Public Health Standards

Refining Eugene’s land use code for industrial development

The City of Eugene is committed to supporting a healthy built environment for all community members, as well as an economic climate where businesses can grow and thrive. Land use planning is one way the City can encourage development where residents have access to clean air and water, protection from environmental harms, and opportunity for economic prosperity.

The Public Health Standards (PHS) project will identify possible changes to Eugene’s land use regulations to increase protections for residents from the potentially harmful impacts of new or expanded industrial developments within the City of Eugene. Through this project, the City will:

• Engage residents, businesses, and community organizations to understand priorities.
• Identify gaps in local, state, and federal public health protections and other regulation of industrial development .
• Enhance and adopt land use regulation of industrial developments located near residential zones, parks, schools, and other sensitive areas in order to mitigate community health risks.
• Gather additional recommendations for future changes to City policy, zoning of properties, programs and investments, or other ways to integrate environmental justice in land use planning.

Eugene’s land use code is not always the most appropriate and effective tool for regulating pollution, noise, odors, light, or other impacts from existing industrial development; however, under some circumstances, land use regulations can fill gaps and/or mitigate future impacts. The City’s land use code already regulates industrial development in many ways. This project will enhance industrial development standards citywide, including, but not limited to:

• Requiring more distance between new industrial developments and residential or other sensitive areas, through tools such as setbacks, buffer areas, and landscaping.
• Limiting or prohibiting certain types of new industrial development when it is located near residential zones or other sensitive areas.
• Increasing coordination between land use application processes and other approvals (such as traffic impact studies, clean air permitting, or other requirements)
• Other tools identified through research and community engagement

Project Timeline

Staff anticipate the following milestones for this project:

• January 2025: Community Engagement Plan & Initial Conversations
• Winter – Spring 2025: Community Engagement, Research on Best Practices, Draft Changes to the Land Use Code
• Summer 2025: Begin Planning Commission and City Council Adoption Process

Community Engagement

This project will include a variety of opportunities for the community to engage and contribute to the proposed changes. City staff will reach out to a broad spectrum of community members, including affected neighborhood groups, businesses, and environmental and community groups.

More opportunities will be available soon - use the Q&A function below to ask questions for staff.