CC Minutes - 04/14/08 City Council Meeting

Home Browse Search

4. ACTION: An Ordinance Amending the Eugene-Springfield Metro Plan; Amending the River Road-Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan Land Use Diagram and Text; Amending the Eugene Zoning Map, and Adopting a Severability Clause (Oregon West Management, LLC, MA 07-2, RA 07-1, and Z 07-3) Councilor Pryor, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved that the City adopt Council Bill 4965, an ordinance amending the Eugene-Springfield Metro Plan Land Use Diagram, River Road – Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan Land Use Diagram, and Eugene Zoning Map. Councilor Clark indicated that he had some ex parte contacts with “both sides” of this discussion by having attended the Santa Clara Community Organization (SCCO) meetings at which it had been presented and discussed. Councilor Ortiz said she would support the item. She averred that this part of the community sometimes felt that they were not listened to. She commented that the council could not say what kind of development could be put into that area, it could only determine what kind of zone changes there could be. She thought the council should give the person who bought the property support based on the fact that he bought the property with division in mind. She noted that he had a lot of support in the community. Councilor Bettman indicated she would oppose the bill. She declared that the application was inconsistent with the MetroPlan, the Refinement Plan, the Urban Facilities Plan, the River Road/Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan, the commercial land study, and TransPlan. She felt she could support it if the C-2 could be converted to C-1 and include a caveat in the resolution adopting it that would require 136 units of housing to be built over the area. She averred that the “symbolism” and language of nodal development and mixed use were being employed but it was not accomplishing those goals. She called it a “cash industry” and a “lottery” because if a person could afford a lawyer they could work to get laws waived and zoning changed. She felt the action was inconsistent with policies. Councilor Taylor had been convinced by the arguments in opposition. She felt that the fact that someone bought the property thinking they would profit from it obligated the council to approve it. Councilor Bettman said the council was acting on the zoning change and the land use designation change, along with the Planning Commission addition requiring some traffic enhancements. She asserted that none of the verbiage in the resolution would require the applicant to deliver anything more than what was required in the zones. She felt that the lack of minimum density in the C-2 area could mean there would be no housing there as there were no guarantees. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, Heather O’Donnell, Associate Planner for the Planning and Development Department, affirmed that the owner could potentially sell the property after successfully applying for the changes. She said the applicant was also proposing text amendments on the Refinement Plan that had some limitations on the types of uses that could be allowed as well as the size of the buildings, pedestrian connections and other items. She explained that those would be triggered through the TUD and the Site Review Overlay if someone else initiated a development on the property. Councilor Clark reminded the City Council that many letters of support had been received from area residents. He thought Councilor Bettman’s comments could lead to a different conclusion. He underscored that the president of the SCCO had written a letter of support, noting that he also served on the Infill MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 14, 2008 Page 11 Regular Meeting