Item 3: Ordinance Concerning Jefferson/Far West Plan Amendments

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The City shall encourage the rehabilitation of the existing housing stock through both public and private reinvestments. [Jefferson-Far West Refinement Plan, page 27 and 28] The proposed Refinement Plan Amendment only changes the first and third sentences. EC 9.8424 (I) requires that a Refmement Plan Amendment be consistent with the remaining portion of the Refinement Plan. The sentence which reads "The City shall explore methods of encouraging an increase in residential density yet maintaining the character of the area" remains. The proposed Amendment by reducing the allowable density is discouraging an increase in residential density and as such is contrary to the intent ofthe policy. Granted the idea behind this amendment is to address inappropriate in~fill and it could be argued inappropriate in-fill does not maintain the character of the area, is not the but the solution for this problem are design standards not a prohibition on in~fin through the reduction of density. As the proposed Refinement Plan Amendment by discouraging rather the encouraging in-fill is not consistent with the remaining portions of the Refinement Plan as a result it fails to meet criteria contained in EC 9.8424(1) and as a result should be rejected. As the proposed Refinement Plan Amendment fails to meet any of the Refinement Plan Amendment Approval Criteria contained in EC 9.8424 I recommend that the Planning Commission in its submission to the City Council not recommend the approval of the proposed Refinement Plan Amendment and instead recommend that the matter of inappropriate in-fill be addressed through thedevelopnlentof d.e~ign standards. Metro Plan Approval Criteria The Eugene Code in EC 9. 7730(3) contains the following criteria to be applied by the City Council in thealJproval of a Metro Plall amel1.dlnent: (3) Criteria for Appro\l"alofPlan Amendment The following criteria shall be applied by the city council in approving ori.lenying a Metro.Plan amendment application: (a) The amendment must be COI1Sl.stellt \vith the relev"ant State".vide Planning Goals adopted by the Land Conservation and Development Commission; and (b) Adoption of the amendment must not make the Metro Plan internally inconsistent. [EC9.7730(3)] For the reasons given above in the discussion of the Refinement Plan Amendment's consistency with the relevant state wide planning goals, incorporated here by reference, the proposed Metro Plan amendment fails to satisfy the criteria in BC 9.7730(3)(a). \ " Similarly, for the reasons presented above in the discussion of the Refinement Plan Amendment's compliance with the Metro Plan, incorporated here by reference, the proposed Metro plan amendment is not consistent with Policy A. 13 and thus is Makes the Metro Plan Hinkley l~estimony on:rvlA. 06...5, f(a 06-3 and (~A 06-1 5 Decelnber 2006 Page 7 of 12 pages