Item A: Eugene Water & Electric Board Riverfront Master Plan

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Eugene Water & Electric Board Riverfront Master Plan Meeting Date: May 15, 2013 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Gabe Flock www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5697 ISSUE STATEMENT This work session will include an overview of Eugene Water & Electric Board’s (EWEB) Riverfront Master Plan process to date, and provide an opportunity for the council to learn more about the land use applications included in the request, in advance of the upcoming public hearing. As a reminder, this is a quasi-judicial process which requires that the initial work session be limited to factual information and questions about the request. The council should avoid prematurely expressing opinions or deliberating on the merits of the proposal in advance of the public hearing, which is scheduled for June 17, 2013. BACKGROUND The Eugene Code and Downtown Plan require the council’s approval of a master plan for the EWEB riverfront site, prior to any redevelopment. In 2007, EWEB and the City entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that directed the development of a master plan for the site. To help accomplish this task, a nine-member community advisory team (CAT) was jointly appointed by the council and EWEB Board of Commissioners to help guide the creation of the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan. The CAT met bi-weekly over the course of two years with the assistance of EWEB staff and their consultants, as well as City staff, in the development of the conceptual master plan. After a series of public meetings, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups intended to solicit a broad cross- section of community input, the conceptual master plan was completed in April 2010, and unanimously approved by the EWEB Board of Commissioners in June, 2010. Since that time, EWEB’s consultant team has prepared a package of proposed land use applications that, if adopted by the council, will ensure the City’s regulations allow the riverfront site to be redeveloped in accordance with the conceptual master plan. This package of land use applications received a unanimous (7:0) recommendation for approval by the Eugene Planning Commission on March 11, 2013, following the initial public hearing and deliberations. The recommendation includes a number of modest refinements to the proposed code which are being incorporated into the draft ordinance for the council’s consideration. S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130515\S130515A.doc