05/13/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Mr. Nicholson said "ghetto" when referring to a middle-class neighborhood, meant a homogeneous concentration of people. He said the council seemed primarily concerned about housing becoming substandard. Ms. Bascom said most of east Springfield is zoned industrial. She said the property in question is one portion of a much larger industrial area. Ms. Childs said this area is covered by the Mid-Springfield Refinement Plan which attempts to address issues of residential and industrial coexistence. She said the plan identifies this land as remaining industrial. In response to a question from Ms. Bascom, Ms. Childs said the metro area has nearly reached equilibrium on medium-density residential housing in the metro area, although there is no excess land for this purpose. She said the Metro Plan has not identified where more medium-density hOUSing could be placed. She said that in terms of inventory, the area could probably use more medi- um-density development. Mr. Boles said one of the issues the council should raise for consideration by the MPC was whether this property could be effectively buffered for use as a housing development for low-income and elderly persons. He noted that contiguous property is residential. Ms. Bascom said the housing in this area included some of the lowest-income residences in Lane County that she had ever seen. Ms. Ehrman noted that the lane County Commissioners are concerned about the schools in this area because they are already full. Ms. Bascom added that the Springfield City Council is very divided on this issue and probably open to negotiations. Mr. MacDonald said one point to negotiate might be the need to attract supermarkets to the area. Mr. Green said this kind of commercial development would probably occur naturally after a housing development was built. Mayor Miller noted that he felt a wider buffer from east to west was needed in this project. In response to a comment by Ms. Bascom, Ms. Childs said the original proposal made by Good Neighbor Care Centers included more housing units and was reduced, based on the need to provide more buffering. She noted that specific comments about the plan designation would be helpful to the MPC. Mayor Miller said the council could state that it wanted the plan configuration changed in certain ways. In response to a comment by Ms. Bascom, Ms. Childs said the council could not ask for specific kinds of development, such as owner-occupied cooperative housing for low-income people, because this was not part of the plan amend- ment process. She said the owner could be asked to enter into a covenant to this effect. Ms. Childs pointed out that even it the council voted to approve the Metro Plan amendment, the current ordinance findings would probably need to be expanded. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 13, 1991 Page 7