HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/10/2016 Work Session City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2016
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room,225 Fifth
Street,Springfield, Oregon, on Monday October 10, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.,with Mayor Lundberg
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie,Moore,Ralston,Woodrow and
Pishioneri.Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith,City
Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
1. Planning Commission Interview.
Greg Mott,Planning Manager,presented the staff report on this item.
One candidate has applied for a Planning Commission vacancy created by the term expiration of the
position held by Commissioner Steve Moe. Mr.Moe has completed his second(4)year term and is
not eligible to apply for a third term. The expiration date of his position was May 5, 2016.
The City received one application for this vacancy during a three-month recruitment process: Troy R.
Sherwood,who resides at 280 S. 35th Street,Springfield 97478,and is a Telefund Supervisor at the
University of Oregon.
The Springfield Planning Commission is a seven member volunteer Commission appointed by the
City Council. Positions are"at-large", and do not represent specific geographic areas.The members
serve four-year terms that are staggered to avoid more than two positions expiring at the same time.
Of the seven members,two appointments may live outside the City limits and two appointments may
be involved in the Real estate profession. At present, only Commissioner Nick Nelson is involved in
the Real Estate profession; all commission members currently reside within the city limits.
The Council decision on this appointment is scheduled for the Regular Meeting of Monday,October
17, 2016.
Mr.Mott clarified Mr. Sherwood's occupation and his academic pursuits.
The Council introduced themselves to the candidate and asked the following questions.
1. Why do you want to be on the Planning Commission?(Mayor Lundberg)
2. Based on your own observations and opinions,please describe the type and rate of growth
and development that is in the best interests of the City of Springfield?(Councilor Wylie)
3. What is your understanding of the relationship between the Planning Commission and the
City Council; and between the Planning Commission and City Staff? (Councilor Ralston)
4. The Planning Commission generally meets two evenings each month and additional
evening meetings are sometimes necessary. There are also materials to be reviewed in
advance of these meetings that may take a couple of hours to read. Given your work
and/or family obligations,will you be able to commit to these new demands on your tirne
as a Springfield Planning Commissioner? (Councilor Pishioneri)
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5. Many of the laws applied by the Planning Commission to evaluate a land use proposal are
state or federal pass-through laws; do you believe the Planning Commission should be
able to approve alternatives to these laws if the alternatives meet the spirit of the law?
(Council Woodrow)
6. How familiar are you with the land use plans and codes the Planning Commission relies
on to make land use decisions? (Councilor VanGordon)
7. What do you think is the proper role for the Planning Commission regarding the initiation
of new land use policies or development regulations?(Councilor Moore)
Council discussed the qualification of the applicant. They chose to appoint him to the Planning
Commission during the Regular Meeting on October 17, 2016.
2. Developing an Affordable Housing Strategy.
Sandy Belson,Comprehensive Planning Manager,presented the staff report on this item.
The City recognizes that there is an affordable housing issue within the larger community. Staff
analyzed the current situation to better understand the extent of the problem and to provide Council a
framework for discussing potential strategies the City can employ to improve the situation. We did
not attempt to update the analyses prepared for the Springfield Residential Land and Housing Needs
Analysis-2011 or the Eugene-Springfield Consolidated Plan—2015.
In our analysis, staff narrowed the lens on Springfield and the current housing problems faced by
Springfield residents. First,we conducted an analysis of the City's progress in implementing adopted
policies. Then we undertook a quantitative data analysis followed by interviews with a variety of
people who work with some aspect of the provision of housing. This work session is an opportunity
for the City Council to review the data,discuss the issue of affordable housing and identify desired
outcomes. Staff will return in a future work session with potential strategies the Council can explore to
foster housing choice and affordability. The financial impact will depend on what Council ultimately
includes in the affordable housing strategy.
It must be recognized that addressing the affordable housing issue is a complex problem that
Springfield does not face alone. The housing:market is a regional market,the City does not directly
provide housing, and the City must operate within the framework of Statewide Planning Goals,
statutes, and rules. However,Council has an important role to play in setting priorities for how staff
and resources are used to support efforts that improve housing affordability in our community.
Ms. Belson provided a power point. She referred to a series of maps that were developed and included
in the agenda packet.One of the train points was the idea of a housing continuum.As people make
choices, if something in the continuum is missing,people are stuck where they are located.Without
those steps,the gaps become wider. Springfield has done a good job of providing a variety of housing.
Factors for housing include: income, assets, demographics, and geography.
Ms. Belson said most homes in Springfield are single family detached,but also include some
apartments, some duplexes,and mobile homes. Currently,there is a shortage of housing of all types
(rental or for sale).In looking at the housing cost burden(paying more than 30%on housing and
necessary utilities),there is a large number of households in Springfield spending more than 50% on
Dousing.The cost burden is more for renters.
Those most affected are low income households with children,those living on limited or fixed
incomes(senior and disabled),and special needs populations(homeless,traumatized,mentally ill,
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developmentally disabled,youth, ex-offenders).Housing costs are increasing faster than incomes.
Since 2000,the median house value has increased 43%,median gross rent has increased 39%, and
ined.ian household income only increased 20%.Another issue is that Springfield has only been
building single family homes in recent years.Up until 2015, no market-rate apartments had been built
since 2008.
Mayor Lundberg asked what factors contributed to the lack of apartment complexes built.
Ms.Belson said during the interviews,the number one concern was that the system development
charges(SDCs) and cost of land were too high.With those costs, projects were not penciling out given
the income levels in Springfield.
