3.13.2019 City Council Work Session Minutes

Home Browse Search

crisis for which the City meets immediate needs and addresses long term needs; noted the issue of affordability is a market failure and policy issue, requiring government assistance, and noted this is the reason he favors a one percent construction excise tax to address short-term fixes; mentioned the need for greater renter perspectives in Housing Tools and Strategies and that the City could bring together work with Renter Protections and next steps to fill in gaps of Housing Tools and Strategies. • Councilor Syrett - used a car market analogy to address home building market failures in meeting housing needs; noted the need for the City to assist renters and homeowners with available choices for housing that works for their circumstance where market cannot provide those same choices. • Councilor Yeh - wondered if Planning and Development has capacity to do all this work and asked what resources are needed to get work done. • Councilor Semple - noted excitement around aligning zoning and comprehensive plans, suggesting this will be helpful to building the right buildings for the right people in the right places; wondered how the City can develop SROs to serve the unhoused and supported auxiliary dwelling unit development and pre -approved plans; reiterated support for financial assistance with down payments, foreclosure support, security deposits, etc.; wondered how the private sector can support this work, and who else to ask to support financial needs. • Councilor Clark - disagreed with Councilor Zelenka' s assessment of the issue being a market failure and suggested building homes needs to be less expensive; suggested the City needs to specify what kind of housing is for built for certain types of incomes (single income household vs. multiple income households). • Councilor Zelenka - supported market failure theory and ways to address the strategies needed to address that failure; questioned how to eliminate building costs and suggested that there is no meaningful way to do so, which is why financial supports to the renter/homeowner from the city are so important; requested a filter for impacts related to categories that are "in -progress" or "recommendations and suggested "level of support" not appropriately named and should be renamed "source". • Councilor Pryor - suggested not all barriers to building are cost -related. • Mayor Vinis - spoke about Peter Keys experience at the University of Oregon; suggested utilizing census data to evaluate intersections of data mentioned by Councilor Clark as well as other designs. The meeting adjourned at 1:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Samantha Ro erts U Deputy City Recorder MINUTES —Eugene City Council March 13, 2019 Page 3 Work Session