CC Minutes - 07/28/03 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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5. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Multiple-Unit Housing; and Amending Section 2.945 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Council President Pap~ moved, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4844, an ordinance concerning multiple unit housing tax exemptions. Councilor Bettman supported the motion. She stressed that a critical mass of housing was needed to support the downtown area. She opined that incentives needed to be surgically targeted and that this project fulfilled this objective. She said that this tax exemption would encourage home ownership, noting some people had felt that the proposed housing would be too expensive. She remarked, to that end, the council had supported low-income housing and would continue to support a diversity of development. Councilor Bettman averred that the project slated to be built would set an example for other developers and would encourage them to follow suit in the downtown area. Councilor Meisner echoed Councilor Bettman's sentiments. He asserted that the "surgically applied" ordinance would promote a variety of housing types in the downtown area. Councilor Nathanson foresaw more of these ordinances coming before the council. She called it an "important tool"for revitalizing neighborhoods that needed help. She noted that this was especially true, considering the report from the West University Neighborhood Task Force. Councilor Taylor registered her opposition to the motion. She commented that, if this was surgery, it was in the "wrong place and for the wrong people." While she did not object to high- end housing being built in the downtown area, she felt that the people who would be purchasing the condominiums in question could afford to pay their property taxes. She likened it to providing tax perks to rich people. She stressed that low-income people were sometimes faced with the specter of possible loss of housing due to the expense of property taxes. Councilor Poling cited page 227 of the agenda item summary in which it stated that the Multi- Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) only exempted the improvements from taxation for a period often years, and not the value of the underlying land. He stressed that the people who were buying the condominiums were not completely exempt from property taxes and that, following the ten-year period, they would be paying taxes on a much appreciated property, due to the improvements. He called it a win-win situation. Mayor Torrey called for the vote. Role call vote; the motion passed 7:1; Councilor Taylor voting in opposition. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 28, 2003 Page 12 Regular Meeting