Applicant's Final Written Argument <br />Lombard Apartments <br />July 23, 2018 <br />Page 3 of 12 <br />EC 9.8815(): To the greatest possible degree, the intensification, change of use, or <br />development will provide the maximum possible landscaped area, open space, or <br />vegetation between the activity and the river. <br />This standard calls for buffering the activity from the river with landscaping, open <br />space or vegetation. Initially, it is important to realize that the subject property is not adjacent <br />to the river. It is adjacent to the City park, which is adjacent to the river. At this location, the <br />city park land between the subject property and the river includes: Vegetation along the river <br />bank; the improved city bike path along the top of the river bank. <br />This standard calls for balancing the right of the owner to develop to the density <br />allowed by the zone with the policy objective of maximizing open space, landscaping, and <br />vegetation close to the river. This calls for subjective judgments that the Needed Housing <br />statute prohibits the City from making. <br />EC 9.8815(2): To the greatest possible degree, necessary and adequate public access <br />will be provided along the Willamette River by appropriate legal means. <br />This site is not adjacent to the river. City park land is adjacent to the river. The public <br />has unrestricted 24/7 access to the river in the vicinity of this site via the 12-foot multi-purpose <br />path that hugs the river bank. The provision "to the greatest possible degree, necessary and <br />adequate" is subjective, value-laden language. <br />EC 9.8815(3): The intensification, change of use, or development will conform with <br />applicable Willamette Greenway policies as set forth in the Metro Plan. <br />There are 11 policies listed in the Greenway section of the Metro Plan as Section III- <br />D. The following policies are directive to the City and are not intended to be applied to <br />specific applications: D.1, D.2, D.3, DA, D.8, D.9. <br />The following policies are not relevant by their terms: D.6 (Industrial development), <br />D.7, D.10 (aggregate extraction), D.11 (Procedural requirements). <br />That leaves only Policy D.5 as potentially applicable. It says: <br />`New development that locates along river corridors and waterways shall be <br />limited to uses that are compatible with the natural, scenic, and environmental <br />qualities of those water features. " <br />The Applicant questions whether this policy is one that is relevant to this application. <br />This policy addresses types of uses that may be developed, not how a specific use is put on <br />the site. It would seem that the City has already made the ultimate policy choice that residential <br />use is a type of use that is compatible with the environment. If the situation were otherwise, <br />