Eugene forced to revisit middle housing ordinance after court strikes it down

Corrections and Clarifications: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Saturday to reflect that

Eugene city councilors are revisiting the middle housing ordinance they passed in May 2022 after the measure was struck down in court.

The council passed the law in response to Oregon's House Bill 2001, which required large cities to adopt codes that banned single-family exclusive zones or adopt the state's model code in the name of increasing housing supply and choice.

Councilors went above the state's minimum requirements by also allowing detached accessory dwelling units middle housing such as cottage clusters and townhouses in addition to the required attached middle housing such as duplexes and triplexes, incentivizing some development and eliminating off-street parking requirements in areas served by the EMX. In November, they eliminated those parking requirements in all areas because of new state rules.

In October 2023, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals with an opinion from the Oregon Court of Appeals struck down Eugene's middle housing ordinance on the grounds that it failed to account for the infrastructure needed for the middle housing the ordinance allowed. Eugene has been governed by the state-recommended code in the months since.

"Although updating the public facilities and services plan likely was not feasible on the schedule that the legislature imposed … there were other ways to achieve compliance with Goal 11, like adopting provisions similar to those in the model code that limit middle housing on lots that lack sufficient infrastructure to support it," wrote presiding Judge Scott Shorr.

Goal 11 refers to the 11th of Oregon's 19 statewide planning goals. Goal 11 requires land use laws and decisions take into account how development will be served by public services such as water and sewer services, police and fire protection, health services, recreation facilities, and energy and communication services.

In the new ordinance, the city doesn't reduce where the middle housing rules apply but instead explains that the city already doesn't approve developments that don't have sufficient infrastructure and that it has plans to expand those services.

"We have provisions … that say that development, including middle housing development, but also including single-family homes and other types of development is prohibited if the applicant can't demonstrate that the property can be served," said Lauren Summers, assistant city attorney.

Councilors agreed to hold the public hearing for the staff-recommended additions, which read in part,

"Almost all areas within the city limits of Eugene and Springfield are served or can be served in the short term (0‐5 years) with water, wastewater, stormwater, and electric service," the code states. "The public facility projects identified in the (Public Facilities and Services Plan) to support and serve residential uses will also support and serve middle housing uses."

According to senior planner Jeff Gepper, in the first six months of the city's middle housing ordinance, they saw the development of 36 units of middle housing, compared with seven units in the previous six months.

The Eugene City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the revisions Tuesday, Jan. 16, and vote on them Monday, Jan. 22. Written public comment can be emailed to MiddleHousingTestimony@eugene-or.gov or mailed to Jeff Gepper, Planning Division, 99 W. 10th Ave., Eugene.

Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene must revisit middle housing ordinance after court ruling