Planning Commission

AGENDA Meeting Location: Sloat Room—Atrium Building Phone: 541-682-5481 99 W. 10th Avenue www.eugene-or.gov/pc Eugene, OR 97401 The Eugene Planning Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. Feel free to come and go as you please at any of the meetings. This meeting location is wheelchair-accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM assistive-listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hour notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hour notice. To arrange for these services, contact the Planning Division at 541-682-5675. MONDAY, MAY 20, 2019 – REGULAR MEETING (11:30 am) A. PUBLIC COMMENT The Planning Commission reserves 10 minutes at the beginning of this meeting for public comment. The public may comment on any matter, except for items scheduled for public hearing or public hearing items for which the record has already closed. Generally, the time limit for public comment is three minutes; however, the Planning Commission reserves the option to reduce the time allowed each speaker based on the number of people requesting to speak. B. WORK SESSION: URBAN RESERVES (90 minutes) Staff: Rebecca Gershow, RGershow@eugene-or.gov, 541-682-8816 C. WORK SESSION: FRANKLIN BOULEVARD TRANSFORMATION PROJECT (30 minutes) Staff: Larisa Varela, LVarela@eugene-or.gov, 541-682-6887 Commissioners: Steven Baker; John Barofsky; Tiffany Edwards (Vice Chair); Lisa Fragala; Chris Ramey; William Randall; Kristen Taylor (Chair)  AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY May 20, 2019 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: Rebecca Gershow, City of Eugene Planning Division Subject: Urban Reserves Planning, Project Update ISSUE STATEMENT Staff will provide the Planning Commission with an update on the Urban Reserves planning work to date. No action is requested at this work session, however feedback is requested. Staff will return in the fall with draft urban reserves alternatives. BACKGROUND Planning for growth in line with local values is a long-standing tradition in Oregon and Eugene. Urban Reserves are a special designation, allowed by state law, for lands outside the urban growth boundary (UGB) that can be considered a first priority if and when a city needs to expand for a growing population. The goal of Urban Reserves planning is to identify an appropriate supply of land for possible expansion, so we are prepared to grow in a way that meets our community’s needs and values. Land designated as Urban Reserves will remain rural, and cannot be urbanized, unless it is brought into the city’s UGB through a formal process for expansion. Based on the guidance provided by the pillars of Envision Eugene, the urban reserves process advances our community vision beyond 2032 and reflects deep collaboration among the City, County, community, and service providers. Urban Reserves identifies land for housing, parks, schools, and jobs needed by Eugene’s population in the long term future, while implementing the area’s regional open space vision, including preservation of significant farm and forest land, waterways, and natural resources. On July 20, 2015, as part of the City Council’s direction on the UGB, Council directed staff to begin urban reserves planning, and to bring a proposed urban reserve area back for City and County consideration within two years of UGB acknowledgement. As the UGB was acknowledged by the state of Oregon in January 2018, staff is planning to bring forward an urban reserves proposal for City Council and Board of Commissioners consideration by January 2020. If directed by decision makers to begin the formal adoption process, staff will prepare a complete adoption package and schedule the first formal public hearing by fall 2020. On November 27, 2017 staff provided the Planning Commission with an introduction and overview of urban reserves planning. The Planning Commission reviewed the draft Project Charter and Public Involvement Plan on May 8, 2018. Following that meeting, staff presented the project to the Lane County Planning Commission twice, on May 15, 2018 and June 5, 2018, to the Eugene City Council on 1 June 11, 2018 and to the Lane County Board of Commissioners on June 19, 2018. On June 25, 2018 the Eugene Planning Commission approved the Urban Reserves Public Involvement Plan, and following, on July 10, 2018, they recommended a Planning Commissioner to participate on the Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee, or EETAC. WORK TO DATE The urban reserves project will be completed in five phases; each phase is designed to build on the previous one, as shown below: We are currently wrapping up Phase 2, Technical Analysis and moving into Option Development, which