Item B: Walnut Station Mixed-Use Center

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standards are specifically crafted to incorporate buildings with windows and openings that support an active pedestrian environment. Buildings are required to be built near the front property line and parking is located to the side and rear, furthering the enhanced pedestrian environment. These design standards would be very difficult to meet for some uses, such as a big-box retail store. If such a building type were to be allowed within Walnut Station, it would have to go through the Design Review approval process. Having the design standards proposed for Walnut Station also allows for some uses, such as gas stations which are commonly prohibited from mixed use centers, as long as the design standards are met. The public process to develop form based codes is front-loaded, in that these codes are typically created through an iterative process involving the community and various stakeholders. Community members help to create the physical development they want by participating in the creation of form based codes, as has occurred throughout the five year process that has resulted in the plan proposed for this area. The approach to uses has been one of the focuses of developing this new code, and has also been vetted and crafted through the Technical Advisory Committee and the Stakeholders Group. In earlier draft code proposals, any commercial or residential uses currently permitted in the Eugene Code were permitted without Site Review or Conditional Use Permit requirements. Though the University, Chamber, and City were confident the design standards would adequately address the impacts associated with uses that currently require a Conditional Use Permit, neighbors remained concerned about potential impacts associated with some uses. The form based code was revised to add Conditional Use Permit requirements for some uses agreed upon by the Stakeholders Group. In additional to allowing commercial and residential uses, some with a CUP requirement, there is also a prohibited use list for uses that have negative impacts that cannot be addressed through design standards. Surface parking lots are an example of a use cited in testimony that requires Site Review in the current code but not in the Walnut Station Special Area Zone. This was a deliberate decision. Rather than assigning the requirement for surface parking lots to be processed through a Site Review process, the approach was to determine what benefits would result from the site review process and incorporate requirements that would lead to those benefits within the form based code. For surface parking lots th proposed within the 15 Avenue Transition Edge, there is a requirement for a ten foot landscape bed (rather than the standard seven foot bed). The application of Site Review to surface parking lots would not result in greater design or compatibility benefits than what is proposed within the Walnut Station Special Area zone. The building form, site and landscape standards are specific to the different areas within the Special Area Zone, to maximize the positive impacts of development in the area. The following clarifications are provided regarding interpretations of the code as provided in some of the testimony submitted relative to regulating uses. Temporary Activities, Collection Center, Collection of Used Goods, Home Occupation, Recycling, and Small Collection Facilities are all uses that have “Standards” associated with them, as noted by the letter “S” in the use table. Site Review is not required for these uses; the use list references uses that require a Site Review with “SR”. All required standards remain in effect in the Walnut Station Special Area Zone. It is also noted that noise and odor are not reviewed as a site review criterion as stated in the testimony; a noise and odor criterion is addressed through Conditional Use Permit review. th 4.Addressing the 15 Avenue Transition Edge: th Some of the testimony submitted indicates that the 15 Avenue transition edge has not been adequately addressed or acknowledged in the plan. The opportunity to protect the existing Fairmount neighborhood and provide a more graceful transition to a pedestrian oriented mixed use development of the Walnut th Station area was recognized early in the planning process. The property north of 15 Avenue is primarily Staff Response to April 20, 2010 Public Hearing Page 2 of 7