7.24.2019 City Council Work Session Minutes

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o Councilor Yeh - reiterated her opposition to striking this sentence or striking reference to "alt -right" groups; proposed rewording the sentence in Item H to read, "Today, groups are advocating for the apprehension, detention and deportation of Central American refugees legally seeking asylum in the United States" o Councilor Clark and Councilor Semple accepted Councilor Yeh's rewording as a friendly amendment. o Councilor Taylor - proposed postponing this item because she objected to re -writing the resolution language in this way at the table. o Councilor Zelenka - asked clarifying questions about postponing motions to reconsider; said it was important that if they're spending time amending the resolution, they're doing it to get to a unanimous decision; shared concerns that Councilor Taylor's suggestion to postpone the item might mean she won't vote in favor of the amended resolution. o Councilor Taylor - said she would prefer to consider the amendments thoroughly and vote on the resolution after break because this process was messy. VOTE ON SUBSTITUTE MOTION (with friendly amendments): PASSED 7:0. Well0DKILNu1:1VW[IIIII1110F:VS1111:1.1r101SDI AUFAVIMDI0yaa Mayor Vinis - said this was an important conversation to have but encouraged councilors IN the future to make edits to a proposed resolution in advance and not during a City Council meeting. WORK SESSION: Implementation of Construction Excise Tax and Use of Affordable Housing Trust Funds Community Development Director Michael Kinnison, Grants Manager Stephanie Jennings, and Building Permit Services Director Lydia Kaye provided an update on the Construction Excise Tax (CET), a timeline for its implementation, and the outcomes and potential focus areas for use of CET funds. Council Discussion o Councilor Clark- asked staff about the pilot assistance program; talked about his challenges with the Construction Excise Tax because it makes housing more expensive and generates more rental housing instead of home ownership; said he would prefer to make it easier for low-income folks to buy homes and would support 15 percent or more of residential CET revenue set aside for down payment assistance. o Councilor Syrett - said she liked the makeup of the proposed committee; asked who the committee would be making recommendations to; said her priority focus areas are included on the proposed list, including both renter and homeowner assistance; asked if this funding could be used for permanent supportive housing; said she supported this fund because of its flexibility and will be looking for creativity in the recommendations from the advisory committee and staff to make the best use of CET dollars. o Councilor Zelenka - asked about the status of the renter protections task force and survey and how that gets integrated into this process; talked about the affordable housing task force group and their focus on more affordable housing, noting very few people in that group were renters so the focus was not on renter protections; said he thinks this money should be focused on people not losing their homes with assistance to renters and homebuyers, including help with down payments, rental deposits, housing navigators, and a single rental application process. o Councilor Yeh -agreed that the money should be focused on the three proposed potential focus areas and that the City should be looking at setting aside more than 15 percent of the MINUTES — Eugene City Council July 24, 2019 Page 3 Work Session