Item C: MUPTE - Envision Eugene Implementation (2)

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ATTACHMENT C Council History/MUPTE Program Changes In 1975, the Oregon legislature adopted the enabling statutes for the MUPTE program as an incentive tool to complement the state land-use laws approved in 1973. The intent was to “stimulate the construction of rental housing in the core areas of Oregon’s urban centers.” In July 1977, council adopted the provisions of the state-authorized tax exemption program through a resolution that determined to complement the Eugene Community Goals and Policies adopted in 1974: “High density dwellings should be encouraged close-in to accommodate those people who prefer to live near the center of activity.” Since that time, both the state statutes and Eugene’s implementation of them have been amended. For instance, the statutes now allow multi-family ownership in addition to rental housing. The following is a summary of related council actions during the last 15 years. 1996 Moratorium: Council redesigned the selection criteria for the program and then placed a moratorium on accepting MUPTE applications until the impact analysis was complete on the passage of Measure 47 (a property tax limitation and redesign). 2002 Program Restarted: In January 2002, council reinstated MUPTE with revised guidelines and adopted a boundary area that was limited to the heart of downtown, substantially smaller than what had previously existed. [No multi-family development occurred in the core area during the moratorium. Broadway Place and High Street Terrace were approved prior to the moratorium and constructed during the moratorium period.] 2003 Boundary Expansion (Tate): In July, council approved a small expansion of the MUPTE th boundary to include the City’s development site at 14 and Olive, the future home of The Tate Condominiums. Also during 2003, council discussed a) Downtown Vision implementation tools and b) the City and University co-sponsored West University Task Force report on livability and safety that was created following the 2002 riot. MUPTE was part of both discussions; council asked staff to return with additional program amendments. 2004 Boundary Expansion & Quality Standards Amendment: In April 2004, council debated the merits of setting more specific and strict quality standards for approval and settled on a range of options to be evaluated by council prior to individual project approval. Council voted to expand th the boundary area for the co-housing project (11 and Lincoln) and to include areas within walking distance of downtown already zoned for multiple-family housing and represented areas in which housing development would be likely to occur. The expansion included parts of the West University Neighborhood and excluded the East Butte District. Council also amended the program rules to include desired quality standards and increased public notification requirements. Additionally, the amendments eliminated an annual fee that was paid to a low- income housing fund, if at least 50% of the housing was not low-income. (This was done after some members of council asserted that charging the fee reduced the incentive and ability to construct higher quality housing.)