Have you ever wondered how one of the housing types from our meet the housing types series got built, what a flag lot is, or even how to testify at a public hearing? This informational series hopes to answer some of these questions.

This series will focus more on what is being built today and will set you up to have fun conversations with friends about what can be built next to where they live, how zoning works, and what a Planned Unit Development is. Or, perhaps those are just the conversations we have with our friends. Our fifth article in the series is below.

In our last two articles, we discussed partitions and subdivisions which are used to divide land in Eugene. In some cases, a Planned Unit Development (PUD) is required before someone can apply for a partition or subdivision. Though it is also worth noting that PUD’s can also be required for development that does not involve land division. PUD’s are the most robust land use application in Eugene requiring two phases of review and the consideration of a variety of factors. 

The first phase of review is a tentative PUD and the second is a final PUD. The tentative PUD is concerned with ensuring services can be provided, compatibility with surrounding development, and special factors from adopted plans that are sensitive to specific areas in Eugene. In addition to considering the surrounding area, the approval criteria also require consideration of open space and access to nearby areas for future residents. At the time of a final PUD, any conditions of approval from the tentative are reviewed and serve as the approval criteria.

PUD’s are required when property has a /PD Planned Unit Development Overlay, is located in the south hills of Eugene over a set elevation, or when a proposed use of a property requires the PUD. PUD’s are unique because they can also be submitted when someone has an idea that requires flexibility. In such a case, someone can choose to submit an application for a PUD and request flexibility during the review process. Next month we will provide more information on the review process and explain who the decision-makers are for certain land use applications, for PUD’s it’s the Eugene Hearings Official. In the meantime, if you are interested in getting emails when the City receives Land Use Applications, you can sign up to receive our Land Use Activity email. 

To see the zoning of a property please visit our digital zoning map, below. If you are curious about standards and regulations for a particular zone, you can visit Chapter 9 of the Eugene Code. For more questions about zoning, you can contact Althea Sullivan.

The Middle Housing project is underway and moving fast! February was a busy month and overall we received 741 surveys, held 15 meetings and events, created two new profiles on social media, and heard from renters and homeowners, community members in every ward and of every age, and folks who had never been involved with City processes before. February outreach results were shared at the March 9th and April 13th Planning Commission work sessions and a full report of all February outreach is now available. The report shares survey results, RoundTable summaries, and recaps events, meetings, and social media outreach. Some highlights are below:

Eugene's first random, lottery-selected panel has almost wrapped up. The panel is comprised of 29 community members that represent Eugene's demographics-- a microcosm of Eugene! They've been meeting since the Fall to learn about housing and land use in Eugene, discuss values and principles, and recommend an approach to the City. At their February meetings, the panel evaluated whether the City should go beyond the minimum required to comply with House Bill 2001. Their report on the code concepts can be found here and next month, after the culmination of the panel, the newsletter will feature a more detailed look at the panel's process and work, including their final report and recommendations on community engagement in general.

The Equity RoundTable includes participants from organizations representing underserved communities and serves to provide an equity lens to the project. The RoundTable also evaluated whether to go beyond the minimum required to comply with House Bill 2001. Their meeting summary can be found here. The clip below features an Equity RoundTable participant presenting her experience to the Planning Commission.

The Middle Housing Survey was open on the English version of the Engage Eugene page from February 5 to March 8 2021 and received 730 responses. A Spanish Engage Eugene page and survey were published from February 19 to March 19, 2021 and received 11 responses. In total, we received 741 survey responses. The survey provides a snapshot of community perspectives on middle housing. Overall, community engagement was overwhelmingly supportive of going beyond the minimum standards required by the state and implement a hybrid of the Encourage and Incentivize options.

Throughout February we also expanded our social media reach most notably with 5 Facebook Live events, the use of Instagram, and by hosting a Reddit "Ask Me Anything". On 3 platforms we had 19 social media posts, 4,000 views, and over 100 comments.

February was a busy month and there's even more outreach happening throughout April and May. Coming up:

We’ll be returning to the Planning Commission to seek direction on code language on April 26th and May 17th before heading to Council on May 24th. Meeting materials and links to watch meetings live will be posted on the project webpage. Additionally, we will be holding the last of our Healthy Democracy, Equity RoundTable, and Local Partners and Boards and Commissions RoundTable as well as a developer focus group.

Thank you for spreading the word about opportunities to engage with this project! More resources can be found on the project webpage, Engage Eugene, Facebook, Instagram, and by signing up for our Interested Parties List. If you have any questions about the project, contact Public Engagement Lead Sophie McGinley.

The urban growth boundary (UGB) is the cornerstone of land use planning in Oregon. It is the line that separates urban uses from rural uses with the aim of protecting our farm and forest resource lands while making sure we have enough space for the needs of a growing urban population to live, work and play. Oregon is one of three states in the U.S. that require cities to establish a UGB. The urban growth boundary must contain enough land for housing, employment, parks and schools for the next 20 years of projected population growth. Currently, Eugene has enough land inside of its UGB to meet projected growth needs until 2032. However, if population projections change or we stop developing land in roughly the same way we have been, then we could grow faster or slower than projected.

Eugene’s Growth Monitoring Program will allow us to regularly analyze how quickly the city’s land is developing and when additional growth strategies may be needed, such as compact development strategies or a UGB expansion. The graphic below depicts the Growth Monitoring Program cycle. Data collected will be compared to previous assumptions and if those results are significantly different, then a new analysis of whether our UGB can still accommodate our growth will be initiated. If the UGB analysis shows that Eugene is developing differently than assumed, but there is still enough land within the UGB to allow for growth, then no further action is needed and the growth monitoring cycle will continue. However, if the analysis shows that there is not enough land in the UGB then efficiency measures (also called compact development strategies and incentives) will be implemented. If there is still not enough land, the city will consider expanding its UGB into areas pre-identified as Urban Reserves. 

We are coordinating our Urban Reserves planning with the work of our Growth Monitoring program so that Urban Reserves are in place before the UGB is re-examined. Without Urban Reserves in place, state law would likely limit future UGB expansions for housing to only certain areas classified as ‘exception areas’ or ‘non-resource lands’ like Rural Residential or Rural Industrial land. Many of these areas are already developed to some degree and have a low likelihood of redevelopment if brought into the UGB. In addition, past studies have shown that most of these lands are small and unconnected to other areas making them expensive to serve with utilities and they also may not meet our community’s needs. If we don’t have Urban Reserves in place when there is a need to expand our UGB, then our choices will be limited to only these areas. Urban Reserves gives us additional options for creating complete neighborhoods and for meeting the goals of Envision Eugene if and when there is a need to expand.

For more information on Growth Monitoring, please visit the project webpage, watch the most recent update to City Council, or contact Program Manager Heather O’Donnell. For more information on Urban Reserves, please see our project webpage or contact Project Manager Rebecca Gershow.

It’s important to us that community members know when someone has applied to develop their property through the land use application process. City staff are always happy to discuss a project before the formal review, and can provide information about what the formal review process will be to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to review and comment on a project. Sign up to start receiving emails that list recently submitted projects.

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