02.26.20 City Council Work Session Minutes

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 February 26, 2020 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor Councilor Semple opened the February 26, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council. Councilor Syrett joined the meeting at 12:25 p.m. WORK SESSION: Parks and Recreation System Development Charge Methodology Update Parks and Natural Resource Planner Carolyn Burke and Interim Public Works Director Matt Rodrigues introduced the topic. Council Discussion Councilor Clark- asked for clarification on stormwater system development charges; expressed support for Option 4 and interest in suspending SDCs for accessory dwelling units; said that affordable, smaller homes become available as people move out of them because they move into larger homes. Councilor Zelenka - expressed support for adopting the proposed project list; asked what the comparison was between Portland's and Eugene's rates; appreciated that the model supported small housing and transportation access; expressed support for a two-year phase -in of the fee increase. Councilor Pryor - wanted to figure out how to increase the number of smaller, affordable homes built; was most interested in Options 2 and 3. Councilor Yeh - agreed with Councilor Pryor in support of Options 2 or 3; was willing to phase in the fee increase. Councilor Evans - was interested in a fifth option that would include no increase in the first year, a 20 percent increase in the second year, and a phased increase for two years after that. Councilor Semple - asked for clarification on what would occur between years one and two in Options 5 and 3. Councilor Syrett - weighed the need to increase housing while also continuing to fund parks development; supported the proposed Option S. Councilor Clark - supported keeping the current fees for two more years; interested in a comparison between in -market cities nearby (including Veneta, Creswell, etc.); raised the idea that the increase could occur over ten years' time. Councilor Zelenka - thought the comparison between Eugene and its competitors for where people wanted to build were with cities like Corvallis and Bend and that the $500 difference between Eugene and Springfield would not make much of an impact in the overall choice of where to build locally. Councilor Pryor - said he looked forward to a rate structure that encourages building smaller; supported Option S. Councilor Syrett - asked about the impact of the change in the administrative fee. Councilor Clark- thought Option 5 would result in builders choosing to build elsewhere and wanted to see a slower rate change over ten years; asked how the administrative fee might be used to eliminate fees for SDCs. MINUTES - Eugene City Council February 26, 2020 Page 1 Work Session