Agenda Packet 6-24-19 Work Session

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June 24, 2019, Work Session – Item 2 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Urban Reserves Planning Meeting Date: June 24, 2019 Agenda Item Number: 2 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Rebecca Gershow www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-8816 ISSUE STATEMENT Staff will provide City Council with an update on the Urban Reserves planning work to date. The work session is informational, however feedback is requested. Staff will return in the fall with urban reserves alternatives for your consideration. BACKGROUND Planning for growth in line with local values is a long-standing tradition in Oregon and Eugene. Urban Reserves are a special designation, allowed by state law, for lands outside the urban growth boundary that can be considered a first priority if and when a city needs to expand for a growing population. The goal of Urban Reserves planning is to identify an appropriate supply of land for possible expansion, so we are prepared to grow in a way that meets our community’s needs and values. Land designated as Urban Reserves will remain rural, and cannot be urbanized, unless it is brought into the city’s UGB through a formal process for expansion. Based on the guidance provided by the pillars of Envision Eugene, the urban reserves process advances our community vision beyond 2032 and reflects deep collaboration among the City, County, community and service providers. Urban Reserves identifies land for housing, parks, schools and jobs needed by Eugene’s population in the long-term future, while implementing the area’s regional open space vision, including preservation of significant farm and forest land, waterways and natural resources. On July 20, 2015, as part of the City Council’s direction on the UGB, council directed staff to begin urban reserves planning and to bring a proposed urban reserve area back for City and County consideration within two years of UGB acknowledgement. As the UGB was acknowledged by the state of Oregon in January 2018, staff is planning to bring forward an urban reserves proposal for City Council and Board of Commissioners consideration by January 2020. If directed by decision makers to begin the formal adoption process, staff will prepare a complete adoption package and schedule the first formal public hearing by fall 2020.