CC Minutes - 09/12/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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B. WORK SESSION: Initiating Code Amendments for Downtown-Related Zoning City Manager Taylor recalled that the item was scheduled for a work session after the council removed it from the July 18 Consent Calendar. He introduced Nan Laurence of the Planning and Development Department, who provided the council with a PowerPoint presentation on initiating code amendments for downtown-related zoning regulations. Ms. Laurence provided some background, explaining that the idea for a new zone for downtown arose from the Downtown Vision and was supported by the Downtown Plan, which was adopted by the council in April 2004. Implementing the Downtown Plan was a council priority issue. At the direction of the Planning Commission, staff worked with the Eugene Redevelopment Advisory Committee (ERAC), a council- appointed committee, to identify some issues related to development under the current code. Following a review of that work, the commission expressed consensus that the City needed to reexamine some of the requirements in the code. Ms. Laurence identified two goals for the project: 1) to align the Land Use Code with Growth Management Policies and the policies in the Downtown Plan; and 2) to support, encourage, and reinforce a vibrant, active, densely developed downtown. The City's overall goal was to develop zoning regulations that allowed an intensity and density of uses downtown and helped to implement the Downtown Plan. Ms. Laurence said the commission found there were gaps and overlaps in the regulations as well as conflicts. The commission agreed the code needed to be more consistent and effective in implementing the Downtown Plan. Downtown was at a competitive disadvantage to parts of the community in regard to costs and existing regulations increased that cost. Ms. Laurence shared maps of the existing downtown zones with the council to illustrate the complexity of the various zones and overlays. Ms. Laurence emphasized that the commission communicated to staff the message that flexibility was key to successful facilitation of creative projects. The commission was looking to create a balance in implementing the council's direction as expressed in the Land Use Code adopted in 2002, and the Downtown Plan, adopted in 2004. The commission believed there were areas of the code that could be improved. Ms. Laurence shared a preliminary list of issues that the commission believed warranted further examina- tion, suggesting that the council and public would likely add more items to the list. The list included: 1) transit-oriented development (TOD) overlay; 2) requirement for nonresidential uses on the ground floor; 3) limitation on surface parking; and 4) bicycle parking. Ms. Laurence elaborated on each issue, beginning with the TOD overlay. She said the overlay included a density requirement, or Floor Area Ratio (FAR) that may not be producing the desired results, and staff wished to take a closer look at that. Another concern in regard to the TOD overlay was its boundaries, which did not include all of downtown and extended outside downtown. Speaking to the issue of the FAR, Ms. Laurence shared two examples of development that represented the same amount of density; one example covered the entire development site with a one-floor building, while the second example showed a two-story structure occupying half the development site. MINUTES-Eugene City Council Work Session September 12, 2005 Page 4