The city is entering an exciting phase of work in planning for middle housing options – the formal adoption process!

Project staff kicked off the project in the summer of 2020, and spent 10 months reaching out to an Equity RoundTable, Healthy Democracy panel, boards and commissions and local partners, and the general public. To learn more about our outreach efforts to date for this project, check out this infographic. Outreach will continue as we reach more people and work our way through the formal adoption process.

Earlier this summer, the project team drafted middle housing land use code language, using the results of the technical analysis and community engagement work as a foundation. Highlights of the Planning Commission’s guidance to staff in preparing the draft land use code include:

• Focus on equity and inclusion as code choices are made.
• Encourage and incentivize middle housing across the community.
• Near transit routes, encourage compact development by reducing parking requirements.
• Pursue incentives and programs beyond the code as part of our ongoing housing work.

The project team completed technical and legal review of the draft code this month. The draft land use code and plan amendments are published on our website and will be presented to the Planning Commission in work sessions on September 28 and October 12.

The Planning Commission’s public hearing will be held over zoom on October 26, and deliberation sessions are scheduled for November. Once the Commission completes its recommendations, the Council will hold its own work sessions and public hearing, anticipated for January 2022.

We want to hear from everyone! The project team is planning a variety of outreach strategies to assist people in adding their voices at this important stage of the process. Look to our website over the next month for a summary of the middle housing proposal, informational videos, links, FAQs, and ways to get involved. To receive formal mailed notice or informal email project updates, sign-up for the new Interested Parties List.

The project team has set up an email address for public comments about the middle housing project! Community members can send their comments to middlehousingtestimony@eugene-or.gov, and staff will compile the public testimony for sharing with the Planning Commission and City Council at their respective points in the process.

For more information, visit the project webpage, Engage Eugene, Facebook, and Instagram,. If you have any questions about the project, contact Public Engagement Lead Sophie McGinley.