HomeMy WebLinkAbout220124 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Virtual Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
January 24, 2022
5:30 p.m.
Councilors Present: Claire Syrett, Matt Keating, Jennifer Yeh, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Mike
Clark
Councilors Absent: Greg Evans, Randy Groves
Mayor Vinis opened the January 24, 2022, work session of the Eugene City Council in virtual format.
1. WORK SESSION -Housing Implementation Pipeline
Planning and Development Executive Director Denny Braud and Economic Prosperity Programs
Manager Amanda Nobel Flannery presented the updated Housing Implementation Pipeline (HIP)
document, a five-year internal work plan to coordinate current and future resources, goals, and
priorities with a systems-thinking approach to housing across the full spectrum from people
experiencing homelessness to overall housing supply.
Council Discussion:
■ Mayor Vinis -stated that this plan is complete, coherent and important in building a framework
for aligning future decisions with the City's goals and values; urged all to read this document.
• Councilor Keating-echoed Mayor Vinis' enthusiasm for this work; thanked staff for their efforts
and presentation; clarified about the two-year follow up schedule and planned updates for
Council; suggested that Council and the community would benefit from more frequent updates,
such as quarterly or biannually; asked for a high-level overview of the 50 percent increase in
downtown housing over the next five years and its balance between owners and renters.
• Councilor Semple -thanked staff for the amazing and ambitious work; expressed uncertainty
about total of funding sources cited within the HIP; asked staff to differentiate between the
Low-income Rental Housing Property Tax Exemption (LIRHPTE) and Multi-Unit Property
Exemption (MUPTE) incentive tiers; expressed concerned about Systems Development Charge
(SOC) waivers and how increased capacity for development will be funded.
■ Councilor Syrett -stated that she is ready to approve the HIP knowing it aligns with previous
versions; expressed appreciation for the HIP's strategic approach; recognized there are
outstanding questions on how certain items will be funded and accomplished, but having a
thorough plan tied to explicit goals and needs can be helpful in resolving that.
• Councilor Clark -expressed appreciation for staff's ongoing efforts and systemic approach to
planning; asked how success of the plan will be measured at its five-year conclusion; noted that
previous passage of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) covered a 20-year span and predicted
34,000 new residents over that period yet the city is on track to double that number; inquired
about the plan for 15,000 new housing units (8,600 single family, 6,400 multi-family) and if there
is a dashboard or reporting which tracks the City's progress towards its development goals; said
he strongly feels that more needs to be done to provide adequate, affordable housing.
• Councilor Yeh -echoed comments that the plan is easy to understand and contains a great deal
of valuable information; expressed appreciation for the focused approach; stated that
accountability is important and the council must know what success looks like and how to
adjust along the way; clarified that the anti-displacement timeline is for engagement and
creation of the plan, to begin implementation at the conclusion of the five-year plan.
MINUTES -Eugene City Council January 24, 2022 Page 1
Work Session
• Councilor Keating -referred to the direction that this plan be reviewed through an equity lens;
shared he recently met with disability justice advocates and asked what percent of Americans
With Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible units will be available within new housing, and what
percentage of income-qualified units are currently ADA-accessible in the city; asked what
percent of ADA-accessible units are mandated by Federal and/or State governments.
• Councilor Zelenka -stated that the overall plan is comprehensive, well laid out with many good
actions which they support approving; noted that the 'Overall Housing Supply' section of the
HIP states a need for 6,000 new housing units over the next five years (pg. 26), yet new builds
have averaged 800/year for the last 20 years, meaning a 50 percent increase in builds would be
needed to reach the goal of approximately 1,200 /year; asked how Council can ensure some of
those new builds are helping solve the affordable housing crisis; asked if there are any metrics
showing non-subsidized affordable housing; stated that if the City relies on subsidy programs to
solve the affordable housing crisis in Eugene, it will never happen.
• Mayor Vinis -noted in relation to increasing the overall housing supply that House Bill 2001,
which is another intervention to create additional housing types and a broader spectrum of
affordability, is not factored into options for housing growth; stated that the broader potential
impacts of HB 2001 should be better known by Year 2 of the HIP.
• Councilor Clark -clarified that the City does have control over land cost, regulation and taxes,
which have increased the cost of housing in incremental ways; stated that metrics are needed to
better measure the impact of City decisions on the market; advocated for more transparency,
such as public access to building permits; asked about the time period covered by the Growth
Monitoring Program (as mandated by House Bill 2003); noted that 15,000 people have moved
to the area during the current monitoring period with 22,000 new jobs created, indicating at
least 7,000 people commuting to and from Eugene for work, which is not helpful for climate
goals; stated that people are living elsewhere due to affordability issues.
• Councilor Zelenka -stated that unless something different is done, the council is relying on a
market that has been consistent for the last 34 years, which is what lead to the affordable
housing crisis; stated that without some kind of intervention in that marketplace, relying solely
on subsidized programs will not come close to solving this issue; noted that when talking about
supply it is the supply of housing, which is different from the supply of land; stated that the
Urban Growth Boundary process set a 20-year supply of land for residential housing; asked for
an investigation into other jurisdictions and what they have been doing to address affordable
housing beyond subsidy programs, such as inclusionary zoning and work for housing
requirements; stated that the bigger picture is not being addressed.
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Syrett, seconded by Councilor Keating, moved to
approve the Housing Implementation Pipeline. PASSED 6:0
Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 6:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
~
Brooke Freed
City Recorder AIC
(Recorded by jay Ferris)
Link to the web cast of this City Council meeting here .
MINUTES -Eugene City Council
Work Session
January 24, 2022 Page 2