11-16-16 Council Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Recommendations The University of Oregon Office of the President and Community Relations sponsored this review of the Eugene Rest Stop ordinance. As such, our intent was to provide a credible, objective, and external review of the rest stop program. In the spirit of contributing to efforts that address the long-standing issue of homelessness in our community, we offer the following recommendations. 1.The City should revise the rest stop ordinance to clarify its intent, to better articulate the application process and siting guidelines, and to make it permanent. The City should extend the sunset date of the Permitted Overnight Sleeping Pilot Program to remain in place permanently—or at least provide for longer periods between the sunset dates. Additionally, the City needs to develop a better pathway for accommodating the rest stops. If the City Council wants to continue to have direct oversight of the program, we recommend that either (1) the ordinance be modified to articulate the application process and siting criteria, or (2) if the preference is to keep the ordinance simple and focused, direct staff to develop guidance for prospective applications. Finally, we recommend the City consider amending the ordinance to explicitly identify an intention for the rest stop program. This could be incorporated into a revised ordinance or into a set of program guidelines. 2.Work to enhance the multijurisdictional partnership of local governments, nonprofits, and private businesses to fully implement the Housing First model. Continue multi-jurisdictional efforts that involve local governments, nonprofits and the business community in crafting solutions using the Housing First model as a priority. The Lane County Poverty and Homeless Board is implementing a number of efforts focused on Lane County’s homeless population—including Housing First. Given that the Poverty and Homeless Board is the lead coordinating agency, the Board should coordinate this effort. It is notable that these efforts require resources—time and dollars. Local governments should consider dedicating staff time and funding to implement the Lane County Housing First program. 3.Review land-use options for accommodating micro-housing development. The concept of allowing micro-villages as an outright use in one or more zones should be explored. A substantial movement exists around “tiny” homes; micro-villages could be one option for accommodating households that would like to choose to live in a smaller dwelling than currently allowed by City code. This would allow facilities to serve as more than homeless shelters or transitional housing. We recommend the Eugene City Council direct the Planning Department to conduct a review of the City Development Code with respect to micro-village and micro-apartment development. That review should include analysis of the merits of code amendments and recommendations to the Planning Commission about A Review of Transitional Housing Strategies in Eugene October 2015 Page | vii