recommends keeping the required native landscape buffer at 10 feet based on the available <br />information at this time. <br />Public/Pedestrian Access <br />The draft code contains approval criteria that address on-site pedestrian access and public <br />access to the river. Proposed on-site circulation access standards are designed to be consistent <br />with the recently passed Middle Housing code amendments which trigger the additional <br />pedestrian circulation standards at a threshold of five dwelling units or more. The draft code <br />also includes a standard that requires a public access connection when a development site is <br />not within 500 feet of a mapped public access point. The intent of this standard is to promote <br />public access connection spacing along the Greenway that is not more than the length of a <br />standard block. Taken together with the map of existing public access connections included in <br />the Design Plan, these standards work together to provide a clear and objective means of <br />addressing public access. At the work session, staff will revisit this topic and request input from <br />the Commission about potential changes to these standards based on additional public input. <br />Tree Preservation <br />In response to public testimony received as part of the Greenway code adoption process, and in <br />recognition of the high degree of community interest in the topic of tree preservation, staff <br />would also like to present some additional information and request Planning Commission input <br />on tree preservation in the Greenway based on the tree preservation standards included in the <br />"Clear & Objective" code amendments. The "Clear & Objective" code amendments represent a <br />significant amount of additional, careful consideration of the need for better clear and <br />objective tree preservation standards for a variety of land use application types such as Planned <br />Unit Developments, Subdivisions and Site Reviews. They also reflect policy choices that relate <br />to the level of tree protection versus mitigation for tree removals, balancing the overall interest <br />in removing barriers to new housing, and where the regulations should apply. For these <br />reasons, the Clear and Objective Ordinance provisions (see Ord. 20647 beginning at EC <br />9.6885(2)) appear to be a good starting point for considering whether not to further revise the <br />draft code to add tree preservation standards to the approval criteria for clear and objective <br />track Willamette Greenway Permits. Note that the Clear & Objective ordinance was appealed <br />and is not currently in effect. <br />For purposes of discussion at the work session, staff will provide relevant information from the <br />Clear & Objective Ordinance (Ord. 20647) and present some possible concepts for how those <br />standards may be incorporated into the clear and objective Willamette Greenway Code <br />Amendments. <br />NEXT STEPS <br />As noted in prior materials for this project, the proposed land use code amendments are <br />subject to Type V application (legislative) procedures (EC 9.7500 through EC 9.7560), as well as <br />the approval criteria in EC 9.8065. Planning Commission held the legally required initial public <br />hearing on March 8, 2022 with an additional one-week open record period. At this juncture, <br />staff recommends that the Commission re-open the Planning Commission record and direct <br />Page 7 of 91 <br />