Ordinance No. 20530 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Exhibit B “…the Metro Plan diagram is only a generalized depiction of land uses. The Metro Plan diagram provides few clear boundaries between land use designations. Although some designations appear to border named streets, most do not, and the diagram’s comparatively small one inch to 8,000-foot scale does not include any depiction of individual lots. As a consequence, the land use designation for properties near the boundary between use designations on the diagram is unclear. As indicated by the Metro Plan, those ambiguities require reference to local government refinement documents to conclusively determine the applicable designation.” (Knutson Family LLC v. City of Eugene, 2004-10, 2004- 106; A127379., affirmed 200 Or App 292 (2005)) The Metro Plan designation for the subject site is unclear based upon casual visual examination of the Metro Plan diagram, given the scale of the Metro Plan diagram and the small size of the single subject parcel. Therefore the exact boundary between the Commercial and High Density Residential (HDR) is ambiguous. The Plan diagram illustrates a High Density Residential land use designation along the railroad tracks, with a Commercial designation covering most of the remaining central downtown area thth extending north somewhere near 5 or 6 Avenue. City Staff indicated to the th Applicant that they conclude the HDR designation extends somewhere south of 5 Avenue and includes the subject property, with the Commercial designation extending ththth north of 6 Avenue but ending somewhere between 5 and 6 Avenues. It is, however, clear that the Metro Plan’s Mixed Use Area overlay designation applies to the subject area and to surrounding areas north of the Eugene downtown central business district. The Metro Plan’s “Mixed Use Areas” overlay is intended for “areas where more than one use might be appropriate, usually as determined by refinement plans at a local level.” (p. II-G-12) The subject property is located within the boundaries of the Eugene Downtown Plan, which was adopted as a refinement to the Metro Plan in 2004 (Ordinance No. 20316). But the Downtown Plan does not contain a land use diagram and therefore cannot be used to determine on a parcel-specific basis the intended plan designation of the subject site. The Mixed Use designation is indicative that the site was intended to have an underlying commercial designation to support true mixed use development, and is consistent with this request for commercial zoning with retained transit- oriented development and nodal development zoning overlays. Eugene’s zoning code for residential uses does not generally permit a mix of land uses, whereas commercial zoning could implement the Mixed Use designation by allowing residential uses in a mixed use format. Although the Applicant and her representatives are unable to conclude that the HDR th designation does indeed extend south of 5 Avenue on the Metro Plan diagram, and without conceding that the subject site does indeed have a base HDR designation, the Applicant nonetheless seeks clarity through the Metro Plan amendment process to definitively establish a Commercial land use designation on the Metro Plan diagram