is shown graphically in the Urban Reserves Outreach Process (Attachment A). The technical analysis has been a multi-step process focused on identifying the amount of land needed for urban reserves; identifying land in the study area that is developable; and beginning to identify the developable land that would be suitable for urban reserves. The last time staff provided a project update to the Planning Commission, we were nearing completion of the Project Initiation phase. Key work since that time is summarized below. Over the summer of 2018, staff recruited, and the City Manager appointed the 13-member Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee (EETAC), which was established through policy with the adoption of our UGB to provide technical advice to staff on growth management issues, primarily the Growth Monitoring and Urban Reserves projects. The EETAC has met eight times since October 2018 and has been critical in reviewing and providing input on the Urban Reserves technical analysis to date. Members include a City Councilor, Eugene Planning Commissioner and Sustainability Commissioner; representatives from the Lane County Homebuilders Association, Eugene Chamber of Commerce, 1000 Friends of Oregon, and Beyond Toxics; a local realtor and appraiser, and interested citizens from inside and outside the UGB. Commissioner Barofsky represents the Planning Commission on the EETAC; Commissioner Edwards also serves on the Committee. See Attachment B, for a complete list of EETAC members. Urban Reserves Analysis The order of analysis and minimum elements included in urban reserves planning work is laid out by state rules, particularly Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 660, Division 21. Staff is following this structure, which is generally described below, and outlined in Attachment C, Urban Reserves Outline for Analysis. 2 Urban Reserves Land Need Model Over the summer and fall of 2018, the City contracted with ECONorthwest to retrofit the Land Sufficiency Model developed for estimating the amount of land needed and the development capacity of the 2012-2032 Buildable Lands Inventory (BLI) during the UGB expansion analysis. The result is the Urban Reserves Land Need Model (Land Need Model) – its purpose is to estimate the amount of land needed for residential, employment and other uses over the 2032-2062 Urban Reserves planning period. Key assumptions include: Forecast Period—The model calculates land needed for Urban Reserves ranging from a 10-, 20- and 30-year planning period, (e.g. 2032-2042; 2032-2052; or 2032-2062), depending on population and employment assumptions input in the model. Population Forecast—Council directed staff to use the most current population forecast in place, which at the time of Council direction was the 2015 Portland State University forecast for Eugene and Lane County. However, this spring, a draft 2019 Forecast was released that will be finalized on June 30, 2019. The 2019 Forecast, reflected in the diagram below, is now being used in the Land Need Model as it has virtually the same bottom line results for Urban Reserves planning as the 2015 Forecast. UGB and Urban Reserves Planning Periods and Population Forecasts Employment Forecast—The Land Need Model uses the 2017 Oregon Employment Department annual growth rate for Lane County of 1.07 percent, the most recent forecast available. It is a 10-year forecast that is extrapolated for the 30-year planning period. 3  Land Demand and Capacity Assumptions—Wherever possible, the same assumptions are used in the Urban Reserves Land Need Model as were used during the 2017 UGB analysis. Some of the assumptions incorporated into the Urban Reserves Land Need Model include average household size, housing mix, and residential and employment densities. The EETAC reviewed the Land Need Model assumptions and the resulting land demand identified over two meetings, on November 1 and November 15, 2018. High-level summary results of the Land Need Model show a need of between 1,803 and 5,868 acres of land for urban reserves depending on whether the planning period is 10 years (2032-2042) or up to 30 years (2032-2062), as shown below. Land Needed for Urban Reserves 2032- 2032- 2032- Land Use 2042 2052 2062 Residential 1,203 2,528 3,904 Employment 525 1,113 1,769 Other 75 134 195 Total (acres) 1,803 3,775 5,868 Source: ECONorthwest, City of Eugene Urban Reserves Land Need Model, 2019 Urban Reserves Study Area and Land Supply Model In the fall, the project management team established the Urban Reserves study area, consistent with state rules for urban reserves. The new rules for establishing a UGB study area were also consulted in order to streamline UGB analysis in the future. A