Item 5 - PH on Laurel Hill Plan - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Eugene Planning Commission September 21, 2004 Page 3 of 7 commercial traffic to access 25th Avenue through that property to the south (Tax Lot 400). That solution directs commercial traffic through commercial areas and keeps commercial traffic off of residential streets, which is to the benefit of the residents in the area. Other commercial properties, that do abut residential areas, are not under applicants' ownership. As Exhibit F hereto explains, the applicants have attempted to purchase some of those parcels to no avail. Other commercial parcels have obtained PUD approvals and the thought of revisiting development plans for those parcels are not inviting for the property owners. In short, any approach thatinvolves a third party simply is not practicable. Unfortunately, this is an issue that the applicants are unable to fully accommodate the neighborhood group. The second issue of concern to the Laurel Hills Citizens neighborhood group concerns buffering the impact of commercial uses on the site from the residential uses that eventually will occur on the areas west of Laurel Hill Road across from the site. As noted in the application materials and shown in some of the exhibits attached hereto, those areas slope in opposite directions, which causes a buffering effect to begin with. The applicants are currently exploring the feasibility of providing an enhanced buffer, through the form of additional landscaping and of building placement, to accommodate the neighborhood group's concern. The developable area on the subject property is severely constrained. And as noted by the neighborhood group's written testimony, a 90 foot building setback would eliminate more than half of the buildable area from a building footprint. However, while a 90 foot building setback may not be possible, a setback significantly greater than that required by the Eugene Code may be feasible. At, er exploring this issue further, the applicants may be willing to offer a commitment letter to the neighborhood group that will spell out in more detail buffering aspects that they are willing to incorporate into future design proposals. However, such a letter will require additional research by the applicants and, consequently, was not able to be prepared in time for the supplemental testimony deadline. In summary, while the applicants cannot accommodate the Laurel Hills Citizens neighborhood group's desire for a commercial-residential land swap, the applicants are exploring options for providing additional commercial-residential buffering for the site. The applicant's representative also met with planning staff members to discuss the issues raised by the Planning Commissioners and the Laurel Hills Citizens neighborhood group. That meeting was very productive and many of the suggestions made during that meeting have been incorporated into the materials submitted here. Public Need The issue of public need, raised under Policy # 5 of the Laurel Hill Plan and by the approval criteria for both applications, was the issue most discussed by the Planning Commissioners. In addition to the public need to have land be developable under the land use designations given to it, which was discussed by applicant's representative at the public hearing and is a public need IV-36