05/13/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e and low-income units. Ms. Childs noted that the plan amendment did not ad- dress rent levels, only a change in residential density. She said the coun- cil was only being asked to approve an amendment to the Metro Plan. She said the City of Springfield was the only body which could make a zoning change in this area. Mr. MacDonald said people tend to complain about low-income "ghettos," al- though it is possible to have a middle-class ghetto. He pointed out that the housing in the Good Neighbor Care Center development would be new, not run- down. He said his biggest concern about this project was its proximity to a chemical plant. He said lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (lRAPA) recom- mended against the project in a memo because the agency did not favor con- structing housing so near a chemical plant. However, existing residences are closer to the plant than would be proposed housing. In response to a request from Mr. Nicholson, Ms. Childs explained that the Planning Commission had based its conclusion on the fact that arguments in favor of retaining the property in an industrial designation were site-spe- cific; i.e., it is a large site with single ownership, has real access, etc. Ms. Childs said the arguments in favor of redesignating the property for family residences were based on the need for housing in general, not to the specifics of the site. She said the Planning Commission was concerned about concentrating a number of low-income units in one project. The commission's housing dispersal policy sets a maximum for low-income family units in any one project. Ms. Bascom said the property in question has been zoned industrial for a long time. She said the Housing Policy Board wants to emphasize dispersal and has targeted 10 to 40 units of low-income housing per project as a maximum. Mr. Boles suggested the City might need to set a minimum number of low-income units per project. He pointed out that the Walnut Grove housing development is directly across the street from a railroad track on which chemicals are transported regularly. Ms. Ehrman said the council was being asked to make a land use decision with- out any guarantee that its recommendations about how the land should be used would be followed. Mr. MacDonald asked what initial requirements the council could make. Ms. Childs responded that the MPC needed the council to identify the major issues, either for or against the amendment, for later review by the commission. Mayor Miller said he was concerned about land east of the road dividing this property. He said that if housing were constructed in this area, there would be no buffering from the chemical plant. He said he was also concerned about the area becoming a ghetto. He said housing which is 20 to 30 years old can easily become a ghetto. He suggested that housing in this development should be for both low- and middle-income people. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 13, 1991 Page 6