Middle Housing Code Changes | HB 2001
House Bill 2001
The Oregon State Legislature passed a law in June 2019 that is intended to provide more opportunities for a variety of housing types in traditionally single-family neighborhoods and to increase the overall housing supply in and around cities.
The Middle Housing Code Amendments project hear from the community about how to implement the house bill and shape our neighborhoods. At a high level:
No later than June 30, 2022, Eugene must amend the City’s land use regulations to allow:
- A duplex on each lot or parcel:
- That is located within city limits;
- That is zoned for residential use; and
- On which the City’s land use regulations allows the construction of a detached single-family dwelling; and
- Triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters, and townhouses in residential zones within the City that allow detached single-family dwellings.
To learn more about the project, read the HB 2001 Frequently Asked Questions.
Residential Lot Sizes in Eugene
House Bill 2001 Minimum Standards and Model Code
The administrative rules implementing the requirements of House Bill 2001 (Middle Housing in Medium and Large Cities, Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 660, Division 46) establish, at minimum, code standards cities need to implement to comply with the requirements of House Bill 2001. The administrative rules were developed and refined over the course of a year by four groups of planning and development experts: the HB 2001 technical advisory committee, HB 2001 rulemaking advisory committee, DLCD staff, and the LCDC Commissioners. The technical and rulemaking advisory committees included representatives from local jurisdictions, planners, developers, housing advocates, and others. Meeting packets and recordings and a full participant list are on DLCD’s Rulemaking web page.
One component of the rules is that they require triplexes and quadplexes to be allowed in residential areas based on lot size. The map to the left, when clicked on, shows the various lot sizes of residentially zoned lots in Eugene. An introduction to the minimum standards was given to the Planning Commission at their January 12, 2021 meeting. An in-depth presentation on the minimum standards and model code will be given at the February 1, 2021 Planning Commission Work Session.
Middle Housing Implementation Timeline
Middle Housing Public Engagement
Public engagement will include opportunities for the community to engage in the planning process, information on how individuals and organizations can effectively participate and will be consistent with the City’s Public Participation Guidelines and Statewide Planning Goal 1. Read the Middle Housing Public Involvement Plan. An emphasis will be placed on online methods that comply with current health guidelines and engage a broad spectrum of the community to gather feedback on the design and code concepts, code framework, and hearings-ready code.
Meet the Housing Types
Get Involved: Our Methods of Engagement
Because the rules from the state to comply with HB 2001 were not finalized until December 9, 2020, broad public engagement on the content of implementation has not yet begun. With state rules in place, we can begin the next phase that includes broad community engagement on proposed land use code and policy language. However, introductory and background materials such as Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked Questions, and links to more information are available here on the Middle Housing project webpage. We also maintain an Engage Eugene page, monthly EUG Planning newsletter, and social media presence on the EUG Planning Facebook page and Instagram.
The City of Eugene is partnering with Portland-based nonpartisan, nonprofit, Healthy Democracy, to assemble a Planning Review Panel that is composed of 30 random Eugene community members. The immediate question before the Review Panel is how the City should comply with HB 2001. Eugene has until 2022 to comply with the law, but it’s not quite that simple. The City could comply with it in a number of different ways. The Review Panel is one of several ways that Eugene residents will be able to engage with the City, to advise the technical staff on how they should proceed.
Over nine online meetings on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays in November and December of this year, 2020, the Panel crafted a list of principles, which will help guide the City’s technical staff and consultants in how they write the legal zoning language to comply with HB 2001. Then, in early 2021, the Panel will reconvene to review the City’s work and offer two rounds of final recommendations. At the same time, the Panel will explore how its experience in this process may inform the City’s future public engagement efforts.
The Equity Roundtable held their first two meetings on November 19, 2020 and December 8, 2020. The Roundtable includes participants from organizations representing underserved communities and serves to provide an equity lens to the project. During the first meeting participants were asked about worst outcomes and best outcomes of allowing more housing types in more places. Themes and highlights from this group include participants’ experiences with housing discrimination, racial profiling, accessibility concerns, needs for multigenerational households, and giving renters more housing options they can afford.
Boards and Commissions RoundTable
The Boards and Commissions Roundtable held their first meeting on October 28, 2020. The Roundtable consists of representatives from the Planning Commission, Sustainability Commission, Human Rights Commission, Historic Preservation Board, and the Housing Policy Board and serves to provide a city-wide policy lens. During the first meeting participants were asked about worst outcomes and best outcomes of allowing more housing types in more places. Themes and highlights include planning for equity, affordability, and sustainability for all residents as we implement the House Bill, as well as going beyond the regulatory requirements to consider incentives and programs that could help more people achieve housing stability. Meeting summaries from all three of the RoundTables will be posted on the website and discussed at the Commission meeting.
Local Partners RoundTable
The Local Partners Roundtable held their first meeting on October 29, 2020. The Local Partners Roundtable includes a variety of local stakeholders including Better Housing Together, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Walkable Eugene Citizens Advisory Network (WECAN), Lane County Homebuilders, AARP, and the Neighborhood Leaders Council and serves to provide a community stakeholder lens. During the first meeting participants were asked about worst outcomes and best outcomes of allowing more housing types in more places. Themes and highlights included equity, affordability, and sustainability, along with a desire to innovate and communicate the benefits of more housing options to the broader community. This group also expressed a hope to go further than the requirements of the House Bill in responding to the housing crisis.
