CC Minutes - 10/08/01 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Brad Stangeland, 285 Lawrence, commented that there were other professionals besides certified landscape architects that could be trusted to approve landscaping plans. Douglass Moorehead, 1460 Flintridge Street, commented that if the new code language was not amended, development would move to outside the city limits and builders within the City would be put out of business. He urged the council to return to the old code language. He opined that the new code language was "over regulation" and "foolish." Robin Hostick, 2150 Adams Street, maintained that allowing only licensed landscaped architects to plan and review landscape designs would maintain public health, safety, and welfare. Jou Belcher, 1190 West 17th Avenue, Chair of the Eugene Planning Commission, made himself available to answer questions from the council during its deliberations. Councilor Taylor closed the public hearing. In response to a question from Councilor Farr regarding the reasoning behind the 18-foot maximum width for driveways, Ms. Bishow said that the primary reasoning was to improve neighborhood livability and to eliminate the amount of front yard setback area that was devoted to the driveway. She noted that there was no prohibition on the size of the garage or the total number of cars that could be parked off street. Councilor Farr commented that his idea of streetscaping did not have cars lined up along the street and houses without enough parking to have a guest park. He added that an 18-foot driveway did not allow enough room for cars to park side-by-side and said that to enable two cars to park in a driveway, it would have to be extended in length which would add impervious surface and affect the 50 percent maximum lot coverage rule. Ms. Bishow said that staff had done further analysis on the driveway width and had agreed that there was an unintended consequence of adding to impervious surface area of a home. She acknowledged that the Planning Commission recommendation of a 27-foot maximum would accommodate the straight drive-in entrance and exit of a two-car garage. In response to a question from Councilor Farr regarding the previous code language limitations, Ms. Bishow said that the previous code allowed for 50 percent of the front yard setback to be landscaped and the rest was allowed to be driveway. She noted that staff had recommended using the old code language until more analysis could be done. She said that this could be accomplished by a motion to amend Section 28 of the ordinance to modify subsection (7)(a)(2) by deleting the last two sentences. Councilor Farr raised concern that a maximum width of 18 feet would cause complications with disabled people who had needs for extra space for vehicle access. MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 8, 2001 Page 5 Regular Session