component of establishing the Urban Reserves study area was identifying the “priority land classification” based on the state’s classification system and County plan designations. See Attachment D, Urban Reserves Study Area Priority Land Classification Map. Staff then set to work developing a geospatial land supply model that categorizes the land within the study area and identifies the capacity of the land in the study area that is developable.1 The land supply model works in conjunction with the land need model by identifying whether the land supply in the urban reserves study area is adequate to meet the land need identified. To do so, land considered not suitable for development was identified and removed from capacity consideration. This land falls into two categories: Protected land is reserved to protect natural resources or prevent the impact of natural hazards, and therefore is assigned no development capacity. It includes: • Lane County Goal 5 adopted riparian corridors • National Wetlands Inventory and West Eugene Wetlands 1 The definition of “developable land” from the state’s rules on Urban Reserves is “land that is not severely constrained by natural hazards or designated or zoned to protect natural resources an that is either entirely vacant or has a portion of its area unoccupied by structures or roads” (OAR 660-021-0010(5)) 4  • Critical habitat (federal and state-listed threatened and endangered species) • Historic and cultural resources • Natural Resources plan designations • Floodway and 100-year flood plain (FEMA) • Prohibitively steep slopes (>30%) • High risk landslide areas (DOGAMI)2 Committed land includes public and other land that has no development potential for housing or jobs because they are committed to other uses for the foreseeable future. It includes:3 • Public Parks and Open Spaces • School District Property • Utility Property • Airport Property • Other Government Property • Cemeteries • Transportation Rights-of-Way • Bonneville Power Administration Rights-of-Way The Land Supply Model further categorizes land at the taxlot level – identifying whether taxlots are considered fully developed, partially vacant, or undeveloped. Taxlots identified as partially vacant (e.g. have some development) and undeveloped were further evaluated, as they are considered to have development potential. Land that is committed, protected or developed was removed from Urban Reserves capacity consideration. The study area acreage by land categories table below, shows that the remaining buildable acreage (partially vacant plus undeveloped) in the Urban Reserves study area is 10,951 acres, or 42 percent of the land in the study area. Attachment E, Urban Reserves Study Area Development Potential Map shows these results geospatially. Study Area Acreage by Land Category: Committed 7,528 Protected 6,321 Developed 1,056 Partially Vacant – Buildable 6,884 Undeveloped – Buildable 4,067 Total Study Area 25,856 Source: City of Eugene Land Supply Model, 2019 2 High-risk landslide areas are currently being added to the Land Supply Model, as it is new data. Therefore, the 718 acres associated with high-risk landslide areas are not yet incorporated into the acreage amounts shown in the table above. 3 State rules allow inclusion of private property with conservation easements that prohibit urban development, but none were found in the study area. 5 In order to determine, generally, how many homes or jobs can be accommodated on the developable land, factors such as density, slope, and lot size were evaluated. Staff and the EETAC looked at capacity assumptions for two of the land needs that are potentially most significant, low density residential housing (low density utilizes more land than other housing types) and industrial jobs (industrial has specific siting requirements). The following maps show how and where these needs could be accommodated within the study area. See Attachment F Potential Industrial Capacity Map and Attachment G Density Factors by Lot Assuming Low Density Residential map. Staff also developed sub-areas of the study area for aiding in a comparative analysis and to organize the suitability analysis. This is shown in Attachment H, Development Potential and Draft Subareas map. The EETAC reviewed the Land Supply Model methodology and results to date over four meetings, between December 2018 and April 2019. The Land Supply Model is a critical tool in the determination of potential urban reserves. Suitability Analysis The next step in the analysis is identifying developable land that would be “suitable” for urban reserves.4 Staff is evaluating all the developable land in the study area by considering it in terms of all of the following factors, then