BOHNER Rodney T <br />From: <br />Stephen Fuller-Rowell <stephenfr2@gmail.com> <br />Sent: <br />Friday, January 29, 2021 2:02 PM <br />To: <br />BOHNER Rodney T <br />Cc: <br />Whiteaker Community Council <br />Subject: <br />1400 Cross Street Zoning Change <br />To: Rodney Bohner, Planner, City of Eugene <br />Date: January 29, 2021 <br />From: Stephen Fuller-Rowell and Abigail Bridge, 91 N. Polk St <br />Copy: Whiteaker Community Council <br />Re: 1400 Cross Street, MA 20-2 / RA 20-2 / 20-8 <br />We live at 91 N. Polk directly across the road from this project. We attended the Planning Commission hearing on <br />January 26 online. We are cautiously supportive of this application so long as the main elements of our concerns are <br />addressed by the City. <br />We whole-heartedly support all efforts by the City to make more housing units available to those with limited income in <br />Eugene. The ever-increasing numbers of unhoused people on our streets cause us great concern. We appreciate that <br />this requested zoning change may allow some eventual residential development on this property. (We are on record as <br />supporting DevNW's Polk2 project). <br />We have these comments that we did not hear addressed directly during the January 26 hearing: <br />1. Traffic: Before the pandemic began to affect traffic volumes, we had noted that it was getting ever more <br />difficult to turn onto Railroad Boulevard from North Polk, particularly when attempting to head east. This was <br />particularly true during commute hours. On occasion, one of us would resort instead to heading west to cross the <br />railroad tracks on Chambers in order to reach downtown by coming in from the west. Since early 2020, this has been <br />less of a problem due to lower traffic volumes during the pandemic. We request that any traffic studies used to <br />predict future impacts on this difficult intersection not rely on traffic studies done while traffic volumes are at these <br />temporarily low levels. <br />2. Height: While we support Whiteaker Special Area Zoning in principle, we are concerned that building height <br />limits under that zoning (45 feet) would be incompatible with the one-story surrounding neighborhood. We request <br />that when the time comes for the present owner or a future owner to formulate a specific redevelopment proposal, <br />that compatibility with adjacent uses be made a primary design element. Additionally, views of the western horizon <br />from here are often spectacular! <br />3. Setbacks: The Whiteaker is a walkable and livable community. We would hope that the eventual developer of <br />this property ensures that setbacks and sidewalks allow it to remain attractive for local residents to walk to their <br />destination from here, whether this is for shopping on Blair or to catch the bus at the intersection. <br />4. Whiteaker Community Council: Ian Winbrock, a Whiteaker Community Council (WCC) board member, testified <br />at the January 26 hearing in support of this project. For the record, WCC itself has not yet formally endorsed this <br />particular zoning change application. Nevertheless, we the undersigned do enthusiastically endorse the speaker's <br />