The Eugene City Council voted five to three to approve the ordinance amending the Fairmount/University of Oregon Special Area Study, the Eugene Code and rezoning property. This would allow UO to move forward with the campus expansion.
UO’s Next Generation Housing Plan is a strategy to develop the east campus area into two residence halls to address housing needs for both first-years and upper-division undergraduate students.
The university has been working since March of 2025 to get three applications that would amend a city code to allow heightened dormitories in the east campus area, remove a land use overlay near Matthew Knight Arena and amend the special area study between UO and the Fairmount neighborhood.
The most recent public hearing regarding the ordinance was held on April 20, where campus planners and neighbors gave public testimony about their approval or disapproval of the campus expansion plan.
The ordinance is a quasi-judicial situation, where councilors look at evidence from public hearings to make their decision. Councilors had to vote solely based on whether or not the applicant met the applicable approval criteria.
Councilor Alan Zelenka proposed an alternative motion, which would deny the application, but failed with Councilors Lyndsie Leech and Matt Keating joining him.
![Oregon players celebrate on home plate with infielder Naulivou Lauaki Jr. (18) as he rounds home after his home run. On May 30, 2026, The Oregon Ducks defeated the Washington State Cougars [4-0] in game 4 of the NCAA D1 Baseball Regionals at PK Park, at University of Oregon, based in Eugene, Ore. (Fred Hall/Emerald)](https://dailyemerald.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026.5.30.EMG_.FJH_.BSBLvsWashingtonStNCAA-13-1-1200x800.jpg)
Charlie • May 14, 2026 at 10:44 pm
UOwe just announced they have a $65 million deficit. Weren’t these the same buffoons that claimed the deficit was $2 million? All these massively overpaid administrators, and they can’t do basic bookkeeping.
Main reason being not enough dumb outta state students willing to pay nearly 7x more in tuition than if they stayed home. UOwe outta state tuition is $45,000/year. At Cal State Long Beach, it’s about $6,500. Despite the nonstop PR blitz wafting outta Johnson Hall, it makes no sense to pay a massive premium to attend an academically compromised university.
Not as if the bright lights that run that clown college didn’t know this was going to happen. Many of us told the uni their business model was going to fail. Maybe if admins had spent less time on CRE speculation, and more energy making UOwe better academically, all this may have been avoided..,
Curtis Taylor • May 13, 2026 at 1:48 am
Good call by Council. The majority stayed focused on the actual approval criteria instead of getting pulled into the noise by the notoriously NIMBY Fairmount Neighbors Association. Solid decision.
Charlie • May 14, 2026 at 8:52 am
Ahhhhhhhhh…..no. That’s a ridiculous characterization of the Fairmount opposition. The area doesn’t have the appropriate infrastructure for that massive a project. Eugene doesn’t need any more apartments in a glutted market..