City planning staff presented a package of housing code concepts on Dec. 9 aimed at helping Eugene meet new state housing needs projections and implement recent state legislation.

“Using the 2025 ONA projections, we know that Eugene will need to support the production of more than 26,000 new dwelling units in the next 20 years,” Heather O’Donnell, senior planner, told commissioners. She said that meeting the projection implies producing about 1,600 units per year for the next decade — roughly 70% more annual units than the previous decade — and targeting about 700 affordable units annually for lowest‑income households.

Staff proposed a suite of land use code updates for 2026 that respond to legislative changes and recurring adjustment requests. Core proposals include allowing residential treatment homes and facilities in more zones; treating recreational vehicles as dwellings in manufactured home parks or RV parks so they would not be required to relocate after a set time; clarifying manufactured home park allowances in the Elmira Special Area Zone; and permitting detached single‑room occupancy (SRO) units in separate buildings as part of coordinated micro‑village and SRO efforts.

O’Donnell recommended removing a university‑area limit of three bedrooms per dwelling and the associated deed‑restriction requirement because House Bill 2538 (2021) prohibits cities from establishing maximum occupancy rules based on familial relationships, making the deed restriction unenforceable in practice. “That standard actually hasn't been applied since House Bill 2,538 went into effect in 2021,” she said.

Other technical changes would reduce permit friction: clearer, objective bicycle parking options (including ground‑floor parking with bike‑friendly elevator access and stacked/vertical storage with mechanical assist), revised bicycle parking dimensions, and alignment of flag lot standards with non‑flag lots (5‑foot side and rear setbacks, eliminated driveway paving requirement for 1‑ and 2‑unit homes, and reduced minimum lot size to 4,500 sq ft for new flag lots).

Staff also discussed incorporating mandatory adjustments required by House Bill 1537 — for example, allowing an additional story under specific conditions for developments of 10 du/acre or more — directly into Eugene’s code to reduce confusion and make approvals more transparent. Senate Bill 974 streamlining requirements for certain residential land use applications (zone changes, planned unit developments, variances) were also flagged as needing code responses.

O’Donnell noted staff plan to move some density‑increasing items to the 2027 adoption package to use results of the land supply study and avoid amending density standards twice. She summarized next steps: City Council initiation occurred Nov. 24 and the Lane County Board initiated Dec. 2; the Lane County Planning Commission will review county adoption components Dec. 16 and staff will return to the commission with additional work sessions in Jan–Mar 2026.

Commissioners voiced general support and sought case studies of middle housing projects to better understand how new standards have performed in practice. No formal vote was taken at the Dec. 9 meeting.