03/08/1978 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

e the Community Goals Statement there are a variety of policy statements. Opposing sides could lift various statements out of these general policies to support their stand on panhandle lots. He said it was essential that Council recognize that in the past it has tried to balance these conflict- ing issues. Another question regarded the ownership versus rental occupancy of the structures built on the panhandle lots. He said a panhandle is a land division that creates land that is available for sale and has nothing to do with the occupancy. In that regard, some considerations were outlined by Mr. Saul. He said historically there has been an increasing percentage of city population living in rentals as opposed to owner- occupied homes and that percentage is projected to increase. Also, there is an increasing attractiveness of single-family housing that is acquired by owner-investors as opposed to owner-occupants. He said this relates to the low-vacancy rate in Eugene, which as of yesterday was 0.9 (very low). e Options available to Council regarding the Panhandle Policy were outlined by Mr. Saul as the following: 1) Eliminate the present Panhandle POlicy in its entirety; however, the Planning Commission has strongly recommended that City Council not pursue this direction; 2) to retain the policy and revise certain standards, such as size, setback, and driveway widths. He continued that one standard that probably could not be radically affected was size. The minimum set by the Panhandle Policy was 14,000 square feet, yet the bulk of lots available for panhandling range in size from 16,000 to 18,000 square feet. He also noted regarding any stan- dards, the Planning Commission is pursuing the assessment policy as it relates to a panhandle lot having limited frontage on the street and, consequently, not bearing its fair share in paving costs. In continuing with other options available, Mr. Saul said Council could decide whether or not the range of options for a more efficient use of land should be included. He said the panhandle approach is only one in which to accomplish better use of land. Other options might be to allow duplexes, etc., on larger parcels. He noted the Joint Housing Committee is looking at other options. Finally, Mr. Saul said, if the Council wishes to maintain the existing policy as is or to modify it, it would be better to incorporate that revision into the City Code rather than through its present process. Mr. Haws questioned what were other options regarding use of land. Mr. Saul replied that JHC had a list of 17 or 18 techniques which might be usable for achieving greater utilization. In terms of the panhandle land division, he said the options are very limited as the properties are back-to-back and have only certain footage for depth. Mrs. Niven reported that JHC would be meeting Tuesday, March 14, at 11:30 p.m., and Council members were welcome to attend. She said it would be open to all - 3/8/78--5 151