dismissing land that, on balance, would be unsuitable for urban reserves based on this evaluation. The following are “locational factors” from statewide Goal 14, Urbanization: 1. Efficient accommodation of identified land needs 2. Orderly and economic provision of public facilities and services 3. Comparative environmental, energy, economic and social consequences 4. Compatibility of the proposed urban uses with nearby agricultural and forest activities occurring on farm and forest land outside the UGB Work is underway on the suitability analysis. Staff has met with service providers three times, in February and April 2019. This includes wastewater, water, transportation, stormwater and fire protection service providers within the urban reserves study area, and those within the urban growth boundary. Most “urban” service providers (those within the UGB) have completed a preliminary assessment of serviceability and high-level cost estimates by sub-area to be used for Locational Factor 2 analysis. Staff also held the first Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Sounding Board meeting in May 2019. The TBL is a framework the City of Eugene is using to reach its sustainability goals. It’s designed to help us think about and explore the environmental, equity and economic impacts, benefits and trade-offs of our decisions. The work of the TBL Sounding Board will help inform Locational Factor 3 analysis. 4 OAR 660-021-0030(2) states that “[i]nclusion of land within an urban reserve shall be based upon the locational factors of Goal 14 and a demonstration that there are no reasonable alternatives that will require less, or have less effect upon, resource land.” 6 Project Partners A wide variety of agencies, stakeholder groups and members of the public have been involved in urban reserves planning to date. Some of this coordination has been described above. Urban reserves planning cannot succeed without the strong collaboration of Lane County as a critical project partner. County staff serve on the Project Management Team and have been participating in the Service Provider Working Group. A Lane County Transportation Advisory Committee representative is participating on the TBL Sounding Board, as well as a county resident on behalf of the Neighborhood Leaders Council. A county resident also participates on the EETAC. City and County staff are working closely together to ensure County interests are represented in urban reserves planning. See the Project Participation list for more project partners (Attachment B). Other project partners include a diverse list of interested parties who are kept up to date on Urban Reserves through a monthly newsletter and a regularly updated webpage with project information and a study area web map. In October 2018, after establishment of the study area, public notice was sent to the approximately 1,600 urban reserves study area residents. In October 2018 the Planning Division held a Project Fair called “Making It Happen,” and over 100 participants visited the Urban Reserves table, asking questions and learning more about the project. Growth Monitoring Coordination As described in the Project Charter, and above in the Land Need Model section, Urban Reserves planning is carrying forward several key assumptions from the recent UGB analysis, most notably development density and housing mix. In some cases, these assumptions took years of analysis and discussion to agree upon for the 2017 UGB analysis, and are not being revisited for Urban Reserves planning. Instead, they will be revisited when the first growth monitoring report is complete in 2021, per Council direction, when there will be opportunity to update assumptions based on new data. The connection between Growth Monitoring and Urban Reserves planning is shown in the graphic included as Attachment I. NEXT STEPS After meeting with the Eugene Planning Commission, staff will be providing project updates to the Lane County Planning Commission (May 21), the Lane County Board of Commissioners (June 11), and the Eugene City Council (June 24). This summer, staff will continue evaluating the urban reserves study area for suitability and will be identifying land that is considered unsuitable for urban reserves. The remaining land will be considered for inclusion in urban reserves based on its priority land classification, and urban reserves options will be developed for consideration. Preliminary findings will be shared with the EETAC, followed by study area residents, the TBL Sounding Board, service providers, and City and County leaders. As directed by Council in 2015, the project Charter calls for delivering an Urban Reserves proposal for the City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners