91ÊÓƵ

A controversial downtown Eugene student housing project is among the reasons why city officials are considering institution of a design review process.

City staffers are investigating ways to add design oversight following a negative community response to the appearance of Alabama-based developer Capstone Collegiate Communities‘ 375-unit 13th and Olive apartments, said Robin Hostick, a Eugene senior urban design planner. The $89 million project, scheduled to finish this fall, received an $8.5 million tax break from the city.

“(The tax break) was very, very successful at getting housing in the downtown area,” Hostick said. “At the same time, the design of that project fell well short of our expectations. It triggered an awakening to have better design.”

In the future, city officials hope to hold developers – especially those receiving tax exemptions – more accountable for designs, Hostick said. This could include city design guidelines and formation of a design review panel featuring community members, similar to the Portland Design Commission.

“To have the (design) quality not meet expectations is difficult,” Hostick said. “What’s built is going to have to match what’s designed.”

To learn more about design review, Eugene city officials have turned to Portland. A delegation of Eugene city planners and Eugene Planning Commission members this month attended a Portland Design Commission meeting to observe the process and ask questions of the commissioners.

Eugene Planning Commission chairman Bill Randall was a member of the six-person delegation. He said seeing the Portland Design Commission in action helped inform initial considerations for a similar process in Eugene.

“We’re just at the point of processing mentally how that might be something we institute in Eugene,” he said.

Randall, a senior principal at Eugene-based Arbor South Architecture, said he can see the advantages of design review and how it would have helped improve the Capstone project. City zoning codes don’t go far enough to ensure quality design, he said.

“I think it’s something that could benefit us in Eugene,” Randall said. “Zoning code – it really doesn’t get at the character of what you want your city to look like … (Design review is) something that really gets at what good design is.”

The American Institute of Architects’ Southwestern Oregon chapter, based in Eugene, has closely watched the city’s investigation of a potential design review process, Executive Director Don Kahle said. Chapter members are waiting to learn more before taking a position.

“I think the conversation is an intriguing one, but it’s much too early to say if we’re supportive without knowing what the parameters are,” he said.

The challenge, Hostick said, is to figure out how to cater design review to a smaller city.

“The market in Portland is very, very different than in Eugene,” he said. “It also hit home that now is a good time to be thinking about this.”

Another reason why Eugene city officials are weighing design review is because of increased development in Eugene, especially downtown, Hostick said. Much of the recent development has been student housing, but multifamily housing as well, he said.

“The community is talking a lot about the importance of design as we look at 20 years of growth and change,” he said. “What does get built, the community wants to make sure it looks good. Design review is going to be a piece of the puzzle.”