Item C: Mixed-Use Centers - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chase Gardens The Chase Gardens plan was an attempt to study and implement nodal development principles on the last vacant properties within one of the City's largest pockets of high density development outside of its downtown. The area's 1992 refinement plan provided for more high density residential development and very limited neighborhood commercial services, but the commercial services were to be separated from the residential areas by Garden Way, a major collector street that is scheduled for improvement. The study area boasted several properties on the National Register of Historic Places, other properties eligible for listing, bike paths through bucolic orchard remnants, natural resources, and excellent transit service. Not all of the study area was incorporated to the City of Eugene, so Lane County approval was required. The study involved area residents and property owners in many discussions about how to best accommodate growth, create a viable neighborhood commercial center, increase pedestrian and transit use, and preserve important natural and historic features. Several economic factors swiftly became the focus of discussions and provided the framework for the land use plan that was eventually adopted. Among the factors considered were the following: The area was greatly under-served by commercial services; the node could accommodate a 9-12 acre commercial center so that residents from an area greater than the node could also avoid longer trips for basic services. If the size of the major commercial tenant, presumed to be a grocery, was restricted too much, the result would likely be a specialty store that was not affordable to the many students who populate Chase Gardens. Specialty stores may attract customers from a larger region, thereby exacerbating traffic congestion and increasing vehicle miles traveled. · To be viable, the commercial center must be relocated to increase visibility and access from Centennial Boulevard (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd) as well as Garden Way. · Properties located against 1-5 (but without direct access) that were previously designated for commercial development would be equally or better marketed for high density residential or mixed use development. · Residents of the historic properties did not want Garden Way street improvements, new assessments, or any intensification of traffic that the proposed development would bring. · It was too expensive and disruptive to natural resources and public park land to relocate Garden Way to a more central location or to create a more rectangular grid pattern of streets. · DLCD strongly recommended an outright prohibition of drive-through facilities throughout the node, citing OAR 660-012- 0060(7)(H), which says low intensity or land intensive uses should be "limited or prohibited." During the study, a major property holder and prospective commercial developer participated in refining the market analysis and site design so that, in the end, the draft nodal development plan met the nodal development objectives set out at the beginning of the process. TGM grant funding, and the consultant support it provided the City, expired with completion of the draft plan in June 2001. City staff drafted land use code that would implement the draft plan in a simplified fashion, Metro and refinement plan amendments, and plans were made to install the infrastructure improvements necessary to support the node. Before the plans were adopted in November 2002, the Planning Commission, City Council, and County Board of Commissioners had to wrestle with the competing images of a small "neighborhood village" that had previously been used to describe nodes --~ i.e., 'mom & pop' stores with small apartments upstairs lined along a quiet street --- and the large commercial needs, high traffic volumes, and market realities in the Chase Gardens area. In the end, the general land use pattern proposed in the draft plan was approved, and the following restrictions were added (to many others) to create the necessary neighborhood village atmosphere and pedestrian comfort: 15