Agenda Packet 12-10-18 Work Session

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December 10, 2018, Work Session – Item 2 • Strategy 3: Increase Inventory of and Access to Affordable Units • Strategy 4: Other The Working Group’s full list of considered options as well as their recommendations are included in Attachment C of this report. The options that received the highest levels of support are included in Attachment F. In addition to the direct engagement with the Working Group, staff conducted research regarding best practices to address housing affordability. Staff looked both at best practices from other cities and collaborated with Better Housing Together, a community-led initiative with over 40 member-organizations working to increase the affordability, diversity and supply of housing in Lane County. A description of Better Housing Together and their member organizations are included in Attachment E. Better Housing Together conducted extensive outreach in 2018 with individuals who play a direct role in bringing housing to the market, including real estate professionals, affordable housing developers, architects, private builders, and others. They provided insight into how the City’s policies and administrative procedures affect the cost and type of housing production in Eugene. Better Housing Together provided a list of proposed changes the City could make to reduce the cost of housing development, included in Attachment F. Triple Bottom Line Framework The project addressed the Triple Bottom Line framework (TBL) primarily from the standpoint of considering social equity, through the deliberate involvement of traditionally under-represented populations on the Working Group. Values related to economic prosperity and environmental sustainability were surfaced by the group members as part of defining housing affordability as a ‘wicked problem’, and that it requires trade-offs between these values. Economic prosperity was also considered in the work done by Strategic Economics on the project. Participants were, in essence, considering the TBL as they deliberated with each on the various options to address barriers to housing affordability. RELATED CITY POLICIES There are multiple City plans and policies related to housing. The primary policy documents are briefly summarized below. Eugene-Springfield 2015 Consolidated Plan The Consolidated Plan provides an assessment of local housing, homelessness and community development needs, identifies priority needs for use of funds received from HUD, and presents strategies to address the priority needs. The Consolidated Plan adopted by Eugene City Council in 2015 identifies low-income renters as a priority population and includes five specific strategies for expanding affordable housing options and access for people with limited incomes. Staff will begin updating the Consolidated Plan in 2019.