This month's Envision Eugene Newsletter provides updates on our new Online Land Use Code, Urban Reserves, the River-Road/Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan, House Bill 2001, Planning Staff, and our Internship Program. 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.

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

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are small housing structures built on a lot in addition to a primary residence. ADUs go by many names: secondary dwelling unit, backyard cottage, mother-in-law suite, and granny flat.

Often, these units have been built to provide housing to aging family members, long or short term rental tenants, guests, or adult children and offer privacy from the larger family home. The owner of the primary residence also own the ADU, which cannot be bought or sold separately from the primary residence.

ADUs can be either attached or detached from the main house. Attached ADUs are often located in a basement, top floor, or directly to the side of a house. These units must share a wall or ceiling with the main house, be smaller than 800 square feet, and not be taller than the primary residence. Detached ADUs can be found inside or above a detached garage or as a home in the backyard. They follow the same guidelines as attached ADUs, but they require a concrete walkway, separate entrance, and special fire safety precautions.

Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit can be a way for home owners to provide for family members, increase their lot potential, or gain income from renting the unit. In Eugene, ADUs are permitted in R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 zoning. This means ADUs can be built on any residential lot which allows for a single-family home.

Next time you’re out taking a stroll, see if you can spot ADUs in your neighborhood! Use our Housing Scavenger Hunt to spot different types of housing around you.

The City of Eugene is excited to announce the launch of a new mobile-friendly and accessible website to host the City’s municipal codes, including all of Chapter 9, Land use. Benefits of the site include faster code updates after ordinances are passed, advanced search options, legislative history tracking, and the ability to compare archival versions of the code moving forward. Users can also adjust settings, including font size and accessibility features. Navigating the code is fast and convenient. The code can also be downloaded in Word, PDF, and other formats for easy use during analysis.  You can even share code sections through email, links, and direct to social media. The new site makes it easier for users to access and review city code and is now live!

You can access the land use code by visiting: https://eugene.municipal.codes/EC/9.

Like many projects, the Urban Reserves timeline has been adjusted due to ongoing public health concerns regarding COVID-19. In March, we were preparing to present options to the community for broad input. We were working with the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee to narrow down possible Urban Reserve scenarios to a few. These options were going to be presented at large open-house events in April – something that became impossible to do. Since then, staff has been planning how to hear from you safely. Our previously scheduled March 19 EETAC meeting was held via Zoom, two months later, on May 21.

Beginning mid-June, our Urban Reserves webpage and Engage Eugene project page will host new information on Urban Reserve options and a variety of ways to provide input, including an updated story map, an interactive survey, Q & A forums, and narrated presentations. Please stay tuned for project updates and opportunities to engage. You can find previous work such as our land need infographic, technical analysis story map, draft suitability analyses, and web map on the Urban Reserves webpage.

To learn more about the Urban Reserves project, contact project manager Rebecca Gershow at 541-682-8816.

Fall 2019 Action Planning Phase Outreach Report

The Action Planning phase of the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan began in Spring 2019, following the development of draft policies designed to turn the neighborhood vision into a reality. The current phase involves creating a list of draft actions that will implement the draft policies, including new proposed programs, land use code changes, and community-led initiatives. Community input on the draft actions was gathered at the Pumpkin Pie and Planning event in November, through an online survey, and through focused outreach to underrepresented communities. The feedback and survey results are shown in the “ Fall 2019 Action Planning Phase Outreach Report”.

Neighborhood Conversation Summary

In early 2020, a series of small group discussions took place to gather community input about proposed land use changes as part of the neighborhood plan, specifically focusing on the River Road Corridor Study. Overwhelming interest from residents and property owners in the neighborhood led to scheduling additional meetings – 13 conversations in total, attended by approximately 200 residents. Groups of staff, volunteers, and community members met and discussed elements of the land use changes, sharing support and reservations. The input gathered during these meetings is compiled in the “ Neighborhood Conversation Summary”.

