Agenda Packet 3-13-19 Work Session

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March 13, 2019, Work Session – Item 2 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Housing Tools and Strategies Meeting Date: March 13, 2019 Agenda Item Number: 2 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Anne Fifield www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5659 ISSUE STATEMENT Housing affordability and availability is a long-standing and growing problem in Eugene. Council directed staff to implement a process to identify potential tools and strategies available to the City to address housing affordability, availability, and diversity for all income levels. The resulting Housing Tools and Strategies process used technical research and stakeholder input to identify a variety of actions the City could pursue to reduce costs and/or barriers to building more housing. Staff will present summary information on the potential actions that were identified, provide an update on the body of work currently underway and discuss where staff will focus the next phase of work. BACKGROUND Eugene’s housing supply has not kept pace with demand. Between 2000 and 2016, the number housing units increased by 15 percent and the population grew by 17 percent. Using an average household size of 2.3 people, the data show that new demand for housing exceeded new supply by over 1,100 units. The community and council have clearly stated, in a variety of public engagement processes and policy documents, that an adequate supply of housing is a high-priority goal. One of the seven Envision Eugene Pillars is Provide housing affordable to all income levels. In 2018, council directed staff to implement a process that would tie together the many overlapping initiatives and proposals that address housing issues. Staff implemented the Housing Tools and Strategies (HTS) project to meet this council directive. The HTS project included stakeholder engagement and technical analysis. The engagement process focused on assembling a working group of 36 stakeholders representing diverse interests and perspectives. In all, the working group discussed and identified over 80 specific actions that the City might take to increase the availability, affordability, and diversity of housing in Eugene. 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 address housing issues in Lane County.