Item 2: Ordinance on Land Use Application Timeline Extensions

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Public Hearing: An Ordinance Concerning Time Extensions for Approved Developments; and Providing an Effective Date Meeting Date: October 19, 2009 Agenda Item Number: 2 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Gabe Flock www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5697 ISSUE STATEMENT The City Council will hold a public hearing to consider a proposed ordinance that would provide a three-year extension to the expiration period for approved land use applications. BACKGROUND Earlier this year, as part of the City’s local economic stimulus efforts, the City Council moved to initiate proposed amendments that would provide timeline extensions for approved land use applications. When land use approvals expire, the applicant is required to repeat the land use application process in order to move forward, which can be costly and time consuming. The proposal will allow development projects that have already undergone extensive public process and received City approval, but may be slowed down or stalled due to difficult economic conditions, to have more time to be completed. Several cities in Oregon including Portland, Bend and Gresham have recently amended local codes to provide similar extensions to land use approval timelines. In Eugene, the proposed time extensions would include over 100 existing land use approvals which could expire without extension. The vast majority of these existing approvals are for subdivisions and partitions which have no other option under the current code provisions to extend expiration periods. Public Outreach Public outreach efforts have included communication with other local jurisdictions, information on the City’s website, and notice to a wide array of interested parties including local land use professionals, frequent applicants and developers, the Chamber of Commerce, the Lane County Home Builders Association and all Neighborhood Associations. Staff also met directly with several interested parties to discuss the proposal. The initial written public testimony is included as Attachment B, for reference. Several refinements have been made to the proposed ordinance based on the public input received. Planning Commission Recommendation The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed timeline extension ordinance on September 22, 2009, and took action the same night to unanimously recommend approval of the ordinance with a three-year time extension. While it was recognized that the City Council’s initial direction focused on extension of previously approved applications, the Planning Commission also requested that council consider expanding the scope of time extensions to applications currently in process and all new applications made within the next year. Testimony at the Planning Commission also recommended revisiting the need for additional time extensions in the event that a continuing Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M091019\S0910192.doc