CC Minutes - 06/09/03 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

· There was only 1.57 vacant acres in the proposed nodal area leaving no room for growth. · There was no proposed design review to blend in new construction with older houses already present. · The plan was a waste of money since its stated goals were already achieved. Paul Conte, 1461West 10th Avenue, spoke as the co-chair of the Jefferson/Westside neighbors. He said the neighborhood was not opposed to an overlay zone in general but objected to a process that made key decisions, such as boundaries, with no public involvement beforehand. He said there was little, if any, public support for imposing the current form of the nodal development overlay zone which staff, Planning Commission and City Council all seemed to agree was flawed. He said he had talked to Bob Cartwright, who was the lead transportation person at the Department of Land Conservation and Development, (DLCD), and said his opinion was that adoption of the ND Metro Plan designation by itself, with no other concrete steps of implementation steps, would not satisfy DLCD. He stressed that, to the State, such an action would be a meaningless gesture. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman regarding what would happen if the underlying zone allowed uses that were inconsistent with the proposed overlay zone, Planning Director Jan Childs said if the proposed overlay zone were applied then existing underlying zoning uses would be allowed but new uses would not. Councilor Bettman said she and Michael Roberts of the Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the homebuilders, neighborhoods, and Friends of Eugene had participated in a process that created a prototype map of the Chambers Node and offered it before the public process as something that a broad range of people could accept. She said one of the principal concepts of their plan was to protect the existing residential neighborhood's character and livability by down-zoning to R-1 and creating the needed density by redevelopment of old underutilized industrial and commercial sites for mixed-use and higher density housing. She questioned whether the plan had been used by staff while preparing the proposed node. She requested that the map be entered into the public record, and be available at the next council discussion about the Chambers Node, for reference. Ms. Childs said the map could be viewed but it would not be part of what was before the council. She said if the council provided direction to the city manager that it wanted to participate in site- specific planning for the area, the map would be used for that process. Councilor Pap~ said he was becoming less enthused with applying nodal development overlays to developed areas. He expressed a hope that staff would get involved in more site-specific nodal planning. V. PUBLIC HEARING: Churchill Nodal Development Area Ordinance A: An Ordinance Concerning the Churchill Nodal Development Area; Amending the Metropolitan Area General Plan Diagram; Adopting a Severability Clause; and Providing an Effective Date. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 9, 2003 Page 12 Regular Session