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Ginny Osteen , 1540 Jefferson Street, a member of J-WRHN, related that she and her husband had lived in the Jefferson neighborhood since 1980 because they considered it to be charming, diverse, and close to downtown. She commented that when they moved to the neighborhood it was already a well-established, mostly single-family neighborhood consisting primarily of modest bungalows that were oriented to the street. People visited with their neighbors as they took walks or worked in the yard. She felt living there seemed uncrowded, even though houses were close together, because of the small private backyards. She asserted that families tended to stay once they had moved in. This long-term commitment of the residents made it a safe, stable, and attractive area to live in. She and her neighbors had never envisioned the type of development that would be permitted by R-2 zoning, rather they supported low-intensity appropriately scaled infill, such as the secondary dwellings R-1 zoning already allowed. She alleged that neighbors had been “stunned” to hear that the Planning Division had “slipped through” a Metro Plan amendment that would allow “intense. . .infill that was highly incompatible” with the neighborhood. She thought some neighbors were considering moving. She was fearful that a three-story four-plex would be built only feet from her yard under the new plan amendment. She wanted an informed public involvement in land use decisions for her neighborhood. th Angela Rooney , 520 West 15 Avenue, a resident of the Jefferson neighborhood for many years, said she and her neighbors had never before heard about plans to allow duplexes and triplexes to be built in backyards the way she alleged they were being built on the eastern side of the Jefferson neighborhood. She related that there were quite a few rental properties in the area and some of them were poorly maintained by absentee landlords. She averred that some landlords seemed to care very little about the neighborhood. She was bothered most by Planning staff, who she felt had not listened nor were listening now to the concerns of the neighborhood. She and neighbors spent over $1,000 on attorneys and many hours writing letters in order to prevent a lot from being rezoned to R-2. They were not opposed to the development of “granny cottages” in peoples’ backyards but did not wish to see a higher density of development as it would bring about a loss of privacy, an increase in traffic, and a change in the character of the neighborhood. At the time, she and her neighbors had won the land use appeal because it conflicted with the Metro Plan. She said now the neighborhood no longer had that kind of protection. She and a group of neighbors met with Planning and Development Department (PDD) staff to express concerns and to find out what they could do. She did not feel staff acknowledged the seriousness of the problem. Rather they discussed bureaucratic processes. She relayed her neighborhood’s anxiety about what was going to happen and urged the council to understand that this was a neighborhood and not just “lines on a map.” th Rene Kane , 254 West 14 Avenue, co-chair of the Jefferson-Westside Neighbors (JWN), reported that the neighborhood association voted 48:0 to request adoption of a temporary moratorium on zone changes in the Jefferson neighborhood until effective infill standards could be implemented. She said the JWN Board explored various means to accomplish the intent of the motion. The JWN submitted a letter to the council in the previous week with two alternatives to consider: a simple council motion or a narrowly focused amendment to Eugene’s R-2 zoning code. She thought either approach could establish a temporary prohibition on R-2 zone changes without delay. She recalled council action taken through the past year that indicated the council recognized how damaging inappropriate infill had been to some of the established neighborhoods. She felt it was urgent that compatibility standards be implemented. She conveyed the appreciation of the JWN for the council’s efforts and its belief that the council’s leadership was essential in ensuring the continued health of the two close-in “heritage neighborhoods.” She thought opportunity siting, if done thoughtfully, could achieve density increases that she asserted unplanned infill had failed to produce “to any significant degree.” MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 10, 2006 Page 3 Regular Meeting