On July 28, 2022, Eugene Middle Housing volunteers and community partners gathered with city staff and state officials to celebrate the passage of the code amendments and the innovative process of including more Eugene residents in the decision making. Mayor Lucy Vinis accepted the State ACE Award for Achievement in Community Engagement on behalf of the project team, volunteers, panelists, and round table participants.
According to the state, the ACE Award “recognizes organizations and individuals who have actively promoted and implemented the values of Oregon's Statewide Planning Goal 1 through an outstanding community engagement strategy.”
The Eugene process included a 29- member lottery selected review panel facilitated by Healthy Democracy, an Equity Round Table facilitated by Alai Community Consulting, and local boards and commissions and partners roundtables facilitated by City staff, among other engagement efforts.
Eugene Review Panel member Jose Melendez said in the award nomination that the middle housing engagement process is “worthwhile celebrating to encourage other jurisdictions to take on such an innovative approach that requires commitment of resources, and as such, shows evidence of where their values are.”
Thank you to all of our local round table participants, panelists, focus group members, consultants, community leaders, and partner agency staff for making this project happen!
On June 30, 2022 City of Eugene Ordinance 20667 went into effect to implement the Middle Housing Code Amendments.
The Middle Housing Code Amendments implement House Bill 2001, legislation that requires large cities in Oregon, including Eugene, to allow middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, rowhouses, and cottage clusters) to be built in all neighborhoods. This legislation is intended to increase our housing supply and allow for more housing types of all shapes and sizes in more places.
The code is in effect, but the online code is still pending an update. Staff is working to have the online code reflect the changes as soon as possible. Until then, Ordinance 20667 contains the approved code amendments.
For the latest project information, visit the project webpage. If you have any questions about the new code, contact Senior Planner Jeff Gepper.