Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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B. WORK SESSION: Rental Housing Code Program Update Assistant City Manager/Planning and Development Director Sarah Medary introduced the item, reminding the council that the Rental Housing Code Program was scheduled to sunset at the end of 2011. She anticipated that at some point in the near future, staff would ask the council for direction on whether to sunset, extend, or modify the program. Rachelle Nicholas of the Planning and Development Department then led the council through a PowerPoint presentation on the Rental Housing Program. The presentation included background on the establishment of the code and its original focus on structural integrity, safe and sanitary plumbing, heating, and weatherproofing and its later expansion to include smoke detectors, security, and mold. The presentation also included a list of other Oregon jurisdictions with similar regulations as well as numeric and geographic information on Eugene rental properties and a map showing the location of complaints received by the City. The complaint, penalty, and appeal processes were illustrated in the presentation. Ms. Nicholas shared slides of violations. Assistant City Manager Medary shared information about program revenues and acknowledged the large reserve that had been built up. However, she projected that program expenditures would soon catch up with revenues and suggested current revenue levels were appropriate. She emphasized staff time spent on the program was carefully tracked and the expenditures reflected true costs. Assistant City Manager Medary placed the program in a larger context by reminding the council of the program’s relationship to the strategies coming out of Envision Eugene related to compact growth, affordable housing, and neighborhood livability and to the Climate & Energy Action Plan. She anticipated a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) analysis of the program would be done as well as additional public outreach. Councilors asked questions clarifying the information presented regarding program revenues, staffing levels, and scope. Mr. Clark asked staff to be prepared to identify the distinctions between the State program and local program and any possible duplications of effort at a future work session. Other councilors expressed general support for the program and the current $10 per unit fee, although Ms. Taylor had reservations about the amount of time it took to remedy a violation and requested records of complaints that did not get remedied in the time provided. Ms. Taylor also asked staff to provide the council with a review of the housing rental program that existed in the 1970s before the council discussed the topic again. Mayor Piercy encouraged staff to share its observations and recommendations for improvements with the council. Mayor Piercy adjourned the work session at 1:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 15, 2011 Page 4 Work Session