The Planning Team has partnered with University of Oregon's Real World Eugene class to work on public engagement of young adults. Real World Eugene is a class offered to undergraduate students that pairs students with City staff to work on actual City projects. This year, the class is working on four projects, including shaping Eugene's housing outreach strategy: middle housing public engagement. Planning staff have been working with students Darian, Brianna, Cody, and Camryn as they have conducted focus groups, sent out a survey, and developed a proposal for how the City can better reach young adults in the community. The students received a total of 137 survey responses from young adults living in Eugene – a relatively high number for a short period of time. The survey results highlighted themes of environmental conservation and safety as housing solutions are considered by the City. The students’ recommendations for reaching young adults will inform outreach methods for the next phase of the project.
Where Middle Housing Can Currently Be Built in Eugene
This information is a high-level summary of where middle housing types can currently be constructed in the base residential zones of our existing Land Use Code. For more information on regulations, visit our searchable, online Land Use Code. To see the zoning of Eugene, visit our searchable Zoning Map.
R-1: Low-Density Residential
R-1.5: Rowhouse
R-2: Medium-Density Residential
R-3: Limited High-Density Residential
R-4: High-Density Residential
For examples of Middle Housing in Eugene, check out the Missing Middle Housing Handbook!
Note: To keep this Quick Guide high-level, Special Area Zones are not included, although some Special Area Zones allow Middle Housing. To explore those areas, visit the online Land Use Code.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU)
Per Senate Bill 1051, ADUs can be built on every lot that currently hosts a primary single-family detached dwelling. ADUs have size and siting restrictions and can not be located on alley access lots. They can be found in R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 zones.
Duplexes
Duplexes can be built only on corner lots in areas zoned R-1 and on all lots in R-2, R-3, and R-4. New duplexes can not be constructed in the city recognized boundaries of Amazon Neighbors, Fairmount Neighbors, and South University Neighborhood Association.
Triplexes
Triplexes can be built in some places in R-1 zones and are subject to special development standards in R-2, R-3, and R-4 zones. New triplexes can not be constructed in the city recognized boundaries of Amazon Neighbors, Fairmount Neighbors, and South University Neighborhood Association.
Fourplexes
Fourplexes can be built in some places in R-1 zones and are subject to special development standards in R-2, R-3, and R-4 zones. New fourplexes can not be constructed in the city recognized boundaries of Amazon Neighbors, Fairmount Neighbors, and South University Neighborhood Association.
Cottage Clusters
Cottage Clusters are not outright permitted in the City and can be constructed only through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) or Cluster Subdivision (CS) process.
Rowhouses
Rowhouses can be built in some places in R-1 zones and are subject to special development standards in the R-1.5, R-2, R-3, and R-4 zones. New fourplexes can not be constructed in the city recognized boundaries of Amazon Neighbors, Fairmount Neighbors, and South University Neighborhood Association.
The Complicated History of Residential Zoning
To move forward, we must first look back and acknowledge actions in the past that have harmed and excluded members of our community. Residential Zoning has a complex history that resulted in exclusion of low-income, black, indigenous, and people of color from certain neighborhoods. In Oregon this history was especially harmful with direct exclusion of non-white people from the state from 1844 until 1926*. Although those exclusions are illegal today, their negative impacts are still affecting our community through the legacy of exclusionary zoning. Housing policy and code changes are an opportunity to mitigate those.
*After the passage of the 14th amendment in 1866, this law was rendered moot, however, remained in the Oregon Constitution.
The Mims House
Resources to Learn More
In The Color of Law, author Richard Rothstein tells how early zoning ordinances specifically banned blacks from certain zones. The Supreme Court outlawed that in 1917, but in many cities, Rothstein writes, “To prevent lower-income African Americans from living in neighborhoods where middle-class whites resided, local and federal officials began … to promote zoning ordinances to reserve middle-class neighborhoods for single-family homes that lower-income families of all races could not afford.” View the videos below and borrow The Color of Law from the Eugene Public Library for more context about the history of zoning.
Segregated by Design (video, ~18 mins)
Watch The Color of Law author Richard Rothstein deliver a rapid-fire primer on exclusionary zoning and racist federal policies.
Zoning Matters: How Land-Use Policies Shape Our Lives video (video, ~3 mins)
Watch the video from the Urban Institute below to learn how zoning affects communities.
Upcoming Meetings
City of Eugene City Council- January 25, 2021 (meeting materials, watch live)
City of Eugene Planning Commission- February 1, 2021 (agenda and meeting link coming soon)
Engage Eugene Survey- Launching February 2021
Past Meetings
City of Eugene Planning Commission- January 12, 2021 (watch video)
City of Eugene Planning Commission- December 14, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- December 10, 2020 (watch video)
Equity Roundtable- December 8, 2020 (summary coming soon)
Healthy Democracy Panel #6- December 5, 2020, (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #8- December 3, 2020, (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- December 3, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #7- December 1, 2020, (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #6- November 24, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #5- November 21, 2020 (watch video)
Equity Roundtable - November 19, 2020 (summary coming soon)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- November 19, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #4- November 17, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #3- November 14, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #2- November 12, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- November 12, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Panel #1- November 10, 2020, 6-8:30pm (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- November 5, 2020 (watch video)
Local Partners Roundtable- October 29, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- October 29, 2020 (watch video)
Boards and Commissions Roundtable- October 28, 2020 (watch video)
Healthy Democracy Steering Committee- October 22, 2020 (watch video)
Eugene Planning Commission- August 11, 2020 (watch video)
Eugene City Council- July 22, 2020 (watch video)
Eugene Planning Commission- June 22, 2020 (watch video)
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Terri Harding
Principal Planner
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Sophie McGinley
Assistant Planner