ADU discussion pushed back to September

City Council has again pushed back the discussion and possible action on removing barriers to Accessory Dwelling Units in Eugene to September. The work session is currently scheduled for September 16th at 5:30pm. Comments are still being accepted to the record until then, and should be emailed to AHansen@eugene-or.gov and mayorcouncilandcitymanager@ci.eugene.or.us.

In 2017, the State passed SB 1051, which said that each detached single-family homeowner shall be permitted to create at least one accessory dwelling unit, subject to reasonable regulations related to siting and design. Since then, Eugene has been dragging its feet, and has yet to remove unreasonable restrictions. This has resulted in three appeals to the Land Use Board of Appeals, all of which the City has lost.

HB 2001, which passed last week, has a provision that provides some additional clarity as to what constitutes a reasonable regulation related to siting and design-- most notably, it clearly states that owner occupancy provisions and off-street parking requirements are not reasonable regulations related to siting and design and cannot be used to prohibit ADUs.

The ordinance that Council will be discussing in September, as currently proposed, removes Eugene's owner occupancy requirement, but retains parking minimums for Accessory Dwelling Units. As well, it retains a number of other roadblocks which aren't related to siting or design that prevent thousands of Eugene homeowners from creating an ADU if they so desire, including restrictive lot size minimums and prohibitions on particular types of lots.

Eugene has made a commitment to address our housing crisis and to figure out how to provide housing for all our residents in a more sustainable fashion. While ADUs are not the sole solution, they are a piece of the puzzle. Prior to passing the ordinance, Council should modify it both to remove parking minimums as required by HB 2001, and to remove other barriers to ADUs.