Hannarose McGuinness / Eugene Register-Guard / March 20, 2025
Link to this article on the Register Guard Website [here]
- The City of Eugene is proposing a zone change for the northern portion of the Butterfly Lot downtown.
- The change would allow for mixed-use development, with housing as the top priority.
Eugene officials are considering a zone change that could pave the way for a new development, including some much-needed housing, on the “Butterfly Lot,” a high-profile piece of city-owned land that has long been in flux.
The city purchased the lot from Lane County in 2018 with plans to construct a new City Hall building, designing a town square where civic and community resources were centralized downtown. In 2019, the site of the former City Hall was purchased by Lane County to be used as a temporary surface parking lot for county employees, completing a downtown land swap between entities.
In 2021, part of the Butterfly Lot was redeveloped into the Lane County Farmers Market Pavilion at 85 E. 8th Ave. The northern portion of the Butterfly Lot is used as a surface lot while the southern portion houses the Lane County Farmers Market Pavilion. As plans for Eugene’s City Hall moved to acquire the former EWEB Headquarters building at 500 E. 4th Ave., the question for planners has become, ‘What to do with the north portion of the Butterfly Lot?’
The new “Major Commercial” zoning designation would allow for commercial development on the lot but also includes a provision allowing for housing. While the city plans to solicit development proposals, Development Analyst Dylan Huber-Heidorn, speaking on behalf of the city as the applicant for the zone change, said housing is a top priority for the city and will be required for the development of this lot.
“I think we’ll certainly welcome some form of mixed-use development there but housing will certainly be an absolutely required element,” Huber-Heidorn said of the types of proposals the city will consider.
The official language of the proposal would change the property from a “Public Lands with a Transit Oriented Development Overlay” to a “Major Commercial zone with a Transit Oriented Development Overlay and Nodal Development Overlay.”
Associate Planner Nick Gioello explained the uses for both the Transit Oriented Development Overlay and the Nodal Development Overlay. He said the Transit Oriented Development Overlay promotes increased choices in transit modes, enhances pedestrian safety and encourages less automobile use in dense urban spaces. This can be done by setting limitations for building setbacks and orientation.
He said Nodal Development Overlay utilizes prohibited uses and special use limitations to ensure that developments fit the area they are located in.
“Its purpose is to direct and encourage development that’s supportive of the Nodal Development Overlay zone and protect these areas from incompatible development,” Gioello said. “Things like car washes, vehicle sales, stand-alone parking — these are things that would be allowed in the C-3 commercial area but within the overlay, those are now not allowed.”
According to Huber-Heidorn, the property’s history of public ownership and zoning as Public Land doesn’t allow for redevelopment opportunities rooted in the city’s goals of building housing and integrating developments with public spaces and the rest of downtown.
“A zone change is necessary to enable other uses and future development potential,” Huber-Heidorn said.
No public comments on the proposed zone change were received. Hearings Official David Doughman called the zoning change request “pretty straightforward” and expects to have a final decision on the property issued by April 3.
Hannarose McGuinness is The Register-Guard’s growth and development reporter. You can reach her at hmcguinness@registerguard.com.
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