Agenda Packet 9-11-19 Work Session

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September 11, 2019, Work Session – Item 1 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session and Possible Action: Ferry St. Manor – Application for Multiple-Unit Property Tax Exemption for Mixed-Use Property Meeting Date: September 11, 2019 Agenda Item: 1 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Amanda D’Souza www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5540 ISSUE STATEMENT City Council is asked to consider the request for a Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption for the Ferry St. Manor project, a proposed multi-unit housing development located at 1040 and 1050 Ferry Street. BACKGROUND The City received a MUPTE application in March from RNS Management LLC (a local developer entity owned by the Bennett family), for a proposed multi-unit housing development (Ferry St. Manor). The application was deemed complete on April 8, 2019. (A copy of the Ferry St. Manor MUPTE application is available in the council office and online at www.eugene-or.gov/3281/MUPTE- Applications) Program Background MUPTE is an incentive program to encourage high-quality, multi-unit downtown housing especially in areas well served by public transit. Both rental housing and multi-unit housing for home ownership are eligible; student housing is ineligible. Enabled by state law, the program provides a 10-year property tax exemption on qualified new multi-unit housing investments that occur within a specific, targeted area that meet program requirements and that are reviewed and approved by City Council. During the exemption period, property owners still pay taxes on the assessed value of the land and any existing improvements on the property. Council can deem commercial portions of a project to be a public benefit and include them as part of the exemption along with the residential portion. In 2015, after a two-and-a-half-year review, council revised the MUPTE program criteria, process and boundary. See Attachment A for a summary of the program criteria and the process diagram. Review Panel The 2015 MUPTE update established a Review Panel, tasked with providing a third-party review of individual applications for the City Manager. The Review Panel is made up of two at-large representatives selected by neighborhood association boards, two representatives selected by the board of the neighborhood association in which the proposed project is located, and six technical