02-21-17 City Council Agenda Packet

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EUGENE SPRINGFIELD CONSOLIDATED PLAN 2015 who were homeless received human services from one or more agencies. The three public school districts in Eugene and Springfield report 1,616 homeless youth during 2014, and this definition includes students who are staying with friends or family. Persons with Special Needs who are not Homeless Limited new data exists specific to non-homeless special needs populations in the cities of Eugene and Springfield. There are numerous sub-populations in this community. Of those, there are some that have both sufficient numbers and unique housing and service needs that warrant identification. Those include the following: veterans; children; people exiting incarceration; victims of violence; people living with HIV/AIDS; people living with drug or alcohol addictions; and college-age students. Children and youth aging out of foster care are newly identified special needs population worthy of specific attention. Employment and Economy Employment conditions in Lane County are improving but have not yet returned to pre-Recession levels. At its greatest, the unemployment rate in May 2009 was 12.8%. In February 2015 this had dropped to 6.1%. According to an Oregon Employment Department March 2015 article, between 2007 and 2010, Lane County lost 18,000 jobs. Since 2010, 9,800 jobs have been gained. In Eugene, the unemployment remains above 11% while in Springfield the unemployment rate is nearly 13%. Unemployment in the region is creating a hardship not only for skilled workers, but for the new workforce of youth 16-24 years old, at 20%. With the high unemployment and demand for skilled workers, youth are not able to gain job experience, a situation which is shown to impact their lives long term through lower earnings and less labor market engagement. Housing Units and Tenure Together, Eugene and Springfield contain more than 89,400 housing units. The balance between unit types has remained relatively stable since 1990, with single family units accounting for 61% of the total, multi-family units for 33% and the remainder mobile/manufactured homes. The data also indicates that the majority of units available to renters are two-bedroom units, and the number of two-bedroom units has remained constant near 42% since 2000. There has been an increase in the number and percentage of three bedroom units, from 21% to 30% of all rental units, or an increase of 5,277 units. There is a commensurate decrease in the percentage of no- and one-bedroom units, from 38% of all rental units in 2000 to 28% in 2013, or a decrease of 1,800 units. About 51% of the housing units in the two cities are owner-occupied, with 49% renter-occupied. This reflects a slight reduction in the number of owner occupied units since 2000 of 52%. Assisted and Public Housing A variety of assisted housing developments are currently available and serving low-income persons in the cities of Eugene and Springfield. There are at total of 4,452 assisted housing units in 113 developments in both cities, including projects subsidized with Section 8, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, or other project-based subsidies. Eugene and its urban growth boundary has August 2015 Page 9