March 10, 2025 Meeting – Item 6 <br />honored by making it the only stormwater facility required for the subject land. Councilor Clark requested that staff provide a response to Mr. Butler’s testimony and asked if the City’s NPDES permit would prohibit the City from honoring previous land use approvals as Mr. Butler suggests. Staff concur that the NPDES permit would not override a previous land use approval where the approved development plans (which are attached to a performance agreement signed by the City and the applicant after every approval of a land division or PUD) included approval of a stormwater facility to serve the development site. The Eugene Code gives the applicant for a partition, subdivision, or PUD the option to explicitly include in its proposed plans a development feature that it is not required to be addressed at that initial stage of development (EC 9.8215(1)(k), 9.8220(1)(k), EC 9.8515(10(i), 9.8520(7), 9.8320(10)(k), and 9.8325(5)(k)). When an applicant does so, and successfully addresses the applicable development standards in place at that time, the feature is approved and that approval is honored by the City. This means that the future development on the site does not have to re-address the development standards for that feature, even if the City has changed the development standards since the approval. Councilor Clark asked about shifting stormwater quality conditions over time. Staff responded that stormwater quality standards have changed over time. As a requirement of NPDES permit renewals, the City’s first stormwater quality requirements first took effect in 2006, were updated in 2014, and are being proposed for update in 2025. Councilor Groves expressed concern about frequently hearing from builders and developers over confusion and perception of shifting standards, and asked about outreach to our building community. The staff response is that staff met with WOBA representatives and private engineers several times before and during the Planning Commission stormwater code update process. The proposed code amendments were revised in several ways to respond to concerns raised by WOBA and other public comments while keeping the proposed amendment in alignment with the NPDES Permit. Staff recognize that the current code is complicated and can be difficult to understand, and staff have attempted to draft the proposed amendments to be clear and easier to understand. Upon adoption of the amended Code, staff will update information on the City website as needed, provide outreach through notifications and newsletters to our local building and engineering community, and provide training to City staff performing plan reviews. In response to the public testimony, City staff have had additional discussions with Mr. Butler to get a better understanding of his concerns. In the interest of addressing those concerns and the shared concerns about the costs of developing housing, staff are now presenting the City <br />Council with a revised ordinance proposed for adoption. The ordinance attached to this AIS, as Attachment A, would retain an exemption that is included in the current code, but with a limitation. The ordinance considered at the City Council’s public hearing showed a total deletion of the current code’s stormwater quality exemption for single-unit dwellings or duplexes on lots created prior to March 1, 2014. In the ordinance attached to this AIS, the exemption is retained with a revision to add a date limitation. The addition of the July 14, 2006, start date reflects the date on <br />CC Agenda Page 525