The dust has settled on Eugene’s middle housing code amendments. Whether you were for or against the proposed changes, there’s a better way for us to increase housing density.
Because HB 2001 requires cities to allow increased density in residential areas, that’s where everyone has been focusing attention. But we are overlooking the obvious location to build new housing: parking lots. Eugene, like most cities, has acres of surface parking lots — some quite large — that could be partly or fully converted to housing and enhance neighborhoods rather than destroy them.
How many homes or apartments could be built on the parking lots at South Eugene High School, the Oregon Electric Station or St. Mary’s church downtown? And then there’s the sea of asphalt surrounding Valley River Center. With three- to five-story apartments built on it, hundreds of people could be housed on VRC’s parking lot.
Our state legislators passed a law that resulted in a contentious land use debate and pitted neighbors against one another. Now let’s come together and urge the City Council to do everything within its power to incentivize housing on parking lots so they become more attractive to developers than existing neighborhoods.
Allen Hancock
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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