Item 2B: Initiation of EWEB Special Area Zone

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Initiation of Land Use Code Amendments to Enable Consideration of the Eugene Water & Electric Board Riverfront Master Plan Meeting Date: September 24, 2012 Agenda Item Number: 2B Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Gabe Flock www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5697 ISSUE STATEMENT This item is a request for the City Council to initiate amendments to the land use code. City Council initiation is required to enable Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to present its proposed land use master plan for the EWEB riverfront site to the Planning Commission and City Council for consideration. See Attachment B (EC 9.7510). Initiation of such amendments does not infer council support for the amendments, but rather begins the public process through which the Planning Commission and City Council will consider the merits of the amendments. BACKGROUND The Eugene Code and the Eugene Downtown Plan require a master plan for the EWEB riverfront site prior to any redevelopment. In 2007, EWEB and the City entered into a MOU that directed the development of a master plan for the site. A community advisory team was jointly appointed by the EWEB Board of Commissioners and City Council to help guide the initial steps for the creation of a master plan. EWEB completed a conceptual master plan for the site in April 2010; it was approved by the EWEB Board of Commissioners in June 2010. Since that time, EWEB and their consultant team have prepared a package of proposed land use applications that, if adopted by the City Council, will ensure the City’s regulations allow the riverfront site to be redeveloped consistently with EWEB’s conceptual master plan. These land use components include:  Amendments to the Metro Plan diagram to reflect the vision for mixed-use redevelopment;  A new Downtown Riverfront Specific Area Plan and zone to guide redevelopment of the site;  Amendments to the Eugene Downtown Plan and Riverfront Park Study to remove obsolete sections;  Amendments to the Eugene Code to revise policies, criteria, and development standards for consistency with the new special area zone and specific area plan;  Rezoning of the subject property to the new special area zone designation; and,  A Willamette Greenway Permit. EWEB proposes a “hybrid” form-based code which uses a combination of traditional zoning and form- based development standards tailored specifically to the EWEB riverfront site and implementation of S:\CMO\2012 Council Agendas\M120924\S1209242B.doc