Agenda Packet 1-14-19 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES – Eugene City Council December 12, 2018 Page 2 Work Session 1. WORK SESSION: Housing Tools and Strategies Mayor Vinis explained that the scope of the work session was to review only the proposed administrative housing tools and strategies and said the other strategies would be brought back for council consideration in early 2019. Planning and Development Director Denny Braud was available for questions. Council Discussion • Lessons learned from this process include the need for more frequent updates about the work group’s progress, including projected goals and results. • Several of the proposals will have a negative effect on housing. Eugene has two primary problems: the poverty rate and the inability for people to own a home. Goal of council should be to make it less expensive to build homes that are affordable to more people. • It is important to clarify the percentage of types of housing available. Consider support/assistance for renters. • The proposed Construction Excise Tax amount is too low; consider increasing. Inclusion of the Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption in the strategies is questionable. • Conversation about “housing” should not assume home ownership; shift focus to bring renters back into the process. The proposed process is not targeted enough to be effective in creating more affordable housing. • Many of the proposed strategies have costs associated with them. • Appreciate effort to break the proposed strategies into manageable chunks that identify actionable items; the approval process should be deliberate and inclusive. • Questions asked about how neighborhood participation would be encouraged and facilitated. • Unsure what problem(s) will be solved by creating a “housing action plans.” MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to direct the City Manager to move forward the 12 administrative items listed on December 11, 2018, proposed action matrix. PASSED 7:0. • A work session to discuss the Construction Excise Tax will be scheduled early in 2019. The council returned to an issue associated with the Hwy 99 homeless camp discussion. • At an earlier meeting, the council approved additional funding to partner with Lane County for transitioning the camp to a dusk-to-dawn facility. • Staff now needs clarification if any the approved funds will be used for the camp site, to increase capacity at the Lindholm Center, or both. • If the County contracts with St. Vincent DePaul, several of the current residents of the homeless camp will be excluded. The City must have a back-up plan for dealing with the fact that these excluded individuals will need somewhere to go. MOTION AND VOTE (including friendly amendment): Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to authorize the expenditure of up to $100,000 to support Lindholm Center services. PASSED 6:1, Councilor Zelenka opposed. The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, January 14, 2019, Meeting - Item 3A