to consider by January 2020. Once direction is given, staff will proceed with the formal adoption process to achieve the goal of having urban 7 reserves adopted before Council considers the first growth monitoring report, and any future potential changes to the UGB. PLANNING COMMISSION ROLE ON URBAN RESERVES The Eugene Planning Commission has a representative participating on the EETAC and the TBL Sounding Board (Commissioners Barofsky and Taylor). It also has three members assigned to urban reserves planning as project resources (Commissioners Baker, Barofsky, and Randall. Commissioner Edwards is the alternate.) In addition, the Eugene and Lane County Planning Commissions both have decision-making roles throughout the project, including: ▪ Review and provide input on the Public Involvement Plan and Project Charter ▪ Approve the Public Involvement Plan (Eugene Planning Commission) ▪ Receive updates and provide input throughout the process ▪ Make final recommendations to adopting bodies, Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners. Planning Commission Action No formal action is requested at this work session, however feedback on the work to date is requested. Questions for the Planning Commission to Consider: 1. Is there anything in the AIS or staff presentation that needs clarification? 2. Are you comfortable with our approach and findings to date? 3. Is there anything staff should know before we take the next steps in the analysis? ATTACHMENTS A. Urban Reserves Outreach Process Graphic B. Urban Reserves-Affiliated Groups and Participants C. Urban Reserves Outline for Analysis D. Urban Reserves Study Area Priority Land Classification Map E. Urban Reserves Study Area Development Potential Map F. Potential Industrial Capacity Map G. Density Factors by Lot Assuming Low Density Residential Map H. Development Potential and Draft Subareas Map I. Growth Monitoring-Urban Reserves Process Graphic FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Rebecca Gershow, Senior Planner Urban Reserves Telephone: 541-682-8816 Email: Rebecca.F.Gershow@ci.eugene.or.us Web: https://www.eugene-or.gov/Urban-Reserves 8  Attachment A URBAN RESERVES OUTREACH PROCESS URBAN COMMUNITY COMMUNITY RESERVES COMMUNITY MEETING MEETING AREA MEETING TBL TBL TBL MEETINGS SOUNDING SOUNDING SOUNDING BOARD BOARD BOARD STAKEHOLDER STAKEHOLDER STAKEHOLDER ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ONLINE ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS MEETINGS MEETINGS Proposed Project Technical Develop Formal Adoption Urban Initiation Analysis Options Process* Reserves Winter - Spring 2018 Summer 2018 - Spring 2019 Summer 2019 - Fall 2019 January 2020 Winter - Fall 2020 RECRUIT EETAC ENVISION EUGENE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (EETAC) SERVICE PROVIDER IGA EUGENE WORKING PCs CC PCs, CC PCs, CC PCs CC PC GROUP Hearings & BCC & BCC WS & BCC WS & BCC & REC Work Session Work Session Hearings & Action Decision ABREVIATION KEY: • TBL = Triple Botttom Line • BCC = Lane County Board of Commissioners • WS = Work Session • PCs = Lane County and City of Eugene Planning Commissions • EETAC = Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee • REC = Recommendation • CC = City of Eugene City Council • IGA = Intergovernmental Agreements * Outreach as needed, depending on direction. February 2019 update  Attachment B Affiliated Groups and Participants as of May 2019 Envision Eugene Technical Advisory Committee (EETAC) John Barofsky (Chair), Planning Commission Howard Saxion (Chair), Sustainability Commission Jennifer Yeh, City Council Ed McMahon Alexis Biddle Kevin Shanley Lisa Arkin Mark Reed Michelle Schuett Philip Farrington Rick Duncan Sue Prichard Tiffany Edwards Triple Bottom Line Sounding Board Ela Kubok, Human Rights Commission Kristen Taylor, Planning Commission Thomas Price, Sustainability Commission Eliza Kashinsky, Budget Committee Mindy Schlossberg, EWEB Board of Commissioners Isaac Judd, Housing Policy Board Kate Perle, Neighborhood Leaders Council Tom Poage, Lane County Transportation Advisory Committee Service Provider Working Group Urban Service Providers: Jeanine Parisi, EWEB Laura Farthing, EWEB Water Bill Johnson, EWEB Water Richard Fatooh, EWEB Electric Richard Jeffryes, EWEB Electric Therese Walch, Public Works Jenifer Willer, Public Works Jennah Maier, Public Works Dave Breitenstein, Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Amy Linder, Eugene Springfield Fire and EMS Andrew Martin, Lane Transit District Lindsey Eichner, Lane County Land Management  Attachment B Sasha Vartanian, Lane County Transportation Bill Johnston, Oregon Department of Transportation Philip Richardson, Parks and Open Space Study Area