[NLC] "Needed Housing" criteria

[Kevin Matthews]

With alll due respect to city staff... there is a deep history on what consitutes "needed housing" - which may go back beyomd some current staff experience, or indidivual planner policy scope. The City essentially has an ongoing interpretation, following the arguments of developer attorneys (can you spell Kloos?), that any housing qualifies to be needed housing - as you've heard.  

However, that is not necessarily the actual requirement of the controlling statues.  I haven't eadl with this for three or four years...  But Southeast Neighbors had a legal brief prepared that agrued against the "all housing = needed housing" simplification.  Then the application at hand changed tactics and it was never litigated to a resolution.

It wouldn't be a particularly easy angle to fight.  But it might prove to be possible, if the needs of the neighborhood call for going to that level.  I wouldn't rule out the option - at least not for fundamental legal reasons.

To seriously get to the bottom of this, it might be most effective to work with a sharp, creative, progressive land use attorney on the actual effective legal definition of what is "needed housing".

The apparent failure of the refinement plan to appy is another whole issue - the needed housing amendments were _supposed_ to take care of those situations!

all best,

Kevin


On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:40:27 -0700, healeyd at onid.orst.edu wrote:
> One of the developers in West University, Dean Hansen, is using a 
> less-common approach to site review called "needed housing." This is 
> a heads up for the group about a method of creating an apparent end 
> run around neighborhood refinement plans that could be used in any 
> neighborhood. I've attached a document that addresses specific 
> differences between site review using the "needed housing" approach 
> and the standard site review. As you can see, the former has fewer 
> restrictions. If you would like a document that includes every 
> reference to needed housing from the Eugene code, let me know. It 
> affects PUDs, conditional use permits, partitions, and subdivisions. 
> I've also attached what I found in the Eugene Springfield Metro Area 
> General Plan regarding needed housing.
> 
> According to City of Eugene planner Heather O'Donnell, there is no 
> need to demonstrate that the type of housing in needed in a specific 
> neighborhood. The "need" is relative to the Metro/Eugene land use 
> plan. I couldn't find a housing needs analysis other than 
> EcoNorthwest's 1996 one. If anyone knows of something more recent, 
> I'd appreciate hearing about it.
> 
> The proposed development site is on E. 12th and Mill Alley, amid 
> 2-story homes and a number of historic Victorians. Because of the 
> hospital-related office building at 12th and Patterson, the area is 
> zoned R-4 but with a neighborhood refinement plan to provide 
> protection. Using the needed housing approach, the refinement plan 
> does not apply, and anything that fits the R-4 designation can go in.
> 
> The canary is singing, folks...
> 
> --Deborah
> 
> Deborah Healey
> Chair, West University Neighbors
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