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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 19513ORDINANCE N0. ~ ~ AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN. The City Council of the City of Eugene finds that: 1. The Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan Metro Plan} was adapted by the Eugene City Council on July 28, 1980, and amendments thereto have been subsequently adoptd by Ordinance. 2. On August 18, 1987, the Planning Commissions of the Cities of Eugene and Springfield and Lane County held a public hearing on a request by Harry N. Ruth to change the Metro P1 an Diagram designation of Tax Lots 1111 and 1201, Assessor's Map 17-04-35-0 0 located an the northeast carnet of West 11th Avenue and Bailey Hill Road from Light-Medium Industrial designa- tion to Commercial designation. 3~ The Lane Cvunty.Planning Commission and Eugene Planning Commission at their respective meetings on September 1, 1987 and September 14, 1957 voted,to deny,the requested Metro P1 an Diagram change, and the Springfield Planning Comm~ss~on, because of a tie vote, voted unanimously to approve the request at its September 2, 1987 meeting. 4. On October 14, 1957 the Eugene City Council and Springfield City Council held a joint public hearing on the requested Metro Plan Diagram change. 5. Findings in support of adoption of this amendment to the Metro P1 an Diagram are set forth in Exhibit "A" attached hereto, and incorporated herein by reference. 6. Based an the above record and findings, the City Council concludes that the Metro P1 an amendment set forth below is consistent with the Land Conservation and Development Commission statewide land use planning oafs, 9 with the unamended portion of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area Gen- eral P1 an, and with other applicable City plans and policies . NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY OF EUGENE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The findings set forth above, and the findings contained in Exhibit "A" attached hereto are adopted, and incorporated by reference. Section 2. The Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General P1 an Dia- gram is amended to redesignate Tax Lots 1111 and 1201, Assessor's Map 11-03- 18-13 from Light-Medium Industrial to Commercial designation. Passed by the City Council this 28th~day of October, 1987 r C ty Recorder Approved by the Mayor this 28th day of October, 1957 Mayan j E?~HIBIT ''A" HARRY RUTH PLAN AMENDMENT FINDINGS 1. The Plan amendment is consistent with applicable Statewide Planning Goals. The Statewide P1 anni ng Goal s whi ch are most applicable to this request are #1, citizen Involvement; #2, Land Use Planning; and #I2, Transportation. Findings have been prepared by the applicant showing that the request conforms to these and other goals. The applicant's findings are accurate and are hereby made a part of these findings by reference. Approval of this request may have a si gni fi cant i mpact ~ beyond the immediate area by potentially encouraging additional commercial development to the west along Wiest 1lth. If thi s were to occur, Statewide Planning Goal Z waul d define the amendment as a major plan change. ~. The Plan amendment is consistent with the fundamental principles and applicable policies of the Metro Plan. The amendment is consistent with Metro Plan fundamental principles and pot i ci es . The request i s particularly compatible with policy 5 of the Economi c element, and policies 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the Environmental Design element. Pal i cy 5 of the Economic element states "'Increase the amount of undeveloped land paned for light industrial and commercial uses correlating the effective supply in terms .af suitability and ava~lab~l~ty with the projections of demand." This policy is intended to increase supplies of commercial and light industrial lands, and insure that these Lands are suitable and available for their designated uses. The Alternative Industrial Growth Areas Stud Y indicates that there is sufficient industrial land to meet current demand in the metro area, with the possible exception of large-lot heavy industrial property ~Conclusians Z, 3 and 9, pages 1-2 and 1~3}. Recent studies, such as the M~ d-Pere od Revs ew Report, Metro Plan Monitoring Report and the Alternative Industrial Growth Areas Study confirm the scarcity of commercial 1 and relative to the metro area industrial land supply. Other portions of these findings provide additional detai 1 cancerni ng the site's increased sui tabi 1 i ty for commercial uses, based upon the need for fewer site alterations, and based upon changes in circumstances which have changed nearby traffic patterns and increased the metro area's need far additional commercial land. Redesignation of this property to commercial would satisfy the suitability intent of this policy. Pal i ci es 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the Envi ranmental Design element state: ~2) '"Natural vegetation, natural water features, and drainageways shall be protected and retained to the maximum extent practicable, considering the. economic, social, environmental, and energy consequences in the design and construction of urban developments and landscaping shall be utilized to enhance those natural features," (4) "'Public and private facilities shall be designed and located in a manner that preserves and enhances desirable features of local and neighborhood areas and promotes their sense of identity." (5~ 'Carefully develop sites that provide visual diversity to the urban area and t' optimise their visual and personal accessibility to residents. (fi) "Local jurisdictions shall carefully evaluate their development regulations to ensure that they adequately account for environmental design considerations, such as but not limited to site planning and landscaping of developments." A portion of the subject property is located on Stewart Road Knoll, which rises about 50 feet above the surrounding level land. Commercial development of the subject property would require i ess rnodi f i cati an of the site ` s existing features than would industrial land uses, as i ndustri a1 site preparation would mast likely involve more extensive earth moving. Commercial zoning with provisions far site review would f aci 1 i tote maintenance of the site's natural features more effectively than the present industrial designation . Therefore, approval of the amendment promotes the intent of Environmental Qesign policies ~, 4, 5 and 6. 3. The Plan amendment is found to address one or more of the following: ~a) An error in the publication of the Plan; or ~b~ Circumstances have changed in a substantial manner that was not anticipated in the Plan; or ~c) l ncorporation into the Plan, fallowing acknowledgement, of newly- inventoried material which relates to a Statewide Planning Goal; ar (d~ A change in public policy. The request addresses item 3(b). ~b~ There have been two changes in circumstance since Plan adoption which justify the amendment: a demonstrated lack of commercially designated land and a more-than~-adequate supply of industrial land; and the future construction of two major road improvements in the vicinity. As stated earlier in these findings, studies camp1eted since Metro Plan adoption indicate a relative shortage of commercial land in the metro area compared to the industrial 1 and supply. This i s a substanti a1 change of circumstances which was not anticipated in the Metro Plan, as the original land allocations were assumed to be adequate to meet expected demand. As cited in the Metropolitan Area General Plan Technical Supplement Page 16~, it was assumed that 7$0 additional acres of commercial land was needed to meet anticipated commercial demand for a metro area population of 295,700. Almost one quarter ~23~~ of these acres were allocated to neighborhood commercial uses and commercial developments associated with special light industrial sites. Since there has been little neighborhood commercial and special light industrial development taking place since Plan adoption in 19$2, this has acted to concentrate commercial land demand on the remaining commercially designated acreage. Approval of this request would address the proven need for additional commercial land in the metro .area, while making a relatively insignificant subtraction from the adequate industrial land base. Two major road improvements are planned for the vicinity of the amendment: construction of the west Eugene Parkway, and enlarging Bailey Hill Road to 5 lanes. The applicant states that this potential for increased traffic increases the site's value as commercial property and decreases its desirability far industrial purposes, Construction of these major roadways will act to shift traffic patterns away from West 11th and onto the best Eugene Parkway. West 11th wi11 no longer be the primary route for industrial users. Properties which are closest to the West Eugene Parkway will have increased value for industrial purposes, whereas property along West 11th will have their commercial viability increased due to the shift of through traffic onto the Parkway. These major highway improvements serve as a substantial change of circumstances which increases the subject property's suitability for commercial purposes. p1 jcruth