HomeMy WebLinkAbout190123 WSMINUTES – Eugene City Council January 23, 2019 Page 1
Work Session
M I N U T E S
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
January 23, 2019
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Jennifer Yeh, Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark. Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Claire Syrett
Councilors Absent: Greg Evans
Mayor Vinis opened the January 23, 2019, Work Session of the Eugene City Council.
1. WORK SESSION: Clear & Objective Housing – Approval Criteria Update Senior Planner Jenessa Dragovich and Principal Planner Alissa Hansen provided a project update of the Clear & Objective Housing: Approval Criteria Update, including the Draft Preferred Concepts Report. Council Discussion
• Councilor Taylor – asked questions about the legal process for revising or dismantling a refinement plan, and outreach to and involvement of residents; expressed concern that the proposal represented a drastic change to adopted plans.
• Councilor Clark – suggested that analysis should happen earlier in the process and include information in the Buildable Lands Inventory; supported listing the constraints upfront.
• Councilor Syrett – noted that mitigation was required for other building process, similar to the tree preservation component.
• Councilor Zelenka – said he was challenged by the open space proposal; seems like a weakening of existing requirements.
• Councilor Semple – expressed concern about the tree preservation proposal; asked questions about the data around current practices and how the parameters/scale will be determined under the proposal.
• Councilor Pryor – acknowledged the in-depth work of the Planning Commission on this issue, in an effort to bring the Clear & Objective standards into alignment with what is being developed.
• Councilor Yeh – said the Planning Commission did a good job of vetting the proposals; findings will be needed to adopt the Planning Commission recommendation on the open space requirement.
• Councilor Clark – said more time is needed for council to think about and deliberate on the recommendations, which represents a significant change in policy.
• Councilor Zelenka – requested clarification on several of the recommendations.
• Councilor Taylor – said the setback requirement is important and that it is impossible to mitigate the removal of mature trees.
• Councilor Semple – expressed her general support for the recommendation; asked questions about the proposed setback proposal.
• Councilor Clark – asked if future comprehensive lands assessments will be done on a lot-specific basis; still has significant concerns and questions about the overall policy direction.
• Councilor Zelenka – said streamlining development in thoughtful manner is good; there is still ample time to hear testimony and consider and revise the proposal.