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DRAFT WILLAMETTE RIVER GREENWAY DESIGN PLAN "Maximum possible" is not defined by Goal 15, but because Goal 15 contemplates development within the Greenway boundary, it is clear that the "maximum possible landscaped area, open space or vegetation between the housing development and the river" must mean something other than "no development between the river and the Greenway Boundary." Instead, read in the context of Goal 15's allowance for development in the Greenway, it is clear that "maximum possible landscaped area, open space or vegetation between the housing development and the river" requires reservation of enough landscaped area, open space, or vegetation to preserve the character of the Greenway and the river, while still allowing the development within the Greenway Boundary that is clearly contemplated by Goal 15. The Greenway Setback restricts the development of structures within 100 feet of the top of bank of the Willamette River, preserving the setback area as open space. The setback area and open space serve to protect, conserve, enhance and maintain the natural, scenic, historical, and recreational qualities of lands along the Willamette River. Additionally, the clear and objective standards included in the land use code amendments that accompany this Design Plan require a ten-foot landscape buffer between the housing development and the river. Additionally, the standards prohibit walls and fences within the Greenway Setback, require that fencing outside the setback be semi-transparent. Together, the open space preserved by the setback and the required native landscaping serve to create a protective buffer and a visual screen between housing developments and the river. The 100-foot Greenway Setback is consistent with the setback from the Willamette River included the City's adopted /WR Water Resources Protection Overlay Zone as a Goal 5 resource protection measure. The /WR Water Resources overlay zone assigns a conservation setback to the Willamette River, measured horizontally from the top of high bank, or when the top of high bank is not identifiable, from the line of ordinary high water (EC 9.4920(1)(c)1.). Within the conservation area, which includes the resource and the setback, the /WR Water Resources overlay zone restricts new development, removal of riparian vegetation, and other conflicting uses. The land use code amendments at EC 9.8812, which accompany this Design Plan, include provisions for permitted and prohibited uses in the Greenway Setback consistent with the permitted and prohibited uses allowed in the /WR Water Resources overlay zone. The land use code amendments which accompany this Design Plan restrict development of structures, removal of riparian vegetation, and other conflicting uses within the Greenway Setback. The Greenway Setback complies with Goal 15's requirement for maximum possible open space by allowing development of housing as contemplated by the Goal, separating that development from the river, and requiring the amount of open space between the development and the river that the City has already determined is protective of the Willamette River as a natural resource. The only properties not subject to the 100-foot setback are properties subject to the Willakenzie Area Plan or zoned S-DR Downtown Riverfront Special Area Zone or S-RP Riverfront Park Special Area Zone. The Greenway Setback applicable to those properties was set by the Willakenzie Area Plan or Eugene Code sections 9.3147 or 9.3715. Those land use regulations have been acknowledged by the Land Conservation and Development Commission; therefore, the provisions of those land use regulations, including their Greenway setbacks, have been determined by the Land Conservation and Development Commission to be in compliance with the statewide planning goals, including the requirements of Goal 15. The findings above show that, in concert with the administrative review procedure and clear and objective standards included in the land use code amendments that accompany this Design Plan, the Greenway Setback will, to the greatest possible degree, protect the qualities of the Willamette Greenway and provide the maximum possible landscaped area, open space or vegetation between the housing development and - Page 69 of 91 WILLAMETTE RIVER GREENWAY CODE AMENDMENTS 34