Item 8: Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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The problems caused by inappropriate infill don't arise from lack of sensible land use policies. Woven throughout the governing Eugene/Springfield Metro Plan and local refinement plans are policies to protect established neighborhoods while encouraging higher overall density. These policies reflect Eugene residents' often-stated desire to slow urban sprawl while fostering livability in the neighborhoods they call home. Where we've gone astray is by treating neighborhood protection and higher density as conflicting goals, rather than recognizing that policies to protect established neighborhoods should guide land use decisions so increased density is done sensibly and has a better chance of accomplishing the real objective, which is to slow residential development at or beyond the city's edges. Simply trying to dictate higher density will fail in the face of market-driven realities. Instead, for Eugene to achieve the overall objective of compact growth, people must perceive value in living closer to the city center. People must want to live there~ no one can force them to live there. Healthy neighborhoods are essential to compact growth To attract investors, owners, and tenants to higher-density residential development in the urban core, we need to see our charming, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods as essential assets, not to be squandered. A simple pair of immediate changes in zoning regulations are necessary to protect these assets: Limit the number and size of dwellings based on each lot's size so infill is compatible with established neighborhood character. In conjunction with these protections, we should create incentives that target new apartments, townhouses, and other higher-density projects to specific, appropriate sites within or adjacent to established neighborhoods so new housing provides the attraction of a safe, walkable neighborhood with a verdant natural environment, including a canopy of mature trees. Well-designed, higher-density developments sited this way can offer an attractive alternative to families who would otherwise look farther out, truly lessening the pressure for sprawl. Such projects can add many more dwelling units to the core urban area than piecemeal injection of duplexes and triplexes into neighborhood backyards. Thoughtful, appropriately-sited medium-and high-density developments can also help stabilize established neighborhoods, especially when sited along neighborhood boundaries where residential streets transition into commercial areas. Well-designed, stabilizing developments can serve a variety of income levels, too, as demonstrated by the low-income Aurora apartments downtown. Preventing the decline of established neighborhoods and promoting high-quality multi-family residential development on appropriate sites is especially important for areas the City hopes to develop as "mixed-use centers" (MUCs), such as the potential Chambers MUC in our area. Planners have dreams that MUCs will evolve into bustling, pedestrian-friendly mixes of fairly dense housing and neighborhood businesses. But the envisioned neighborhood businesses will spring up only when there's a sufficient nearby population to buy the businesses' goods and services. In many of the contemplated MUC areas, developers will have to build new medium- to high-density apartments, condos, or town houses. Otherwise, the existing neighborhood population - even with piecemeal, backyard infill- won't be enough to support new business. 2