HomeMy WebLinkAbout200722 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Virtual Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
July 22, 2020
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg
Evans, Claire Syrett and Chris Pryor
Mayor Vinis opened the July 22, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council.
1. WORK SESSION: Middle Housing Code Amendments (Implementation of HB 2001)
Metro Community Planning Manager Terri Harding and Assistant Planner Sophie McGinley
provided an overview of the Middle Housing Code Amendments project, including the draft Public
Involvement Plan.
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Taylor - stated she is disturbed to see this issue turned into something about race
and disturbed about the City paying volunteers; said this is a bad law and the City should be
working for its repeal.
• Councilor Zelenka - stated he is concerned that HB2001's "one size fits all" approach to
neighborhoods is problematic, especially in his ward, where older, affordable single-family
homes will be torn down to build market -rate, non -affordable housing (including quads and
such) for students; stated this law essentially does away with R-1 zoning; approved of the
public involvement plan and including reimbursement for participation.
• Councilor Semple - asked clarifying questions regarding the model code and minimum
standards, and the process.
■ Councilor Syrett - stated this process represents the opportunity to move past the legacy of
exclusion in Oregon's code; appreciated the plan to front -load conversations so people engaged
in conversation about code get a good foundation of its meaning and implications; asked about
providing translation services; supports the compensation piece.
• Councilor Pryor - stated the difficulty is how to reconcile the fact that there are differences, but
those differences should not be used as an excuse to keep people out; need to ensure all the
types of discrimination going on don't affect council's discussions about housing.
• Councilor Clark - stated he appreciates the work toward increasing equity and inclusion; said
that HB2001 is both dangerous and wrong, and the net result will be less affordable housing.
• Councilor Yeh - expressed approval of the engagement plan.
• Councilor Evans - stated this is not just a zoning issue, and the practices of lenders and
insurance companies should also be considered; stated neighborhoods in Eugene today are
more segregated by economic circumstances and the ability to pay a mortgage, maintain
insurance and keep up the property; stated he would like to see the council delve into this
further to consider other barriers that exist and how it can work to remove them; asked if other
cities have code that deals with lending and insurance discrimination.
• Councilor Taylor - stated she agrees that affordability will disappear rather than be increased
by this law; stated she finds it strange that the council is talking about preserving housing when
it did nothing about short-term rentals.
■ Councilor Zelenka - stated that planning and zoning are complicated and not intuitive, and
knowledge of these topics is critical for people to have meaningful input.
MINUTES - Eugene City Council July 22, 2020 Page I
Work Session
Councilor Clark - briefly explained mortgage lending licensing in Oregon; stated he is in favor of
examining lending practices.
Councilor Syrett - stated she feels that giving a stipend helps level the playing field in terms of
who from the community can participate and helps provide opportunity for more to participate.
Councilor Semple - stated she is not against a stipend but does not want to spend money
needlessly; agreed this is not a good law and the council should be realistic about its time and
energy fighting it.
Councilor Pryor - said the chance this law will be rescinded is minimal, so the council needs to
figure out the best and most thoughtful way it can be incorporated into the City's planning
process; need to start this process now to be intentional about creating a code that reflects local
needs while still meeting requirements of HB2001; stated he is comfortable with compensating
or reimbursing for participation.
Councilor Evans - stated there is urgency to move this forward and a need to recognize nuances
the law does not address, and barriers raised by what the law does not cover.
Mayor Vinis - stated that the council knows missing middle housing is not going to be
affordable housing, and has acted on that information; stated this is still an important step in
order to retain the urban growth boundary and be able to increase the amount of housing units
available; thinks the engagement plan is interesting and powerful and expressed appreciation
for the work put into it.
The meeting adjourned at 1:04 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie Adams
Deputy City Recorder
(Recorded by Jessica Gebb)
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.
MINUTES - Eugene City Council July 22, 2020 Page 2
Work Session