03/19/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

M I NUT E S e Eugene City Council Lunch/Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall March 19, 1986 11 : 30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Jeff Miller. Mayor Brian B. Obie called the meeting to order. He welcomed Larry Campbell, legislative representative, to the lunch/work session. Mr. Campbell will speak at the regular meeting of the council later. I. REVISIONS TO SOLAR ACCESS REGULATIONS (CA 84-4) Gary Chenkin of the Planning Department discussed the concepts involved in solar access protection regulations and the process used to develop the pro- posed revisions. He said the City Council will have another study session on the proposed revisions before the public hearing. He said the solar access protection regulations are similar to the regulations in the Springfield code. e Mr. Chenkin said solar access means the ability of a building to receive energy from the sun for lighting, space heating, water heating, or electrical generation. He said the use of solar energy is becoming popular and practical and access to solar energy needs to be protected. He said some people locate their homes so they can use solar energy and some people make investments in solar systems. The actions of neighbors later can affect the benefits. Mr. Chenkin reviewed a 1982 study by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The study indicated that the use of solar energy in residences in the Eugene/Springfield area could result in savings of $9 million or 22 percent of the cost of electrical energy. In Eugene, the use of solar energy in resi- dences had resulted in a savings of about $800,000 annually in the cost of electrical energy in the last few years although only about 44 percent of the homes in Eugene were located so they had clear solar access to the south wall at that time. Mr. Chenki~ said the existing solar access protection regulations in Eugene applied only to new developments, but the revisions would also apply to existing developments. He emphasized that it is important to protect access to solar energy because the siting of homes cannot be changed after they are bui 1 t. e Mr. Chenkin said the proposed revisions concern solar setbacK standards for new buildings and additions in existing developments, solar design standards for new subdivisions and Planned Unit Developments (PUDs), and solar access guarantees that would prohibit newly-planted trees from shading neighboring MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session Ma rc h 1 9, 1 986 Page 1