Item A: Ordinance on Chambers Special Area Zone

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Ordinance Concerning Chambers Special Area Zone Meeting Date: October 12, 2005 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Allen Lowe www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5113 ISSUE STATEMENT This work session will introduce the Chambers Special Area Zone code amendments and overlay zone developed to address compatibility issues in the proposed Chambers Mixed Use Center area. A public hearing on this ordinance is scheduled for November 14, 2005. BACKGROUND On June 10, 2004, the City entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to conduct a Transportation Growth Management (TGM)-related planning project in the 81-acre Chambers Study Area. The Chambers Study Area is a mixed neighborhood with a blend of single family detached homes, duplexes, apartments, businesses, and industrial developments. The study area is largely defined by the ¼ mile “walkability” criterion for mixed use (nodal) thth development areas; the study area boundaries are 7 Avenue, Polk Street, 13 Avenue and Garfield Street. Previous planning efforts for this area in 1999 (Chambers Node Development Plan) and 2002 (Chambers /ND Overlay Zone) revealed a long-standing concern with City development standards by residents of the area. Many residents perceived that the City’s development standards, particularly the R-2 Medium Density Residential zone standards and multi-family development standards, were responsible for new development that was incompatible with existing development and destructive to neighborhood character. Many study area residents were skeptical of any increase of densities in the neighborhood that did not address design issues and the impacts of new development on neighborhood character and quality of life. This current project, known as Chambers Reconsidered, was initiated by the City to focus on issues of compatibility, density limits, and transportation improvements suggested by the 1999 study. The consultant team included Rowell Brokaw Architecture, Ron Kellett from the University of British Columbia, and transportation consultants PTV America. The project resulted in new infill and redevelopment standards for residential and commercial buildings that should improve the quality of new development, and recommendations for enhancements to various intersections that should result in improved pedestrian conditions within the study area. The proposed standards reflect existing lot patterns, create limits on the number of units that can be placed on lots, create a building envelope that reflects predominant existing structural forms (including shorter building heights), create greater allowances for alley access units, and establish lower height limits on commercial properties that abut residential zones. While reducing the allowable density in the R-2 zoned area, the Mixed Use Center is still projected to meet or exceed minimum density targets of the zone and Metro Plan. L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M051012\S051012A.doc