Staff recommends Glenwood Riverfront and Mohawk as primary climate-friendly areas; downtown proposed as secondary

City of Springfield planning staff recommended that the city designate the Glenwood Riverfront and Mohawk as primary climate-friendly areas (CFAs) and a reduced downtown area as a secondary CFA, saying those locations best meet Oregon's Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities requirements and local capacity constraints.

Chelsea Hartman, senior planner for the city's climate-friendly equitable communities work, laid out the staff recommendation at a Planning Commission work session and regular meeting on Feb. 3. "We are recommending Glenwood Riverfront and Mohawk to become primary CFAs and a smaller portion of downtown to become a secondary CFA," Hartman said.

The recommendation responds to state CFEC rules that require cities to identify at least one primary CFA of at least 25 acres and to ensure CFAs together can accommodate 30% of the community's current and future housing need. Hartman told commissioners that 30% of Springfield's current and projected housing need equates to a little less than 10,000 housing units under the city's current analysis and that the city must complete a new housing capacity analysis by December 2027 using state-provided housing projections.

Staff described how the recommended combination of CFAs would exceed the minimum 30% housing-capacity target when the state's updated projection is applied. Hartman said the proposed code changes would focus on rezoning some R-2 and R-3 areas to mixed-use residential, replacing the city's nodal development overlay with a CFA overlay where appropriate, and making other targeted map and code changes. For Glenwood, staff proposed eliminating the existing Glenwood office mixed-use district and allowing commercial uses consistent with the Glenwood master plan; for downtown staff recommended trimming the boundary east to 14th Street to reduce impacts on adjacent residential areas. To retain a three-story limit in the Willamette Greenway, staff proposed excluding that portion from the Glenwood CFA boundary.

Hartman reviewed differences between primary and secondary CFA standards: primary CFAs allow higher building heights (at least seven stories) and higher densities (about 25 units per net acre); secondary CFAs allow lower heights (about four stories) and lower densities (about 15 units per acre). She said the primary-versus-secondary designation affects the minimum density the code would require and that staff favored a downtown secondary CFA because the higher minimum density for a primary CFA could limit feasible housing projects downtown and could be inconsistent with historic properties such as the Washburn Historic District.

Staff also summarized fall and prior outreach: online surveys, postcards, in-person events, and interviews with major landowners and infrastructure providers (including PeaceHealth and the Glenwood master-plan team). Survey respondents prioritized tenant support tools (including renter protections), direct financial tools (subsidies or tax incentives), and design outcomes such as weather protection, open space with amenities, and active ground-floor uses.

Gateway Riverbend was not recommended as a CFA in staff's preferred scenario, primarily because of development constraints (floodplain and floodway), limited infrastructure capacity and lower apparent potential for new housing. Hartman said staff revised the Gateway boundary to exclude floodway areas that are not developable under CFA criteria.

Commissioners asked about state credit for citywide actions, the relationship between CFAs and the citywide housing strategy, transportation and infrastructure priorities for CFAs, and whether financing tools are part of the CFA designation. When Commissioner Greenwell asked if the state provides a formal program to recognize citywide measures that would reduce the acreage requirement, Hartman replied bluntly: "Not in the rules." Hartman said the CFA rules require the acreage and housing-capacity calculations but that some housing tools and financial incentives could be pursued separately or in tandem through the city's broader housing production strategy, which staff will present to council on March 10.

Hartman explained next steps: staff will share Planning Commission feedback with the City Council to inform the council's selection of CFAs on Feb. 10; after council direction staff would draft specific plan and code amendments for the adoption process scheduled to begin later in the year. She also noted that if the Glenwood Riverfront CFA moves forward and includes land outside the city limits, the Lane County Planning Commission and the Lane County Board of Commissioners would be part of the adoption process.

Discussion on the record included questions about how CFAs affect adjacent commercial and residential transition standards, whether city-owned downtown parcels factor into capacity, and how design and housing tools can reduce displacement risk during redevelopment. Commissioners expressed general support for keeping downtown and Mohawk contiguous (one commissioner supported a 14th Street boundary to link downtown and Mohawk) and for the staff emphasis on Glenwood where prior planning work has already aligned with CFA requirements.

Hartman closed by thanking commissioners for feedback that will be shared with the council. "This will be helpful for council next week," she said.

No formal action or vote on CFA designations was taken at the meeting; staff sought feedback to share with council and will return with draft plan and code amendments if council directs staff to proceed.