Eugene City Council voted 4-2 to increase the maximum height of construction on a few parts of East Fifth Avenue from 70 to 100 feet at a council meeting Monday.

Councilors in favor cited the need for growth and the potential for this ordinance to allow housing construction.

Obie Companies, a building developer, requested the ordinance change for two proposed buildings on the sites of current parking lots on East Fifth Avenue. They will be seven stories tall, with six stories of apartments atop a ground floor of retail. 

They will include 313 apartments, 100 of which will be above the previous limit of 70 feet.

“This is an opportunity to have something that adds housing that we desperately need in our community,” Councilor Randy Groves said.

Councilors opposed to the ordinance cited aesthetic concerns about blocking the view to and from Skinner Butte.

“The butte belongs to all of us,” Councilor Emily Semple said. “And we’re putting in a lot of expensive apartments along the butte and the river, and I find that really concerning.”

In 1968, the city council passed an ordinance restricting construction height to 70 feet between Sixth Avenue and the Willamette River, with the goal of preserving the view of Skinner Butte. 
In 2018, councilors modified it, allowing construction up to 110 feet tall along Sixth Avenue. 

With Monday’s approved ordinance, the council created an additional transition zone allowing 100-foot construction on both sides of East Fifth Avenue, expanding the Market District.