Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout250623 WSMINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 June 23, 2025 5:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Eliza Kashinsky, Matt Keating, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Lyndsie Leech, and Randy Groves Councilors Absent: Alan Zelenka Mayor Knudson opened the June 23, 2025, work session of the Eugene City Council in a hybrid format at 500 E 4t h Avenue, North Building, Eugene OR 97401. 1. WORK SESSION: Urban Growth Strategies -Policies and Actions UpdateCity Manager, Sarah Medary, introduced Terri Harding, Principal Planner, and Leah Rausch and Heather O'Donnell, Senior Planners, to provide an update on the Urban Growth Strategies project, including draft policies for Eugene's Comprehensive Plan and proposed actions to meet Eugene's housing and jobs needs. Councilor Discussion: • • • • • Councilor Clark -noted staff offered to meet with Councilors individually before the meeting but he declined, preferring his initial impressions to be recorded in the public meeting; asked how centers differ from nodal development; asked about the lessons learned from nodal development; noted home ownership is the one of the best ways to create generational wealth; asked how the City is addressing ownership versus renting. Councilor Groves -noted the presentation addressed housing but did not address the business side; stated the other half of affordable housing is living wage jobs; suggested community outreach to employers to get their feedback on workforce housing; stated the importance of addressing the business and employment component in addition to housing. Councilor Evans -asked for the definition of urban form; noted the City recently secured six million dollars from the State to support infrastructure development in the Clear Lake area; asked about planning code changes to promote more housing development in West Eugene. Councilor Kashinsky -stated the Comprehensive Plan Policies and the Housing & Jobs Actions are headed in the right direction; noted meeting the City's housing and growth goals will be a challenge; noted there are common threads from plans from previous decades; asked how this plan is different; asked how community feedback has changed over recent years. Councilor Yeh -stated the Comprehensive Plan Policies and the Housing & Jobs Actions are headed in the right direction; asked if the goal to improve Middle Housing permitting and communication by 2026 will be affected by budget MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session June 23, 2025 Page 1 issues; asked about the definition of vertical mixed-use housing and if it is hard to implement; asked for information about removing site reviews and Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlays in certain areas; stated her support for Micro Villages; stated her support for home ownership. •Councilor Keating -stated his support for vertical mixed-use housing along transportation lines; noted it is aesthetically displeasing and potentially a public safety concern to have buildings built up to the sidewalk; asked if there is an opportunity to create an aesthetics committee to promote compact urban development; asked how parking ties into plans for vertical development; stated his opposition to expanding the Urban Growth Boundary into the south hills. •Mayor Knudson -stated her interest in the work around centers; noted economic development opportunities around housing are also known as neighborhood amenities; noted neighborhood amenities are walkable locations that add to the neighborhood character; noted the importance of prioritizingwalkability for the success of a center; stated support for exploring the delay of System Development Charge (SDC) collection until the point of occupancy for small and mid-sized developers; asked if there is a scaling strategy for the Micro Village collective co-housing type model; asked how the potential temporarywaivers differ from current programs in downtown. •Councilor Clark -asked about increasing home ownership through land use planning and zoning; asked how Council can increase home ownership in the community; asked if they are looking at new land planning through the lens ofhighest taxable value; stated taxable value should be a criteria to consider. •Councilor Evans -asked if Fern Ridge was the key mitigation strategy for wetlands on the west side; asked if there are other mitigation strategies for wetlands replacement; asked how many mitigation banks are owned by the City; asked how we are addressing a future Urban Growth Boundary expansionfor sustainable housing growth; asked if the land banking included unused or under-used agricultural lands; stated he hears community feedback in favor of retaining those lands for agricultural use. •Councilor Kashinsky -noted aesthetics are a matter of opinion; asked if there is work at the State level to increase home ownership; noted condos and middle housing are an important tool to increase home ownership. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session June 23, 2025 Page 2 Respectfully submitted, Katie LaSala City Recorder (Recorded by Cherish Bradshaw) Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session June 23, 2025 Page 3