This month's EUG Planning Newsletter provides updates on planning for racial equity and social justice, our new newsletter name, meet the duplexes, the Urban Reserves Virtual Open House and survey, Middle Housing/House Bill 2001, and the River Road/Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan. We hope you'll find this information useful and reach out if you have questions. As always, you can find more information on all of our work by visiting our website. We wish you and your families good health and hope to see you Downtown, soon.

It’s been a very difficult few weeks for our country. Set against the backdrop of a global pandemic that has disproportionately affected communities of color, the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has highlighted the deep systemic inequalities in our society. The protests and calls for change have affected our Planning team deeply on both personal and professional levels. Social equity has long been a core value of the City of Eugene and the planning profession, but there is a lot of work to be done to make sure anti-racism is embedded in our policies, codes, and processes.

To do this, we need to be clear-eyed about how planning processes have contributed to inequality. From land use policy to “redlining” zoning codes and public engagement methods that fail to include or reach communities of color, planning in Oregon and across the nation has perpetuated exclusion and discrimination.

As a department, we are looking at ways to right these historical wrongs. We are working more closely with city staff in the Office of Human rights and Neighborhood Involvement, as well as local community organizations committed to social justice, to make sure the future is more inclusive than the past. Our professional organization, the American Planning Association, has published a policy statement on righting historical wrongs as well as publishing a suite of resources for furthering social equity in planning projects.

These are the first steps in a learning journey for us, but we are determined to use the tools at our disposal to become more effective allies. We welcome your participation as we move toward a more just and equitable community together.

Envision Eugene is our collective vision for how we will grow while preserving what we love about our community. To encompass more projects and expand our reach, we have changed our newsletter and Facebook names to “EUG Planning”. If you’re already receiving the newsletters and following us on Facebook, no action is needed. J ust stay tuned for exciting planning updates. As we shift our public engagement to more online platforms in the wake of COVID-19, you can expect to see more active posts on Facebook, the creation of a EUG Planning Instagram (coming soon), and more!

For questions or comments about Eugene Planning and social media, or to sign up for our newsletter, contact Sophie McGinley, 541-682-5476.

In the wake of House Bill 2001 and our upcoming Middle Housing project , we are conducting a series on each housing type we'll be discussing in that project, the second of which is Duplexes. Stay tuned for introductions to and photos of more housing types.

A duplex is a housing structure which contains two separated dwellings each with their own entrance. The word, “duplex,” comes from Latin, “du” meaning two and “plex” which means to fold together. This structure is also called a “twin home,” “semi-detached home,” “paired home” or “two-family dwelling.” Nationally, nearly 1 in 5 renters are living in a structure with 2 units. These are not rare housing structures, but they are sometimes just really good at disguising themselves. Often, two units with a duplex will have an identical layout, architectural style, and square footage.

There are a few different kinds of duplexes: side-by-side units, one unit on top of the other, or a "craftsman duplex" that looks like a single-family house. Duplexes can provide a less dense option for renting often with some open space, later-in-life downsizing, or additional rental income. Some say there is more personal security in a duplex since there is a greater chance of a neighbor being close by.

House Bill 2001 states that, n o later than June 30, 2022 , Eugene must amend the City’s land use regulations to allow: a duplex on each lot or parcel : that is located within city limits, that is zoned for residential use; and on which the City’s land use regulations allows the construction of a detached single-family dwelling.

Currently , duplexes can be built in Eugene only on larger, corner lots in areas zoned R-1 and on all lots in R-2, R-3, and R-4. Additionally, new duplexes can not be constructed in the city recognized boundaries of Amazon Neighbors, Fairmount Neighbors, and South University Neighborhood Association.

Next time you’re on a stroll in your neighborhood, look to see if you can spot a house with two entrances or two-house numbers. That’s probably a duplex!  Use our Housing Scavenger Hunt to spot different types of housing around you. For more information, check out our Missing Middle Handbook .

With the help of many stakeholders, we have completed the project’s technical and suitability analysis and have developed a range of Urban Reserve Options for review. We will take these options—with the input we receive—to City and County decision-makers later this summer and fall for their direction, with a goal of adoption by next spring.

The state gives communities flexibility when selecting the size of an Urban Reserve – we can designate enough land to meet the needs of between 10 and 30-years of population growth (from 2032 up to 2062). We have developed four Urban Reserves options that range in size and we want to hear from you! To review our four Urban Reserves Options, read through our Online Options Story Map. It gives project background, explains the high level pros and cons of each option, and is interactive. After you visit the Options Story Map, check out our Engage Eugene page; it includes our online survey, project materials, and a link to sign up for virtual office hours with project staff.

Take the survey by July 26 ^th to share your thoughts and be entered into a drawing for a $100 grocery gift card.

if you have any questions about the Urban Reserves project, visit the Urban Reserves webpage or contact project manager Rebecca Gershow at 541-682-8816.

A lot has happened since our last update. In our last newsletter, we shared that Eugene had applied for a grant from the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) for assistance implementing House Bill 2001. We are happy to announce that we were allocated $150,000 in grant funds! This funding will enable us to expand our public engagement for the project and hire consultants to develop our Land Use Code amendments.

Monday June 22nd staff presented the project’s Draft Public Involvement Plan to Planning Commission. This was the Planning Commission’s first-ever virtual meeting and their first meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff provided an overview of the project and discussed how we plan to move forward with public involvement in the midst of COVID-19 and how we plan to center our work around equity, including responding to the Black Lives Matter movement. The full presentation can be watched online.

We also updated our Middle Housing Implementation/HB 2001 webpage! It now includes more details and links to learn about the bill, current happenings, our engagement process, and the complex history of residential zoning. Stay tuned for more project updates and engagement opportunities.

If you have any questions about the Middle Housing Project or the Public Involvement Plan, contact Sophie McGinley at 541-682-5476.

After not meeting since February, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan met on June 16th via Zoom and will continue to meet virtually each month. The next meeting is scheduled for July 21st at 6:00pm. At the June meeting, the CAC discussed next steps for the Action Plan, which includes identifying community priorities and developing a strategy for ongoing implementation. The public is available to join online and watch or provide comment as the CAC moves forward in the Action Planning phase of the neighborhood plan.

We want your feedback! Visit the topic area webpages to view the latest draft vision statements, goals, policies, and actions and click on them to provide your input on any specific item.

To learn more about the Community Advisory Committee and upcoming meetings, visit the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan Get Involved webpage.

To learn more about the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan or the River Road Corridor Study, contact project manager Chelsea Hartman at 541-682-5686.

It's very important to us that community members know when new projects are proposed and have a fair chance to review and comment. Signing up for land use updates is a great opportunity to learn about upcoming projects and issues that are important to you.

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