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AM WPIanning Memorandum Date: September 2, 2015 To: Fred Wilson, Eugene Hearings Official From: Erik-Berg Johansen, Assistant Planner, (541) 682-5437 Subject: Laurel Ridge Zone Change (Z 15-5) As discussed in the initial staff report, the Laurel Hill Valley Citizens (LHVC) neighborhood has submitted testimony regarding the applicant's proposed zone change. Staff did not have adequate time to review this testimony in detail before publishing of the staff report, and therefore the testimony was not extensively addressed in staff's original recommendation to the Hearings Official. As part of the open record period established following the public hearing, staff has reviewed LHVC's testimony in more detail and includes the following additional comments for the Hearings Official's consideration. Based on the additional testimony and further review, it is evident that the applicant and opponent's mapping methodologies differ in their level of complexity, and each appear have some inherent weaknesses worth pointing the Hearings Official's attention to. On the one hand, the applicant took a fairly rudimentary approach - they enlarged the adopted Metro Plan diagram and aligned the tax lots using 30th Avenue as a physical referent. The opponent's map, on the other hand, was derived from a more complex process. The opponents enlisted the services of Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) to produce a map using various ArcGIS layer files including a digital (but unofficial) version of the Metro Plan diagram and a digital tax lot layer. Some of the comparative differences in these methodologies are discussed further below, as relevant to the Hearings Official's task of determining whether the applicant's proposed zone change is consistent with applicable provisions of the Metro Plan. See EC 9.8865(1). The Applicant's Map Staff believes the applicant did not fundamentally err in their methodology. In fact, they did essentially what LUBA had prescribed in their prior decision to uphold the City's denial of a previous zone change application for the subject property - to scan the Metro Plan diagram into a digital format, enlarge it, and use 30th Avenue as a physical referent. The applicant obtained surveys of the 30th Avenue centerline and the subject tax lots; this allowed them to establish the relationship between 30th Avenue and the boundaries of the subject tax lots. Then, the applicant matched the surveyed 30th Avenue location with the Metro Plan diagram's representation of 30th Avenue (a solid black line). In theory, this "overlay" method is not incorrect and it will produce results with some degree of accuracy. Staff acknowledged this early on in the process, which is City of Eugene • 99 W. 10th Ave. • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541-682-5481 • 541-682-5572 Fax www.eugene-or.gov/planning Laurel Ridge Record (Z 15-5) Page 89