Item A: Envision Eugene Update - Social Equity

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“moving the dials” and the concurrent impact on satisfying a portion of the residential, commercial and industrial land need. By state law (and consistent with community values), land within the current urban growth boundary must first be used efficiently before the UGB can be recommended for expansion. Practically, the council will choose a package of strategies that satisfies all or a portion of the land need within the current UGB, with any unmet residual earmarked for UGB expansion. Each strategy will be accompanied by one or more tactics, which are the actions that must be taken to successfully implement a strategy. If tactics are not approved concurrently with a strategy, “phantom capacity” is created, and the strategy is not a viable means of satisfying the land need within the current UGB. Several Envision Eugene work sessions are planned with council over the three-month period from December 2010 to February 2011. In December and January, the foundation for each of the triple- bottom-line elements – social equity, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity – will be presented and discussed. These work sessions will not include strategies and tactics, but baseline data, goals, frameworks, etc. Work sessions in February will begin to introduce strategies and tactics as the Community Resource Group (CRG) continues its work. Similar to the joint City Council/Planning Commission work session, different CRG members will be invited to participate in the work sessions to add their perspectives to the conversations. Social Equity Foundation The relationship between social equity and the Envision Eugene project touches on several important areas of policy and ongoing work within the community, including:  Housing affordability;  Access to jobs, goods and services, education, and recreation; and  Neighborhood livability. There is a great deal of overlap between the social equity and economic prosperity elements of Envision Eugene, particularly when it comes to housing affordability. Raising average wages has a large impact on a family’s ability to afford adequate housing. Therefore, quality-job creation should be considered an important factor in improving housing affordability. Housing Affordability As we plan for additional growth, housing affordability stands out as a key issue not only because the state requires communities to address it, but because it is a serious problem facing the community. The incidence of poverty has doubled in the Eugene-Springfield area over the past 40 years. At the same time, housing costs have increased significantly. While earnings for an average family grew by only 6.3 percent since 1970, median rent has gone up by 26 percent and median home prices by 144 percent. Although median home prices have decreased in recent years, the overall increase in home costs means that homeownership is out of reach for more households. This puts a much greater cost burden on both renters and homeowners. Cost burden refers to the amount of income a family needs to apply to housing. If it is over 30 percent of their income, the family is considered cost-burdened. In 2000, half of all renters faced a housing cost burden, along with a quarter \\Cesrv500\cc support\CMO\2011 Council Agendas\M110112\S110112A.doc