In response to a state requirement, the City of Eugene has designated its downtown neighborhood as a "Climate-Friendly Area."
State rules require the city to adopt regulations to make neighborhoods in which people can meet their daily needs without relying on a car.
At a recent work session, city staff proposed three different options for designation as Climate-Friendly. City Councilors were in agreement that they wanted to start slow.
Councilor Lyndsie Leech said there’s a lot on the city’s plate right now.
“I definitely want to make our city more walkable, bikeable,” she said. “And this is potentially a good tool to do that. But we don’t know that. And it feels like a lot all at once.”
The council unanimously approved option number one which includes the greater downtown as a climate-friendly area. That was the option that meets state minimum requirements.
From the City of Eugene:
The CFEC rules require Eugene to adopt regulations facilitating walkable mixed-use development in designated Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs). A Climate-Friendly Area is intended to be an area where most people can meet their daily needs without relying on a car. The CFEC rules envision Climate-Friendly Areas as a type of mixed-use center that includes jobs, services, and higher density housing, as well as great walking, biking, and transit infrastructure.
The key elements of the CFEC implementation include:
• Reform parking requirements
• Prepare for a future with more electric vehicles
• Designate Climate-Friendly Areas
• Plan for more climate-friendly transportation options
• Plan for compact, walkable design
• Center the voices of underserved communities
• Monitor housing and transportation outcomes and adjust over time
• Option 1: State Minimum Requirements (Greater Downtown and Lower Coburg Road). To meet the minimum state requirements for CFA designation, the City could designate the existing, contiguous properties with mixed-use and higher density zoning around greater downtown Eugene, as well as the commercial center on Lower Coburg Road as identified in Attachment D (Maps 1 and 2).
• Option 2: Additional Commercial Areas Most Promising for Redevelopment (Adds Santa Clara Station, Valley River Center, and South Willamette). In addition to the areas in Option 1, the City could designate as CFAs additional promising core commercial centers that have existing higher density, mixed-use development or the potential for redevelopment of this type. These additional core commercial centers include the Valley River Center area, along South Willamette, and the Santa Clara Station area, identified in Attachment D (Maps 3-5).
• Option 3: Requires Additional Investment and Incentives (Adds 6th/7th Corridor and West 11th Corridor). In addition to the areas identified in Options 1 and 2, the City could choose to designate as CFAs certain transit corridors that may have potential for higher density, mixed-use development. These areas, as identified in Attachment D (Maps 6-7), include the 6th/7th Avenue Corridor and West 11th Avenue Corridor and would require additional investment and financial incentives to support intended outcomes for CFAs
