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Policy Issues and Council Goals <br />The key policy issues are whether the City wishes to provide a tax exemption as tool that encourages <br />construction of housing in the core area, determine an eligibility area boundary for the tool and <br />determine what, if any additional standards the council will place on housing in order to obtain the <br />exemption. MUPTE provides an incentive for new housing and, under current rules, may also raise <br />funds for low-income housing. There are numerous adopted policies that offer support. These are noted <br />below. <br /> <br />Downtown Plan <br />Policy 14: Encourage the production and conservation of housing and residential support services in the <br /> downtown that are attractive and affordable to a diverse population. <br /> <br />Growth Management <br />Policy 2: Encourage in-fill, mixed-use, redevelopment, and higher density development. <br />Policy 3: Encourage a mix of businesses and residential uses downtown using incentives and zoning. <br /> <br />Policy 6: Increase density of new housing development while maintaining the character and livability <br /> of individual neighborhoods. <br /> <br />Policy 8: Promote construction of affordable housing. <br /> <br />Policy 10: Encourage the creation of transportation-efficient land use patterns and implementation of <br /> nodal development concepts. <br /> <br />Downtown Vision <br />Expand housing, recreational, and cultural opportunities downtown <br /> - Develop strategies for encouraging development of downtown housing as separate buildings or <br /> upper floors. <br /> <br />2003 - 2004 Council Vision and Goals Statement <br />Sustainable Community Development <br /> <br /> - Promote a variety of additional housing in the downtown core and provide stability to downtown <br /> and neighborhoods adjacent to downtown by preserving existing housing and residential uses. <br /> <br /> - Increase the supply of low-income housing throughout the city. <br /> <br />Financial and/or Resource Considerations <br />The Oregon property tax system fundamentally changed as a result of measures 47 and 50. As a result, <br />the City of Eugene and other local taxing districts now forgo revenue when a property is exempted from <br />taxes. When approving a tax exemption request, the council must determine whether the public benefit <br />of the housing outweighs the loss of revenue during the exemption period. This public benefit is <br />imbedded in the character and density of the encouraged development, its impact on the core of Eugene, <br />the contribution to compact urban growth, and the long-term gain in taxable valuation. "Public benefit" <br />is also currently achieved from the provisions of MUPTE that provide payments to the low-income <br />housing fund. <br /> <br /> L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040421\S040421B.doc <br /> <br /> <br />