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AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 26, 2016 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: Erik Berg-Johansen, Assistant Planner, Eugene Planning Division Subject: Appeal of Hearings Official Decision: Chamotee Trails PUD (PDT 15-1) ACTION REQUESTED The Planning Commission (PC) will hold a public hearing on an appeal of a Tentative Planned Unit Development (PUD) application that was recently denied by the Hearings Official. The appeal, filed by the applicant's representative, contests the denial of the application. As discussed further below, the application was reviewed under the Tentative PUD Criteria for Needed Housing. Deliberations on this appeal will occur beginning at the next regular meeting scheduled for February 8, 2016. BACKGROUND In February of 2015, the applicant submitted a PUD application for 10 buildable single-family lots and 1 common open space lot. The subject property is located on West Amazon Drive in the south hills of Eugene, just east of Fox Hollow Road. The property is zoned Low-Density Residential (R-1), and is surrounded by existing residential development within both R-1 and Agricultural (AG) zones. Staff recommended denial to the Hearings Official (HO) based on EC 9.8325(6)(c), which is referred to as the "19-Lot Rule." The subject property is located on West Amazon Drive, which at this location, is a dead-end street. Since there are already 36 existing properties using West Amazon Drive as the only means of vehicular ingress and egress, staff found that the proposed development did not comply with the 19-Lot Rule. A graphical representation showing the layout of lots and streets in the area is provided in Attachments A and B (Vicinity Map; Lots Accessing West Amazon Drive Map). A reduced version of the applicant's site plan is also included for ease of reference, as Attachment C. The 19-Lot Rule is not applied to every PUD proposal because it is only present under the PUD Needed Housing Criteria (as opposed to the General Criteria). In this case, the applicant elected to file the application under the Needed Housing Criteria. Unlike the more discretionary/subjective General Criteria, the Needed Housing Criteria are designed to be clear and objective. Proposals under the Needed Housing Criteria must also be proven to be "Needed Housing" according to State statute. During the open record period following the public hearing, the City's legal counsel prepared a memorandum for the Hearings Official that addresses relevant State statutes and "Needed Housing" issues presented by the appellant. That memo is included as Attachment H, and provides as useful background information for the commission as relevant to this appeal. The initial evidentiary hearing on this proposal was held on November 4, 2015. At the request of neighbor Ross Williamson, and agreed upon by all parties, the record was held open to allow for the submittal of additional evidence and testimony. Following close of the public record, the Hearings Page 1 PC Agenda - Page 1