CC Minutes - 06/09/10 Work Session

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Ms. McKinney provided contextual information regarding the Walnut Station Mixed -use Center and noted that it was aligned with the City's growth management policies. She further noted that Eugene's adopted strategy to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as required by the State, also known as nodal development areas, was also served by the project. Ms. McKinney showed the nodal development areas under the TransPlan and stated that the site for the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center was within the TransPlan parameters. Ms. McKinney described the boundaries of the plan area for the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center and maintained that the area was well - poised to take advantage of a number of factors that support mixed -use development projects. Ms. McKinney outlined the public engagement process for the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center and noted that five open house events and several meetings with stakeholders and property owners regarding the project had already taken place. Ms. McKinney reported that the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center stakeholders group was comprised of representatives of the City of Eugene, the Fairmount Neighborhood Association, the University of Oregon and the Eugene Chamber of Commerce. She further expressed that the purpose of the stakeholder group had been to provide a forum to discuss and mediate a variety of concerns surrounding the project. Ms. McKinney described how staff s public engagement work had led to the creation of the vision statement for the project, "Walnut Station Vision: A Gateway to the City." Ms. McKinney further noted that the vision statement was intended to demonstrate the City's determination to increase density while maintaining the character of the surrounding neighborhood. Ms. McKinney discussed traditional zoning codes as they had applied to previous development in Eugene. Ms. McKinney maintained that such codes had historically resulted in highly unpredictable development. Ms, McKinney defined form based zoning codes as a method of regulating development to achieve a specific urban form. She further discussed how form based codes would be applied to the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center She added that existing City building codes would still apply to the Walnut form based code. Ms. McKinney presented a series of images that demonstrated how the development of the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center would affect the development of the Franklin Multi -way Boulevard. Ms. McKinney noted that staff proposed a special setback for the Franklin multi -way boulevard and had commissioned a great deal of conceptual design work to demonstrate the minimum right -of -way needs for the area. Ms. McKinney noted that the Franklin multi -way boulevard project was part of a series of United Front Partners projects and had been strongly supported by Congressman Peter DeFazio. Ms. McKinney described the adoption process for the Walnut Station Mixed -Use Center project and also described the various code and plan amendments that would be required. MINUTES— Eugene City Council June 9, 2010 Page 4 Work Session