River Road Corridor Study

Check out the new River Road Corridor Study web map to explore the draft preferred zoning concept in more detail. More detailed draft code language is being developed this summer, and the project team is working to understand how state rulemaking for House Bill 2001 may impact the code.

Where Are We Headed?

The community's input will help inform the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and project staff as they refine actions and begin to develop the components to be included in the neighborhood plan adoption package. The project team will be exploring online or other remote options to continue outreach to the community. A community recommendation from the River Road and Santa Community Organizations and the CAC will be forwarded to Eugene and Lane County decision-makers to begin the formal adoption process later this year.

Web Updates!

Check out the project webpages for some new updates! Updates include new photos, recent outreach reports, and individualized topic area pages that include the latest draft vision statements, goals, policies, and actions with links to provide feedback expressing support or concern or to ask questions.

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.

During the 2019 Oregon Legislative Session, the state adopted House Bill 2001; a bill that requires Eugene to permit a duplex on each lot or parcel and triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters, and townhouses in residential zones. Eugene has until June 30, 2022 to adopt changes to the city’s land use regulations to implement this new state law. Given that the law was recently passed, the City is still evaluating the law, discussing its impacts, and drafting a plan to implement its requirements and for review by decision makers.

Part of the bill allocated funding for technical assistance grants to implement the bill. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) will be administering the funding. The City plans to hire consultants to develop draft design and code concepts to integrate middle housing types across Eugene’s residential zones. We anticipate using a variety of methods to gather public input on the concepts, with a focus on broadly accessible, representative, and equitable engagement. Planning staff submitted our grant proposal for a portion of the funding, and we are now waiting to hear back.

In the meantime, you can read the City’s House Bill 2001 FAQ. If you have any questions, please contact Terri Harding at 541-682-5635.

The Planning Team is excited to welcome Elena Domingo and Zoli Gaudin-Dalton!



While the City is in a “hiring pause” there will continue to be some personnel action; some positions had been recruited and finalized before the pandemic began and others are temporary, project related positions, or are internal postings. 

Elena is coming on board as an Assistant Planner and will be working on the River Road/Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan project as well as the Growth Monitoring project. Elena has worked for the City of Eugene for the past three and half years, previously in the City Manager’s Office supporting the Mayor and City Council and working on Homelessness and Climate policy. She moved to Eugene 10 years ago to attend the University of Oregon School of Law – where she received her J.D. with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources. Pursuing her passion for public policy and civic engagement, she has worked for state senators in both Oregon and California, but ultimately enjoys working at the local government level. She is excited to join the planning team in implementing the community vision for the future!

Zoli recently finished a 6-month internship with Planning and is excited to continue her work as a Program Assistant with the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan and the Growth Monitoring Program, specifically continuing the development of a parcel-specific land use map. Born near the redwoods of Northern California and transplanted to Southern Oregon, Zoli is wrapping up her 4th year at the University of Oregon, pursuing a double major in Spatial Data Science & Technology and Planning, Public Policy & Management.

In early Spring, we posted an internship opportunity for a Middle Housing Outreach intern to prepare for our work implementing House Bill 2001. Due to the public health crisis, this has been the first completely virtual internship we have hosted. Our intern, Olivia, has been hard at work researching ways to equitably engage our community on projects during this unprecedented time. We are grateful to have Olivia working with us and demonstrating resilience by quickly adjusting to an entirely virtual internship. The team is planning to continue offering internship opportunities and will adjust workplace conditions to accommodate public health and safety.

The Planning Team is proud to have an Internship Program that offers competitive internships for current students and recent graduates. Our internships provide opportunities to earn academic credit toward completion of a degree, develop and work on thesis projects, and gain practical skills in a professional environment. You can find posted internship opportunities on our internship webpage.

To learn more about the Internship Program, contact Jennifer Knapp at 541-682-5445.

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