05-10-17 City Council Agenda Packet

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11% to 16.9% of the people living there are people of color, between 16% and 30.5% of people have a disability and between 20% and 39.9% of people are experiencing poverty. Directly adjacent to the proposed railroad quiet zone are two of the tracts with the highest concentration of communities of color with estimated populations between 17% and 22.8% as well as higher levels of people living with disabilities and in poverty. Staff will continue to look for specific actions such as providing informational signage in Spanish and English to make the project as inclusive as possible. Staff also engaged residents through the Lane Independent Living Alliance (LILA) and the local chapter of the American Council of the Blind. These groups had numerous safety concerns and recommendations to make the proposed safety improvements useful to the disabled community 3 ¥¤³¸ ¥®± ¯¤®¯«¤ ¶¨³§ £¨² ¡¨«¨³¨¤² (see discussion above under ). 3®¢¨®ȃ%¢®®¬¨¢ %¥¥¤¢³² This category includes potential impacts on property values, neighborhood character, affordable housing, business impacts, and parking. )¢±¤ ²¤£ ¯±®¯¤±³¸ µ «´¤² This is both an economic and a social consideration. There appears to be general agreement that property values increase in areas near railroad tracks when routine train horns are silenced. A 2013 analysis of home values in Plymouth, Massachusetts, concluded that a quiet zone would increase market values for residential properties in the range of 10%. A 2016 study, "Silence is Golden: Railroad Noise Pollution and Property Values," by Jay Walker of Niagara University, found that the assessed value of residential properties in Memphis, Tennessee, within the 65 decibel range of train operations was 13% below properties with less noise exposure. That study also found no significant property value decrease among commercial properties. A 2006 study on by William Bellinger of the Dickinson College of Economics found that residential property values were found to decrease by about $4800, or 4.1% of the sales value, per 10 decibels of added noise exposure. Economically, this quiet zone effect might be seen as positive by those who own residential property for personal or business investment purposes. However, to realize the economic benefit, the property owner would have to sell or redevelop the property. Homeowners may taxable assessed value could rise no more than 3% a year, mitigating the potential burden of increased property taxes. On the social equity side, the concern is affordable housing. A rise in housing prices could be mitigated by financial assistance programs for low-income and/or low-income elderly homeowners such as state age/income deferral programs. It also may be possible to create a for assessment financing; however, funding would need to be identified for such a program. The studies cited above are silent on the effect of increased property values on renters. While a portion of the costs associated with higher property values and redevelopment may be passed along to renters, demand for housing is a significant factor in determining rents. in the downtown and Whiteaker areas. Increased livability may create more demand for housing and lead to higher rents absent development agreements or other incentives to control rents. It should be noted that there are many factors beyond the creation of a quiet zone that go into determining livability, property values and related policies for affordable housing and rent protection. 28