05/25/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

e e e Mayor Obie said the question of housing is an interesting one. He studied the housing situation to the west and concluded if the City develops the tax advantage zone previously discussed to the west, the council would not wish to include the western section in the renewal boundary because there would be no tax increment funds to work it off of. Mayor Obie believed a developer interested in housing would rather be in a tax advantage zone than a renewal district. Mr. Farkas said if someone develops "straight housing" it creates a perplexing situation: on one hand there is a tax increment advantage, and on the other hand there is a tax exemption for a ten- to fifteen-year period, after which the tax increment begins to flow. The exception to this rule is mixed-use development with retail, office, and housing space. Many other cities are doing this in denser areas. This allows cities to capture some tax increment funds and take advantage of the tax break. Mr. Miller said his problem going west was that the City has not been able to do the job the council wished to see in the basic core area. He asked if it would be a problem to include the portion to the east of the Hult Center and hold the other property in abeyance for future expansion. He shared some of the concerns Mr. Bennett expressed about the effect of retail development on the existing downtown core. Ms. Wooten noted that the Downtown Commission has spent 1-1/2 years on the expansion plan and included the western portion of the downtown area in its recommendation. She asked Mr. Farkas for the reasons the commission had advocated this area's inclusion in the expansion. Mr. Farkas said the Down- town Commission and the Planning Commission looked at the west in relation to its potential for the library, mixed-uses, or retail expansion, in addition to looking hard at the amount of blight in the area. These factors in combi- nation with the nearby existing parking structure at the Hult Center led the commissions to recommend the area1s inclusion. In regard to housing on the west, there is a zoning issue as some of the western edges of the downtown are zoned for commercial, rather than housing, development. Ms. Decker said staff anticipated that housing would be built west of Lincoln Street rather than between Charnel ton and Lincoln streets. Ms. Ehrman questioned the inclusion of the State-owned property as it is developed with a large building and has no blight problem. The State has shown no enthusiasm for being included in the district and elimination of this area would save a percentage for additional growth. Mayor Obie asked if this was possible. Mr. Farkas said yes. Mr. Rutan said the council was attempting to establish groundwork for devel- opment opportunities. Unfortunately, the council has no crystal ball that allows it to know when such development will occur. This is the benefit of expanding the district. Mr. Rutan asked if there was a way to implement the expansion district in a piece-meal fashion, such as an urban renewal "re- serve.1I Mr. Holmer said he thought that the district boundary could be expanded in short order with a specific project, and he did not see the urgency to expand MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 25, 1988 Page 7