Ordinance No. 20412 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) and TransPlan are based on a land use pattern in which employment is dispersed throughout the region. This "polycentric" land use pattern has provided a blueprint for community growth for the past 40 years. One of the key elements of the region's strategy to reduce reliance on the automobile is Nodal Development. The Nodal Development concept that emerged through TransPlan is based on the potential to guide certain kinds of development into the areas where a mixed-use, pedestrian- friendly development pattern can be achieved; to require development to be built following certain "nodal" design principles; and to design a transportation system that allows people to choose modes of travel other than the automobile for many of their trips. The ND Nodal Development land use designation was applied to the Downtown Plan area with the adoption of the plan in 2004. However, many key components of the nodal development strategy were applied to the downtown area long before the ND designation was adopted for the area. Various programs and regulations that implement nodal development strategies (establishing maximum parking allowances, encouraging compact mixed use development, requiring bicycle parking for commercial and multi-family developments, encouraging transit- oriented development along transit corridors, etc., etc.) had been put into effect over the past 20 years. The nodal development strategy remains intact in the downtown plan area. ..... Land Use Policy #3. Provide for transit-supportive land use patterns and development, including higher intensity, transit-oriented development along major transit corridors and near transit stations; medium- and high-density residential developments within ~ mile of transit stations, major transit corridors, employment centers, and downtown areas; and development and redevelopment in designated areas that are or could be well served by existing or planned transit. The minimum floor area ratio requirements are not the only factors in implementing a transit- supportive, nodal development land use pattern. As indicated above, FAR as a measure of density and development intensity is one component of a transit-supportive land use pattern. Eugene's minimum FAR requirement was established by the City of Eugene in 1993 as one element of new transit oriented development (TaD) standards. Those standards also address the location and orientation of buildings on the site, building setbacks, the location of building entrances and parking, and improvements between the building and the street. Eugene's inclusion of minimum FAR standards was not mandated by the state. In fact, the State of Oregon does not require local jurisdictions to establish floor area ratios as an essential component of the transit-supportive land use pattern or transit-oriented development. Other TaD standards within the same section of the Eugene code are not affected by the proposed code amendments. Removing the 20 space surface parking limit for properties zoned C-3 Major Commercial would not affect the nodal development strategies. These properties would still be bound by the requirements that apply within the TaD area. Exhibit A - 7