On February 9, 2011, the Lane County Board of Commissioners (BCC) directed the Land Management Division to initiate a Type 1 Plan Amendment to adjust the boundaries of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (the Metro Plan).  Staff was directed to undertake this work in two separate phases. Phase 1 will focus on the Metro Plan area adjacent to the City of Springfield’s Urban Growth Boundary. Phase 2 will modify the Metro Plan Boundary adjacent to the City of Eugene. Each phase will involve three separate plan amendment tasks. These include:

1. A change to the plan boundary with associated text amendments;
2. A change in the underlying plan designations for properties that are incorporated into the Lane County Rural Comprehensive Plan (RCP); and
3. The legislative rezoning of certain non-resource zoned properties to updated versions of Lane Code.

The purpose of this site is to share information about this work and to let interested citizens know how they can participate.  Future meetings will be advertised on this site and all meeting materials, agendas and minutes will be posted as they become available.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs:

1. What would the proposed amendments do? 

The proposed Phase 1 process would modify the Metro Plan boundary east of Interstate 5 so that the resultant plan boundary would be coterminous with the City of Springfield’s Urban Growth Boundary. The City of Springfield has developed a parcel specific UGB as a component of their ongoing House Bill 3337 work program. Lane County intends to use this parcel specific UGB boundary as the base layer that the adjusted Metro Plan boundary will be aligned with. Phase 1 will be conducted through the winter and spring of 2011 and will be coordinated closely with the Cities of Springfield and Eugene.

Phase 2 would perform a similar action west of Interstate 5. However, it is foreseeable that the Phase 2 amendment process may leave portions of rural Lane County (i.e., the Eugene Airport property or other areas) within the Metro plan boundary if those areas are not included in a future UGB expansion. Phase 2 will be incorporated within the ongoing “Envision Eugene” long range planning framework. Timelines for Phase 2 have not yet been established.

As a component of both Phase 1 and Phase 2 a series of RCP plan designation changes will also be required. These changes will apply correctly corresponding RCP plan designations to lands previously designated under the Metro Plan.  A map of the proposed Plan designation changes can be viewed, here.

Next, a series of legislative zone changes will be required for both Phase 1 and Phase 2. These changes will be necessary to bring lands previously regulated under the Metro Plan, which carry a non-resource zone designation, into conformance with updated zoning ordinances promulgated by the 1994 Community Rule, (OAR 660-022).  A map of these proposed zone changes can be viewed, here.

Finally, Lane County would adopt a parcel specific UGB boundary location on official RCP maps to comply with OAR 660-024-0020(2). This boundary has been established by the City of Springfield and it’s expected that the City of Eugene will develop their own boundary in the near future. Lane County intends to review and adopt the city defined boundary with accompanying methodology analysis and findings.

2.  Why is Lane County undertaking this effort?
Recent events, such as the “Blue Water Boats” land use decision and the inability of the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) to reach consensus on Delta Sand and Gravel Co.’s application for an expansion of their quarry operations, have brought into focus problems of jurisdictional authority within the Metro area. Specifically, Commissioners have expressed frustration about the ability of the cities to override Board decisions on county land use issues.

These problems stem from Ch. IV, Policy 7 of the Metro Plan, which requires that any proposed amendments to the Metro Plan be jointly approved by the County and the partner city or otherwise, the amendment shall be referred to the MPC for conflict resolution. Consensus among the Metro partners on amendments to the Metro Plan is logical. However, this requirement appears to be too far reaching when it impedes the county’s ability to make land use decisions on lands beyond both the city limits and the UGB.

As the cities of Eugene and Springfield obtain their individual autonomy form each other with the implementation of HB3337 (ORS 195.034), Lane County is seeking its own jurisdictional autonomy on land use matters outside the Urban Growth Boundaries of the cities. Implementation of the proposed Metro Plan Boundary adjustment will provide this autonomy.

3. What parts of the County are affected by this proposal?
A vicinity map of the project area can be viewed, here
A more detailed map of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 project areas can be viewed, here.

4. Will a change in the Metro Plan Boundary affect which areas of the County are included in future Urban Growth Boundary expansions or annexations?
There is no foreseeable connection between the proposed Metro Plan Boundary adjustment and future UGB expansions or annexations.

5. Will the project impact the allowable uses of my property?

As a component of this project, lands that were previously designated within the Metro Plan will be re-designated into a RCP plan designation, which corresponds with the existing zoning. For the majority of land within the Phase 1 project area this change will not affect the allowable uses of a property and a change in zoning will not occur. However, the existing residential zoning ordinance within the Metro Plan area (Lane Code 16.231 Rural Residential Lands zone) is outdated. Therefore, any Residential zoned land that is brought into the RCP must be rezoned to a current versions of the zoning ordiance (Lane Code 16.290),  which is already applicable on lands outside of the Metro Plan Boundary. In most cases the differences between the older and newer zoning ordinance is relatively minor.

A table comparing the older version of the Rural Residential zone (LC16.231) with the newer version of the code (LC16.290) can be found, here.

6. How can I get more information?
Lane County staff has scheduled a public open house on April 21, 2011. The purpose of this drop in session is for staff to share information and answer questions from the public.  For more information about the open house click, here.

Staff Reports, Meeting Minutes and Agendas:

July 19, 2011 Joint Planning Commission Materials:

Agenda

Presentation Slides

Staff Report
Attachments:
Attachment 1
Attachment 2
Attachment 3
Attachment 4
Attachment 5a
Attachment 5b
Attachment 6a
Attachment 6b
Attachment 7a
Attachment 7b
Attachment 7c
Attachment 7d
Attachment 7e
Attachment 8a
Attachment 8b
Attachment 8c
Attachment 8d
Attachment 8e
Attachment 9
Attachment 10
Attachment 11
Attachment 12
Attachment 13
Attachment 14
Attachment 15
Attachment 16
Attachment 17
Attachment 18

Supplemental Staff Report (No. 1)

DRAFT - July 19 Meeting Minutes (not yet adopted)

August 16, 2011, Joint Planning Commission Materials:

Supplemental Staff Report (No. 2)

DRAFT August 16 Meeting Minutes (not yet adopted)

Comments Submitted since 8/16 Public Hearing

Oct 25, 2011, Joint PC Deliberation Materials

Supplemental Staff Report (No. 3)

Attachments 1-12

Attachment 13

March 13, 2012 Joint Hearing of the Lane County, Eugene and Springfield Elected Officials