighborhood representatives, states, "However, if a more precise calculation shows a reduction over what was anticipated in 1982, a comparable addition could be made without violating the Laurel Hill Plan." Staff assert that additional information in the form of a map illustrating and quantifying the loss of commercial lands, is needed to effectively demonstrate an offset of acreage. 4. The public need to have immediately developable land available for commercial development as the residential areas of East Laurel Hill continue to develop. Commissioner McMillan requested information on development constraints on the existing commercial properties in the area. The applicant argues that the existing commercial areas are undesirable for immediate use due to issues of topography and lack of infrastructure. Staff notes that commercial properties (within the node) in the area are steeply sloped and have limited access at this time. (See applicant's photographs 7-10, Exhibit A of Attachment C; See topographical map, Exhibit D of Attachment C.) Those vacant commercial properties adjacent to Glenwood Drive have no access to that road, are positioned at a lower elevation, IV-6 4