Planning commission reviews draft housing-and-design code changes to allow more mixed‑use housing

The Springfield Planning Commission reviewed a draft of Phase 1 of the Housing and Design Initiative at a work session, where staff outlined proposed code and plan amendments to expand where housing and higher‑density mixed‑use development are permitted.

The planner leading the presentation said the package contains “four recommendations”: allow housing in more mixed‑use locations, provide more flexibility in the size and location of commercial space, permit standalone multi‑unit residential development in more places, and encourage higher‑density housing in additional locations. The changes are based on roughly a year of work with consultant Cascadia Partners and a grant from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, staff said.

Why it matters: staff said the amendments aim to reduce barriers to mixed‑use projects and make redevelopment along Main Street and other corridors more feasible by lowering the amount of required ground‑floor commercial, allowing horizontal mixed‑use (separate commercial and residential buildings on the same lot), and raising allowable heights in some neighborhood commercial zones.

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