River Road - Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan

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Neighborhood Planning

The River Road and Santa Clara Community Organizations, City and County staff, consultants and neighborhood volunteers have been working together since the spring of 2017 to create a neighborhood plan for the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods. The earlier phases of the neighborhood planning process focused on outreach and engagement, asking community members what they value in their neighborhoods now and about their hopes and visions for the future. The community input was used by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and Topic Area Working Groups to draft goals and policies in the Neighborhood Plan that reflect the neighborhood priorities under five Topic Areas - Land Use, Economic Development, Transportation, Parks and Natural Resources, and Community. 

Read the Draft River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan. 

Neighborhood Plan Cover Capture

Action Planning

The CAC and staff have been preparing an Action Plan to support implementation of the Neighborhood Plan. The Action Plan will consist of community identified actions that are possible strategies to implement the policies of the Neighborhood Plan and will help focus the community work towards the vision for how the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods will look, feel and function over the next 20 years and beyond. 

Read the Draft River Road-Santa Clara Action Plan.

Action Plan - Cover Capture

River Road-Santa Clara (RRSC) Special Area Zone

An in-depth analysis of the River Road corridor was done with the River Road Corridor Study, including stakeholder interviews, public workshops, economic and demographic research, and conceptual design work. This work helped inform the Draft RRSC Special Area Zone Code and the Draft Proposed Zoning Map. 

Proposed Zoning Map Snip

Summary Documents

Read a short overview about the Neighborhood Plan and Action plan and a brief summary about the purpose of the Special Area Zone, key code topics, and how the proposed zoning and development standards compare to existing zoning and development standards in the RRSC Code Summary.

Topic Areas

The Neighborhood Plan focuses on the Topic Areas of Economic Development, Transportation, Parks and Natural Resources, Land Use, and Community. To reflect the community values, aspirations and priorities expressed during outreach, each Topic Area includes:

  • Vision statements which are aspirational descriptions of the community’s best outcome for how the neighborhood will look, feel and function 20 years and more into the future.
  • Goals that translate the vision, describing hopes for the future on a particular idea.
  • Policies that will be formally adopted by the City of Eugene and Lane County to provide a consistent course of action and move the community toward attainment of its goals.
  • Actions which are possible strategies identified by the community, captured in the Action Plan, to implement the adopted policies over time and will require ongoing advocacy and continued coordination between various partners.

Find the vision statements, goals, and policies for each Topic Area in the Neighborhood Plan and actions in the Action Plan. To get an overview of each Topic Area and reltaed resources, click on the tabs below.

  1. Economic Development
  2. Transportation
  3. Parks and Natural Resources
  4. Land Use
  5. Community

Vegetables at Market

The community vision for economic development includes the creation and growth of local businesses, redevelopment that promotes walkability and increases access to daily needs, and availability of more living wage employment opportunities within the neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Plan policies focus on incentives for local businesses, supporting redevelopment that fosters active mixed-use centers, and encouraging neighborhood-scale businesses in residentially zoned areas.

While economic development changes won’t occur overnight, adopted policies provide a framework for promoting current resources for local businesses, encouraging community organization efforts to create a business network, and supporting businesses that utilize neighborhood assets. Additionally, the proposed draft code encourages walkable mixed-use development and requires commercial development in certain nodes along the River Road corridor. The draft code will also allow urban farmers to collectively sell produce on-site.

Adoption 

The neighborhood planning process is now in the Adoption Phase - working towards the final adoption of the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan. The Adoption Phase will include community outreach and opportunities for input as the Community Advisory Committee, River Road and Santa Clara Community Organizations, and staff prepare and recommend a Neighborhood Plan adoption package to the Eugene and Lane County Planning Commissions to begin the formal adoption process.  The Planning Commissions will deliberate and form a recommendation to City Council and the Lane County Board of Commissioners as final decisionmakers on the plan adoption package.

RRSC Adoption Phase Timeline


Implementation

Adoption of the Neighborhood Plan is a key step in implementing the community vision and sets the policy direction for ongoing collaboration. The River Road and Santa Clara communities will continue to represent the Neighborhood Plan and collaborate with City and County staff as on-going implementation and advocacy occurs. Neighborhood Plan representatives from the River Road and Santa Clara community organizations will meet with key City and County staff during an annual coordination and information sharing meeting.

Though being in the Action Plan doesn’t guarantee that these actions occur, it does help agency staff apply for funding and prioritize and recommend projects when considering city-wide needs. The actions will also help guide the community when advocating for implementation and identifying community priorities as they change. To support implementation of the Neighborhood Plan vision along the River Road corridor, the proposed zoning and land use code is a tool to implement some of the land use actions identified in the Action Plan.

Stay Connected and Updated

  1. What is the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan?
  2. Why are we developing a neighborhood plan for the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods?
  3. What will the Neighborhood Plan do?
  1. Where will the Neighborhood Plan apply?
  2. Why is River Road a key transit corridor? How does this relate to Envision Eugene?
  3. How does the Neighborhood Plan relate to MovingAhead?
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Contact Us

  1. Planning Division

    Chelsea Hartman

    Senior Planner

    99 W. 10th Avenue

    Eugene, OR 97401

    Ph: 541-682-5686


    Email