Agenda Packet 2-26-20 Work Session

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February 26, 2020, Work Session – Item 1 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Parks and Recreation System Development Charge Methodology Update Meeting Date: February 26, 2020 Agenda Item Number: 1 Department: Public Works Staff Contact: Carolyn Burke www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-4914 ISSUE STATEMENT The purpose of this work session is to review options that respond to public hearing testimony and to provide direction on the proposed ordinance and resolutions to adopt updates to the parks and recreation system development charge methodology. BACKGROUND In July of 2018, City Council unanimously adopted Picture. Plan. Play. A Vision and Implementation Plan for Eugene’s Parks and Recreation System, commonly referred to as the Parks and Recreation System Plan. This plan was built on the input of over 12,000 individuals who participated in a multi-year, award-winning public engagement process. With the adoption of that plan, a new project list and priorities for project implementation were established. That project list and its accompanying priorities are the basis for the updated SDC methodology. The City Council held work sessions in July and October of 2019 and a public hearing in January of 2020. Four individuals provided testimony, two of which were representing the Lane County Homebuilders and the Eugene Springfield Chamber of Commerce. This testimony expressed concern for the impact of a fee increase on affordable housing and requested no fee increase for two years. Additional areas of concern were: a current administrative fee of nine percent, the need to maintain the City’s ability to move forward with projects approved on the 2018 bond that require SDC matching funds, potential disincentivizing of multi-family housing, and the availability of operational funding to keep pace with new park development. The following sections describe strategies and options to address those issues. Administrative Fee: Staff have reviewed the administrative fee and determined that a reduction from 9 percent to 5 percent can be achieved. A motion is included to implement this fee reduction regardless of which direction council takes on the overall SDC fee and rate structure. Implementing 2018 Parks and Recreation Bond: Council can adopt components of the proposed methodology and the proposed project list to enable bond-related projects that require SDC matching funds to be eligible for the use of SDC funds. Similar to the administrative fee, this