EUGENE CITY COUNCIL <br />AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY <br />Public Hearing: An Ordinance Concerning Utility Service to Support Economic <br />Development in the Industrial Corridor (CA 17-2) <br />Meeting Date: May 15, 2017 <br />Department: Planning and Development Department <br />www.eugene-or.gov <br />ISSUE STATEMENT <br />Agenda Item: A <br />Staff Contact: Denny Braud <br />Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5536 <br />City Council will hold a public hearing to consider a land use code amendment intended to help <br />facilitate economic development opportunities within an area known as the "Industrial Corridor" <br />in northwest Eugene (see vicinity map included as Attachment A). To allow industrial <br />development to proceed efficiently in the area where annexation is not currently possible, the <br />proposed land use code amendment would require binding annexation agreements, along with <br />enabling extension of sanitary sewer and water service outside the City limits where necessary. <br />BACKGROUND <br />The subject area is represented by the Industrial Corridor Community Organization ("ICCO"), <br />which is a non-profit, formally recognized community organization. The ICCO boundary is <br />generally the large triangle of land lying between the Northwest Expressway on the east and the <br />Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to the west and north. <br />Much of the subject area is currently outside the City limits but within the UGB. The lack of certain <br />urban services like sanitary sewer, and the lack of contiguity with City limits, has hindered the <br />ability for a number of properties to annex and pursue development plans in the near term. This <br />is a barrier to our community's high-priority goal of supporting jobs and economic development <br />on lands already planned for industrial development. If left unaddressed, development proposals <br />and job creation will continue to be constrained in this area. The proposed land use code <br />amendment is designed to address the issue while making sure City services are adequately and <br />fairly funded. Consistent with the goals and objectives of Envision Eugene, the Regional Economic <br />Prosperity Plan, and the Metro Plan. encouraging development and redevelopment within the <br />ICCO area has the potential to create highly-desirable manufacturing jobs within local key <br />industries. <br />Property outside the City but inside the UGB (as is the majority of the ICCO area) was previously <br />able to annex even if the property was not contiguous to City limits, provided that the Lane County <br />Boundary Commission approved the request. However, with the abolishment of the Boundary <br />Commission by the Legislature in 2008, annexations must now be contiguous to City limits. In <br />addition to making it difficult to develop unless property first annexed, these changes also have <br />the effect of precluding non-contiguous annexations, which in turn prevents the annexation of <br />