Item B: Jefferson-Westside Options for Immediate Protection

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The information in this memo will explain that: · In 1983 the Metro Plan and neighborhood plan were amended, through a public process and it is clear through the legislative history that both plans encouraged medium density residential housing in this subj ect area. · The Metro Plan and Refinement Plan fell out of alignment due to changes in the legal framework, which necessitated the Housekeeping Amendments in order to maintain the policy intent of the 1983 amendments. · If the Council wants to change the intent of the plans, just as in any other area of the City, public processes are available to do so (outlined below). Back!!round/Historv There has been a notable change in the way neighborhood plans were adopted and applied over the years since the City of Eugene began neighborhood plans. The Jefferson/Far West Refinement Plan provides a typical example.ofthis history. During most of the 1980's and into the 1990's, the adoption process for refinement plans (neighborhood plans) was handled differently than current day. Refinement Plans by their very name were considered refinements of the Metro Plan. As such, they were considered extensions of the Metro Plan, or from a legal perspective, an amendment to the Metro Plan. Under this approach, the neighborhood-specific land use diagram clarified the intent of the Metro Plan, essentially replacing it as the legally effective diagram. As such, one would only need to rely on the refinement plan diagram for direction. In the case of the Jefferson area, the Metro Plan showed low density residential for the area in question prior to the adoption of the Jefferson/Far West Plan. When the refinement plan was adopted in 1983, it specifically changed this subarea from low density to medium density residential with the requirement for site review of future development. State law required that this change adopted in the refinement plan could only take place if the Metro Plan was amended as well. The resolution that adopted the Jefferson/Far West Plan (Resolution no. 3739) specifically verifies that the Metro Plan diagram was amended as follows: "The Land Use Diagram included in the Jefferson/Far West Refinement Plan is hereby adopted as a refinement of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan diagram. The explanatory text discussing each segment of the Land Use Diagram is recognized as clarifying and providing furth er explanation of the intent of the Metro Plan diagram. " (Section 2, Resolution No. 3739) It should be noted that the adoption process for the refinement plan included an extensive public involvement process. Most notable was the establishment of a citizen task force which helped develop the refinement plan. Several informal public meetings were held with the neighborhoods which eventually led to formal recommendations from the neighborhood organizations requesting adoption of the refinement plan. Following that, the Planning Commission and City Council held public hearings to consider these recommendations before .ultimately approving the refinement plan. Since the adoption of the Refinement Plan in 1983, five zone changes have been approved in the subarea in question, changing the affected properties from R-1 to R-2/SR. In order to be approved, all of these zone changes were required to demonstrate compliance with the refinement plan and Metro Plan. What's important to note is tbat over the last 20+ years, the City's procedures for plan amendments have evolved, along with City code criteria. Based on court decisions regarding the relationship between the Metro Plan and the City's refinement plans, the city beganto change the way neighborhood plans were adopted during the 1990's. Rather than adopting neighborhood plans as guiding documents or extensions of the Page 2 of 4