Item 8: Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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Page 1 ot J. LOWE Allen 0 From: Steve Gab [sgab@rainbowvalleyinc.com] Sent: Monday, November 07,20051:08 PM To: *Eugene Mayor and City Council Cc: LOWE Allen D Subject: Chambers Special Area Zone Dear Mayor and Council Members, 1 urge you to approve the Chambers Special Area Zone under your consideration. The standards set forth are the culmination of a great deal of hard work by the Planning Commission, City Staff, and most importantly, many dedicated neighborhood residents. I'm sure there are a few flaws to be discovered--there always are, and I don't personally agree with every specific detail of the proposed standards--I never do! However, I am convinced these standards will provide the best possible road map to guide future changes in this particular part of our city for the foreseeable future. I share a few concerns as have been expressed by others and have the following thoughts/suggestions: 1) The UGB-busting pressures some are worried about are real and deserve a serious regiQng!. solution. But by the same token, those most likely to move, either to sprawling bedroom communities outside the UGB or to newly expanded UGB developments will be the "landed gentry" fleeing a deteriorating inner neighborhood. Implementing these standards will help preserve the desirable character of the existing neighborhood while allowing absorption of increased density in a more harmonious way. 2) Different standards for different areas of the city do present complications and challenges for those of us in the design and construction fields in Eugene. When possible, it is good to have clear, simple guidelines that apply everywhere. At the same time, as I believe Councilor Kelly has pointed out, applying these unique S-C/R-2 sub area standards as a blanket across Eugene could, in some cases, inappropriately restrict desirable higher density development in other areas. The solution? First, accept the fact that unique neighborhoods deserve unique standards-that's why the City Council sent the Nodal Development process back to the drawing board! The standards you see before you are a worthy outcome of Council's mandate to staff. Builders and developers whose concern is the long-term livability of all of Eugene are willing to accept the challenges presented by unique standards and are willing to learn enough about each area to work within those unique guidelines. Builders who aren't may not belong in this community. Second, don't try to apply a new "one-size fits all S-C/R-2 Chapter" to the entire city! Adopt this standard for tbt~ neighborhood, congratulate everyone for their hard work, and encourage staff to move on to the next target area where the hard work of looking at that neighborhood's uniqueness should be greatly infQ[med by this work, yet not controlled by it. 3) The future of Eugene and this neighborhood may unfold in unforeseen ways and these specific regulations could negatively restrict unanticipated positive Itopportunities" for higher density. Unfortunately, this is always true--by definition, planning is a crystal ball endeavor. For this reason, I would like to see a mandatory "sunset" review of g.!! land use regulations! For these specific standards, you could set up a future study (10 &/or 20 years?) to determine their success and potentially amend for unforeseen opportunities. As long as the integrity of the existing neighborhood and it's involvement is respected, such future reviews should be a welcome part of any neighborhood development standard. 1117/2005