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The motion failed, 5:3; Mr. Laue, Ms. Taylor, and Mr. Fart voting yes. <br /> <br /> Ms. Nathanson moved, seconded by Mr. Laue, to delete the word "new" from <br /> Policy 8. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. <br /> <br />Mr. Croteau reviewed Don Upson's suggested changes to Policy 9 (italicized text proposed for <br />addition): "Mitigate the impacts of new and/or higher density housing, infill, and redevelopment <br />on neighborhoods through design standards, open space, and housing maintenance programs, <br />and continuing historic preservation and neighborhood planning programs in order to maintain <br />the character and fivability of individual neighborhoods," <br /> <br />Mr. Fart suggested that the proposed addition was redundant with Policy 6. Mr. Croteau <br />concurred. <br /> <br />Mr. Fart said that it was very expensive to build a house in Eugene, and those high costs <br />increased the cost of existing housing stock and drove up rental prices. He said that the design <br />standards proposed in the policy, as well the other programs called for, would further add to the <br />cost of a new house. Mr. Fart said that he would prefer to delete the policy altogether. <br /> <br />Mr. Laue said that housing prices in Eugene would fall if the vacancy rate rose to five percent. <br />He said that housing prices were largely market-driven, not cost-driven. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner concurred with Mr. Laue. He pointed out that the programs cited in the policy <br />represented existing efforts and current council priorities. Only design standards were not in <br />place, and Mr. Meisner said that design standards do not apply to single-family housing, so it <br />could not be argued that they would add to the cost of a new home. He further pointed out that <br />design standards were intended to replace site review, which is a costly process in terms of time <br />and money. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr said that people could use the policy to justify design standards for higher density <br />housing. He concurred with Mr. Laue that market demand increased the cost of a product but <br />manufacturing costs will always increase the product cost if they rise. <br /> <br />Mr. Tollenaar asked about the practical effect of replacing the word "housing" with the word <br />"development." Mr. Croteau suggested that the council retain the word "housing" because <br />development would expand the scope of the policy while not alleviating Mr. Farr's concerns. <br /> <br />Responding to a request for clarification from Mr. Farr, Ms. Childs said that design standards <br />were the only elements in the policy that did not apply to single-family housing. <br /> <br />Mr. Croteau suggested that the council consider replacing "housing" with "multi-unit design <br />standards." <br /> <br /> Mr. Farr moved to amend the policy by inserting the phrase "multi-unit" prior <br /> to the phrase "design standards." There was no second to the motion. <br /> <br />The council made no changes to Policy 9. <br /> <br />MINUTES-Eugene City Council February 2, 1998 Page 4 <br />5:30 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />