Corvallis Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs) Update - Final Public Hearing Scheduled
ami...@willamettewatershed.com
Corvallis Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs) Update - Final Public Hearing Scheduled
As part of the state's Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) program, cities within the state's eight largest metro areas, including Corvallis, need to designate one or more Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs). CFAs have statutory rules and requirements to allow for a mix of uses at certain development scales, and they must cumulatively be able to accommodate at least 30 percent of the total identified number of housing units necessary to meet all current and future housing needs (in Corvallis, this equals 8,174 dwelling units). The City must designate one “Primary CFA” that is at least 25 acres in size, and all CFAs must have a minimum width of 750 feet. Public documents related to the local CFEC efforts, including CFA adoption, are here.
May 19 City Council Public Hearing
After more than two years of community outreach, evaluation of various alternatives, and discussions with City Council and the Planning Commission, a final set of recommendations on Corvallis's CFA adoption will be considered at a public hearing with City Council on May 19.
The recommendations that City Council will consider include the following:
- Designate "Site E" (the 9th Street corridor) as the City's CFA. Within this area, which is entirely zoned Commercial Mixed Use 2 (CMU-2), townhouses will be permitted by-right, and the maximum building height will increase from 75 feet (approx. 6 stories) to 85 feet (approx. 7 stories).
- Adopt required standards within the CFA related to pedestrian connections and bicycle parking.
- In the CMU-1 and CMU-2 Zones, increase the maximum Front Yard and Exterior Side Yard setback from 10 feet to 20 feet.
- Establish a process to allow owners of certain properties to request an administrative zone change from RS-12 (Medium Density Residential) or RS-20 (High Density Residential) to Residential Mixed Use 12 or 20 (RMU-12 or RMU-20).
- Misc. minor code tweaks and clean-up.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on April 2 and voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve the amendments. A video recording of that meeting can be found here.
The amendments being considered by City Council are anticipated to be exactly the same as those reviewed by the Planning Commission, which can be found in the April 2 staff report posted on the City's CFEC page. The staff report for the May 19 public hearing, including the final recommendations, will be posted on the CFEC page on or before May 12. The City needs to adopt amendments to comply with the state CFA rules by no later than June 30, 2025.
City Council meetings are held at the Downtown Fire Station at 400 NW Harrison Blvd. You can register here to watch the hearing online. Opportunities to provide oral or written testimony are described here.
If you have any questions or comments on CFA implementation, please reach out to the Planning Division at plan...@corvallisoregon.gov or 541-766-6908.
