Item 2A - Minutes Approval - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4820 Repealing Resolution No. 4477 that Adopted the 1996 Housing Dispersal policy, and Providing an Effective Date Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Solomon, moved approval of the Consent Calendar. Councilor Kelly pulled Item C. He stated that he had previously submitted minutes corrections via email. He also noted, on behalf of Councilor Bettman, that she had submitted corrections to the minutes electronically. Mayor Piercy deemed the corrections, without objections, approved. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar with the exceptions of Item C passed unanimously, 6:0. Mayor Piercy called for discussion on Item C. Councilor Kelly agreed with Mr. Hinkley's public testimony that this was not an item for the Consent Calendar. Noting that the resolution was already on the table, he said it would either need to be approved, denied, or tabled at this point. Having spent four years on the Housing Policy Board (HPB), he thought the acceptance of subsidized housing in the community was due in part to the Housing Dispersal Policy. He felt the goals of the policy were still valid. He did not find the reasons staff provided in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS) to be sufficient to eliminate it. He believed the policies could need revision in some places, such as finding a more relevant number for a maximum number of units. Councilor Poling commented that his understanding was that the policy, when repealed, would be folded into the Consolidated Plan. He asked if there were advantages for construction of low-income housing that the City stood to lose by repealing the policy. Richie Weinman, Urban Services Manager for the Planning and Development Division (PDD), responded that the City stood to gain something by repealing the policy. He explained that this was the reason that both the HPB and the Planning Commission had supported the repeal. He said the dispersal policy identified certain census tracks that were not eligible for family housing because of population and, because of changes in federal funding, those census tracks happened to be located in places where 30 percent more money could be gained for projects. He stated that lower income census tracks had this bonus associated with them. Continuing, Mr. Weinman conveyed the HPB's position that the projects that had been built were assets to the neighborhoods in which they were constructed and would be assets to low-income census tracks as well. He said award-winning housing was constructed that enhanced neighborhoods. He related that current projects had been contrived to have fewer units in order to avoid the Housing Dispersal Policy because it created a level of uncertainty at the time the projects were conceived. Councilor Poling questioned whether sending the dispersal policy to be rewritten would duplicate what the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Consolidated Plan set forth. Mr. Weinman responded that the suggestion was that the council jettison the free-standing Housing Dispersal Policy and fold its concepts into the Consolidated Plan, which is also adopted by the council. He reiterated that the repeal of the Housing Dispersal Policy would not go into effect until the Consolidated Plan language was adopted. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 2005 Page 9 Regular Session