Item 8: Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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Eugene Mixed-Use Residential Development Principles The PDD publication, "Mixed-Use Development in Eugene - Design Principles for More Livable Neighborhoods," states: <(Public acceptance of mixed-use development requires that we address the compatibility oJ new residential development with existing development to assure privacy. sqlety and visual coherence. " This sound principle recognizes that mixed-use development, and the higher density that may accompany it, require effective protections for existing residential areas. This principle also implicitly acknowledges that any strategy to increase density will ultimately fail if it damages a healthy established neighborhood. Another relevant PDD publication, "Nodal Development in Eugene," states: "All redevelopment and infill should respect the scale and character of the neighborhood. and site plan.s should integrate existing uses if possible. " Reviewing Eugene's area and local goals, policies, and development principles, one can't help but wonder: Why has Eugene implemented development standards in the land use code (e.g., Eugene Code Chapter 9) that almost entirely neglect the protection of existing neighborhoods, despite the many places in which this policy is stated? Answering that question is beyond our knowledge. Our response to the current lack of protection for CR neighborhoods is to try to establish a path for Eugene that will prevent further erosion and destabilization of its irreplaceable close-in, residential neighborhoods. Policies to protect healthy neighborhoods close to the urban center recognize the importance of these neighborhoods to the entire city. When neighborhoods around the city's core thrive, they provide the people and activity that are essential for a vibrant city center both day and evening. Healthy close-in neighborhoods also greatly improve the appeal of the city center and help draw in residents who live farther out for work, shopping, and cultural events. In contrast, when close-in neighborhoods are destabilized and spiral into decay, the damage is two-fold. Economically-mobile families in the neighborhood move further out to find new, more pleasant residential areas - thus exacerbating sprawl. 10 And, decaying urban neighborhoods become costly public safety burdens and a substantial drag on revitalization of the downtown core. The first step along a path to protect the residential areas within the CR project area is to understand them and to develop a concrete description of the elements 10 Ironically. the current poorly designed and overbuilt infiU being developed in Westside and other close-in neighborhoods may be increasing, rather than reducing, pressure for development towards or beyond tlle UGB. NQvember 1, 2005 Chambers Revisited - Neighbors' Report 10