Service Providers (who participated in first meeting): Terry Ney, Lane Fire Authority Brandon Nicol, Junction City Rural Fire Protection District Rick Engstrom, Lane Electric Doug Barab, Emerald People’s Utility District Project Management Team Rebecca Gershow, Project manager, Senior Planner, Planning and Development Robin Hostick, Planning Director, Planning and Development Terri Harding, Principal Planner, Planning and Development Lindsey Eichner, Senior Planner, Lane County Emily Jerome, Deputy City Attorney Heather O’Donnell, Senior Planner, Planning and Development Philip Richardson, Parks Planner, Parks and Open Space Audrey Stuart, Planning Analyst, Planning and Development  Attachment C Urban Reserves Outline for Analysis A. Establish the Urban Reserve Land Study Area / Candidate Land for Evaluation B. Identify the land in the study area that is “developable” [OAR 660-021-0030(1) states that urban reserves shall include an amount of land estimated to be at least a 10-year supply and no more than a 30-year supply of developable land beyond the 20-year time frame used to establish the urban growth boundary.] 1. Dismiss land that is severely constrained by natural hazards 2. Dismiss land that is designated or zoned to protect natural resources 3. Dismiss land that is occupied by structures or roads C. Identify developable land that would be “suitable” for urban reserves [OAR 660-021-0030(2) states that “[i]nclusion of land within an urban reserve shall be based upon the locational factors of Goal 14 and a demonstration that there are no reasonable alternatives that will require less, or have less effect upon, resource land.”] Evaluate all the developable land in the study area by considering it in terms of all of the following factors, then dismiss land that, on balance, would be unsuitable for urban reserves based on this evaluation: • Efficient accommodation of identified land needs • Orderly and economic provision of public facilities and services • Comparative environmental, energy, economic and social consequences • Compatibility of the proposed urban uses with nearby agricultural and forest activities occurring on farm and forest land outside the UGB From Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 660, Division 21 Page 1  Attachment C D. Identify and designate as urban reserve: suitable land that is within the first priority category [OAR 660-021-0030(3)(a)] 1. Identify land that is: • Identified in Lane County’s rural comprehensive plan or the Metro Plan as an exception area; • identified in Lane County’s rural comprehensive plan or the Metro Plan as nonresource land; or • resource land completely surrounded by exception areas, unless such resource land is a high-value crop area as defined in Statewide Planning Goal 8 or prime or unique agricultural lands and defined by the US Department of Agriculture. 2. Dismiss land identified under D. 1 to which future urban services could not reasonably be provided due to topographical or other physical constraints [OAR 660- 021-0030(4)(a) / ORS 195.137(2)(b)] 3. Designate Remaining first priority land as urban reserve 4. Designate as urban reserve any lower priority land that, for maximum efficiency of land uses within the urban reserve, is required in order to include or to provide services to the D. 3. land [OAR 660-021-0030(4)(b) / ORS 197.127(2)(b)] E. If needed, identify and designate as urban reserve: suitable land that is within the second priority category [OAR 660-021-0030(3)(b)] 1. Identify land designated in the Lane County Rural Comprehensive Plan as marginal land pursuant to former ORS 197.247 (1991 edition) 2. Dismiss land identified under E. 1 to which future urban services could not reasonably be provided due to topographical or other physical constraints [OAR 660- 021-0030(4)(a) / ORS 195.137(2)(b)] 3. Designate Remaining second priority land as urban reserve 4. Designate as urban reserve any lower priority land that, for maximum efficiency of land uses within the urban reserve, is required in order to include or to provide services to the E. 3. land [OAR 660-021-0030(4)(b) / ORS 197.127(2)(b)] From Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 660, Division 21 Page 2  Attachment C F. If needed, identify and designate as urban reserve: suitable land that is within the third priority category [OAR 660-021-0030(3)(c)] 1. Identify land designated in Lane County’s Rural Comprehensive Plan or the Metro Plan for agriculture or forestry [OAR 660-021-0030(3)(c)] 2. Dismiss land identified under F. 1 to which future urban services could not reasonably be provided due to topographical or other physical constraints [OAR 660- 021-0030(4)(a) / ORS 195.137(2)(b)] 3. Identify remaining priority