ATTACHMENT 4 <br />AM <br />Planning Commission <br />Memorandum <br />Date: January 23, 2024 <br />To: Eugene Mayor and City Council <br />From: Eugene Planning Commission <br />Subject: Planning Commission Recommendation for the River Road -Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan <br />On December 5, 2023, the Eugene Planning Commission passed two motions recommending City Council <br />adoption of the proposed River Road -Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan, Metro Plan Amendments, and <br />Neighborhood -Specific Code Amendments. This memo is intended to provide additional context and insight <br />into the Commission's evaluation and recommendation of the adoption package, which puts in place a new <br />Neighborhood Plan with vision statements, goals, and policies to guide the next 20 years of development in a <br />part of the community home to more than 32,000 people. <br />From the beginning of the planning process, five topic areas were identified to organize the plan: Economic <br />Development, Land Use, Transportation, Parks and Natural Resources, and Community. Each of these topic <br />areas outlines a vision statement, goals and policies that tailor the City's overall vision to the characteristics of <br />the River Road and Santa Clara communities. Over the course of the six phases of the neighborhood plan, a <br />foundation of community support was built and suggestions for improving the plan were continually added. <br />Beginning around 2019 however, numerous factors affected the trajectory of the work and shifted the nature <br />of attainable plan outcomes. These factors include the Covid-19 pandemic, state legislation on middle housing, <br />climate friendly and equitable communities, and housing production, staff turnover and budget constraints. <br />Given these factors, the project staff team proposed a shift in approach to land the project in late 2022. <br />The Neighborhood Plan itself, developed with five years of input, technical advisory committee work, and <br />multiple rounds of vetting and refinement, remains a strongly supported product of the planning process. The <br />Community Advisory Committee, River Road and Santa Clara Community Organizations, and Eugene and Lane <br />County Planning Commissions all voted to support adoption of the Neighborhood Plan. As the City of Eugene's <br />Citizen Involvement Committee, we applaud the engagement efforts of the neighborhood planning process <br />and the thousands of volunteer hours it took to get to this point. Our motion to recommend approval of the <br />Neighborhood Plan and associated Metro Plan Amendments was unanimous. <br />The Commission also considered repealing the 1987 River Road Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan and replacing <br />it with the new Neighborhood Plan. Based on testimony and staff analysis of the purpose and effect of the two <br />plans, the Commission decided to keep the 1987 Plan in place along side the new Neighborhood Plan. The two <br />City of Eugene • 99W. 10th Ave. • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541-682-5481 • 541-682-5572 Fax <br />www.eugene-or.gov/planning <br />