04/27/20 City Council Agenda Packet - Work Session

Home Browse Search

Eugene Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice 2020-2024 -2024 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) seeks to understand potential barriers to fair housing choice and provide guidance on actionable strategies to address those barriers. The table below summarizes the impediments and suggested actions to consider. The AI focusses on and opportunities. The protected classes in Eugene are: RaceSexMarital StatusEthnicity ColorFamilial StatusSexual OrientationAge National OriginDisabilityGender Identity ReligionSource of IncomeDomestic Partnership The Analysis of Impediments also looks at general barriers to affordable housing for low-and moderate- - disproportionately represented among low- and moderate-income households in Eugene. As this analysis is being finalized in spring 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has already started to dramatically affect the entire community. It is also clear that the economic retraction will most severely destabilize lower income residents, exacerbating housing stability among protected classes. Households in protected classes may need additional support to access rental assistance and foreclosure support, technology needed when social distancing and stay-home orders are active, and federal support contingent on an individual providing a Social Security Number. Even after rebounding from the pandemic, these communities will remain more vulnerable to any future natural disaster. Expanding Fair Housing Choice and Dispersion of Affordable Housing In recent years the City has stepped up long-standing efforts to remove barriers to affordable housing and address inequities throughout the city, expanding fair and quality housing choices for residents. To this end, the City has actively engaged stakeholders and worked closely with partners. For instance, the City was a key partner in the 2014 Lane County Equity and Opportunity Assessment, which solicited resident input to identify and analyze the issues of equity, access, and opportunity within the region and to consider how the findings could inform agency plans, policies, and major investments. In 2018, the Housing Tools and Strategies (HTS) Working Group was formed and one aspect of their work was to develop actions to address the supply of affordable housing for lower income residents, including protected classes. The City has taken concrete steps to encourage expansion of affordable housing, including dispersion of affordable housing throughout the city. Specific policies or actions that have been completed or are underway include: Regular review of land use and zoning policy to support development of additional housing choices for low-income households. encourages dispersal of low-income households and subsidized housing throughout city Implementation of House Bill 2001 to expand opportunities for a variety of housing types in traditionally single-family neighborhoods. Implementation of a construction excise tax (CET) and formation of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to support affordable housing development and housing programs.