three land based on capability as measured by the capability classification system (agricultural land) or by cubic foot site class (forest) [OAR 660-021-0030(3)(c)] 4. Designate as urban reserve enough third priority land to meet needs, starting with lowest capability and including any higher capability land that, for maximum efficiency of land uses within the urban reserve, is required in order to include or to provide services to the lower capability land [oar 660-021-0030(3)(c) / OAR 660-021- 0030(4)(b) / ORS 197.127(2)(b)] From Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 660, Division 21 Page 3 Attachment D Attachment E Attachment F Attachment G Attachment H Attachment I  AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY May 20, 2019 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: Larisa Varela, City of Eugene Public Works Division Subject: Franklin Blvd Transformation Project INTRODUCTION The Franklin Boulevard Transformation Project will develop alternatives for redesigning Franklin Boulevard from I-5 to Alder Street with the goal of creating a safe and comfortable street for people walking, biking, using public transportation and driving. This presentation is an opportunity for the Planning Commission to learn about the project including the timeline, public involvement plan, and draft design concepts. BACKGROUND City of Eugene adopted land use and transportation plans identify Franklin Boulevard as one of six key corridors in Eugene. Key Corridors are streets that have or are planned to have frequent transit service (approximately every 15 minutes or less). Franklin is an especially important corridor because it serves as the spine of the regional EmX bus rapid transit system. The Franklin Boulevard Transformation builds off of the Walnut Station Specific Area Plan. In this vision from the Walnut Station Specific Area Plan, Franklin is transformed by: Providing the retail services needed by residents of a vibrant neighborhood and an attractive and distinctive travel corridor that facilitates safe and efficient movement by all modes of transportation. Residents and visitors experience a unique and welcoming entrance to the city and the University of Oregon, arriving by bike, bus, car and foot. The multiway boulevard encourages use by pedestrians and shoppers by separating through traffic from local access traffic, increasing safety throughout the corridor and providing a quieter edge as well as parking options on the local access lane. Vibrant, green foliage in well-designed landscaping, pedestrian scale lighting and attractive, human-scaled architecture all blend to create a sense of vitality fused with elements of nature. While the multiway boulevard street design concept may change through the Franklin Blvd Transformation Project, any new design concepts that emerge will retain the values articulated in the Walnut Station Specific Area Plan vision. The purpose of the project is to: 1  • Transform Franklin Boulevard from an automobile-oriented state highway arterial to a pleasant, safe, comfortable, high-quality walking, biking and transit street while providing for motor vehicle traffic. • Be consistent with adopted land use and transportation plans developed by the City of Eugene, University of Oregon and/or Lane Transit District. • Support increased residential density, changes in urban form and mixed use development that we are currently and will continue to see being built on the corridor. City staff are working with a team of design, engineering and public involvement consultants to develop designs for Franklin Boulevard that support both the project’s purpose and the adopted Walnut Station Specific Area Plan. Initial design concepts were developed over a four- day design workshop in late January 2019. The concepts will be presented to City Council on Wednesday, May 22nd 2019. The concepts can also be downloaded for viewing at: https://www.eugene-or.gov/4123/Design-Workshop-Week. These design concepts are being refined into corridor alternatives and will be shared with the community for additional input during the 2nd Design Workshop on May 29th & 30th, 2019. ACTION REQUESTED No Action Requested. This is an informational item only. NEXT STEPS The City of Eugene Public Works Department will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, May 29th from 3:30-6:30pm at the Romania Building (2020 Franklin Blvd) to collect input on the corridor alternatives and gateway designs. There will also be an online open house made available after the 29th. ATTACHMENTS None FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Larisa Varela, Associate Transportation Planner Telephone: (541)682-6887 Staff E-Mail: LVarela@eugene-or.gov 2