LAW OFFICE OF BILL KLOOS PC <br />OREGON LAND USE LAW <br />375 W. 4TH AVENUE, SUITE 204 <br />EUGENE, OR 97401 <br />TEL: 541.954.1260 <br />WEB: WWW.LANDUSEOREGON.COM <br />BILL KLOOS <br />BILLKLOOS@LANDUSEOREGON.COM <br />October 6, 2023 <br />Eugene Planning Commission <br />Lane County Planning Commission <br />c/o Elena Domingo <br />Eugene Planning Division <br />99 West 10th Avenue <br />Eugene, OR 97401 <br />Sent Via Email: RRSCPlan@eugene-or.gov <br />RE: RRSC Plan and Code Amendments <br />Eugene Files MA 23-5 and CA 23-3 & County File 509-PA23-05532 <br />Dear Commissioners: <br />This letter is filed on behalf of Kevin Journey and Action Rent-All & Events. The latter is <br />among all the C-2 uses that are being cut in half with the current, proposed code amendments. <br />This letter raises questions about the refinement plan changes. <br />The current refinement plan, although a bit tatty around the edges due to age, has all of the <br />essential elements that the Metro Plan says a refinement plan should have. First, it makes the <br />Metro Plan more specific by adding detail that helps determine what the plan designation is for <br />specific parcels. Second, it has specific, robust, mandatory policies to be applied in making site- <br />specific land use decisions. In short, the current plan has good planning legs. <br />The plan proposed for adoption has neither. First, there is no land use plan; it is missing in <br />action. Likely it was not overlooked or accidently left on the cutting room floor. Why, for gosh <br />sakes, is the City proposing to drop the land use plan from a refinement plan? What is the <br />thinking? Second, the proposed plan has no binding policies in the land use element that would <br />apply in the context of a land use application. None. Just “should” and “encourage” and <br />“pursue” and “update” and “monitor” and so on. There are no ultimate policy choices to apply in <br />making land use decisions. This is a refinement plan in name only. <br />If this document does not contain either a land use plan diagram or mandatory policies for land <br />use decisions, is it really a refinement plan? What is it refining? Not the Metro Plan Diagram <br />because it does not refine that diagram. Not the Metro Plan plan text because it adopts no <br />binding land use policies. Maybe it should be labeled as something more generic – like “RR-SC <br />Visioning Statement.” <br />The emphasis in the Staff Report is on describing the new language being adopted, which all soft <br />stuff. The Commission needs to focus equally on the existing plan being consigned to the plan <br />10