CC Minutes - 09/18/00 Work Session

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Eugene can, under Oregon law, limit the hours of a commercial operation in a residential neighborhood. Ms. Nathanson said that merely because people live in multi-family units did not mean they were not deserving of a wonderful residential neighborhood. Ms. Taylor was concerned about the impact of the motion on neighborhoods. She said that regardless of the hours, commercial operations produce traffic and noise, and she would be hesitant to support the motion. Mr. Farr thought the results of the motion could enhance neighborhoods and the uses that were built would not draw people to a neighborhood from other areas of the city. He said that he did not want to do anything that would adversely affect the ability of families and individuals to afford housing, and asked staff to keep that in mind as it considered the issue. Ms. Bettman noted the advice of Mayor Pat Conden of Vancouver, BC, that cities not over commercialize and that they densify incrementally. She also noted neighborhood resident concerns about vacant commercial parking lots after hours, and suggested that having housing above commercial uses would neutralize that problem because the use then became a 24-hour use. Mayor Torrey arrived at the meeting. The motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. Mayor Torrey assumed the chair. City Manager Jim Johnson arrived at the meeting. Housing Affordability and Variety Ms. Bishow asked the council to discuss whether the right mix of housing was being provided in the residential zones, and the degree to which nonresidential uses were permitted in those zones. She also described the key factors influencing housing costs. Referring the council to a matrix distributed prior to the meeting entitled Dwelling Types by Zone, Ms. Bishow described proposed code changes related to housing variety. She added that the Metro Plan assumed that a portion (30 percent) of the land planned for residential use would be developed with auxiliary uses such as streets, schools, parks, churches, and public facilities. Mr. Meisner asked staff to develop text for a motion to prevent the conversion of housing in the residential area west of downtown to housing. Ms. Nathanson referred to page 2 of Theme Area 4, Housing Affordability and Variety, and the statement which indicated that smaller lots generally provided greater opportunity for homeownership opportunities than housing constructed in the form of apartments. She asked about the relationship of that statement to infill flag lots or granny flats, asking if those would generally be rental properties. She asked if a majority of property owners wanted to subdivide and sell a portion of their property. Ms. Bishow said that the basis for the statement was that a house on its own legal lot can be owned, as opposed to an apartment building, where there was MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 18, 2000 Page 6 Work Session