Councilor Ralston says Eugene has done land banking for a long time,buying up inexpensive land.
Springfield hasn't done that and now property is too expensive.
Ms. Belson said other issues contributing to the housing shortage include insufficient public subsidy to
fill the gaps for low-income housing.Wait lists for public housing are closed or are years long, Section
8 wait list is closed,and over 300 people are on the waiting list for the Royal Building.The waiting
lists are the longest for the smallest units.
Councilor VanGordon said in reading the packet, it indicates that this is not just an affordable housing
issue,but a housing issue as a whole. She asked if the issues she just spoke of relate only to affordable
housing or to all housing.
Ms. Belson said some of the issues are specific to subsidized housing,but some of their complaints are
the same as the market rate apartments. If we don't have housing at each step, we are going to have
problems.
Councilor VanGordon said the message is that we are short on housing across the board.
Ms. Belson said it will have the biggest impact on lower income housing.
Mayor Lundberg said part of the difference is that Eugene has a lot of student housing. She asked if
we have people corning to our front counter asking about building apartments.
Ms. Spickard said people are looking at parcels in Springfield,and getting information about what it
would take to develop. Currently,the City has only has one new market rate apartment being built.
Staff doesn't always know why they don't go through with a project. We haven't had an issue with
residential in general and have a lot of plotted subdivisions.
-unit housing at all levels. Some retirees or seniors want
Mayor Lundberg said we are low in multi
condominium at market rate.
Ms. Spickard said when staff talks with developers they do tell people about the available incentives,
although we don't currently have much. Staff is interested in hearing from Council on where to target
incentives.
Councilor VanGordon asked if people were finding that projects were not penciling out.
Ms. Spickard said some people have said that was the issue.
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Councilor Wylie spoke regarding the lack of rooms for single people and recalled how there used to be
multi-unit housing with separate sleeping rooms and shared baths,kitchens and living spaces.There
isn't a model for that right now. It would allow more people on each floor and would be a different
way to house more people comfortably.
Ms.Belson said ways to improve affordable housing include constructing new units in a variety of
housing types in a range of price points, maintaining current housing, and providing targeted
populations access to housing. From July 2015 through August 2016,the City has paid for repairs an
52 homes of low-income homeowners, assisted 3 low-income households with down payment to
purchase a home, and allocated money through the HOME Consortium to assist with the acquisition of
the Shady Loop Duplex for a homeless family with a developmentally disabled family member.
Construction of Myrtlewood on Main Street is in the process.Next steps as they move forward include
determining the outcomes the City wants to achieve, identify and evaluate the tools needed, and
develop an affordable housing strategy.
Councilor Ralston said Springfield needs more smaller units. Dan Bryant,a pastor at a local church,
has been pushing the idea of very small homes for the homeless or very low income. He would like
Springfield to get in on the ground level with those.He noted that 30%of the SDC's goes to
Willamalane.
Mr. Grimaldi said when comparing the SDCs for Willamalane they are comparable with other
communities.The City has high SDCs for stormwater,etc. If the City's SDCs were more in line with
other cities,we would be more comparable. The fact we are comparable to another city,may not
mean we have housing that is profitable in this area because of our population.
Councilor Ralston said that is one of the subsidies we can consider. He asked if people have to pay the
Willamalane SDCs when they get a building permit.He feels the City needs to revisit that topic. He
noted that he has been a supporter of Habitat for Humanity for many years and he feels we need to
encourage that as well.He doesn't want to give up on the program of assisting low-income families
with down payments to buy a name.
Councilor Pishioneri said the Housing Policy Board makes funding recommendations, and since we
pulled out of that Board,we are missing out.They also look at identifying grant opportunities that we
are missing. He would like to look at the Housing Policy Board to see if it is now a better fit for
Springfield and consider getting re-involved. He understands that the Code for accessory building
prohibits dwelling units that are less than 800 square feet.That puts a stop on very small places. We
also have a prohibition of accessory dwelling units having wheels.He would like to look at some parts
of our Code to see what we can do to drop some of the barriers to some of this type of development.
He is concerned that builders are building here when the market is so positive. We need to reach out
to developers to find out what the City can do to snake them want to build here. He wants to create an
environment where projects can pencil out and move forward. We may have to be innovative and be
an advocate for the project as opposed to a governing body with road blocks.He is happy with the
Planning Department, but feels we need to promote the tools we have which will make it better for the
City and the developers. He asked if the residential land studies were accurate in showing we had
adequate residential land.We could also approach Willamalane about cutting SDCs to help stimulate
development.He felt more could be done through our codes.
Councilor VanGordon said this is very complicated. It is important to note that the biggest driver to
get people out of poverty is to focus on economic development to employ people and give them good
wages. The Council has a role in advocating for a legislative agenda as this is a huge topic statewide
and nationwide. Last year a pilot program was started to bring in more land as long as it was used for
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affordable housing, and that is something the City should stay on top of. If the pilot results are
positive,he might be interested in looking into something like that or anything else that would help
with housing. There are more partnerships involving the homeless such as RV parking on industrial
sites,but they need to expand those programs. He would like the City to look into the mini homes, and
maybe find a partner to start a pilot project. He is concerned with why people are not building multi-
family homes with the current economic climate. It may be worth coming back to discuss what a rate
is for rentals and see how to make that pencil out. That could help design the appropriate incentives.
He liked the SDC waiver that was implemented several years ago,but wanted to look at why it may
not have been effective at that time.He is also good with looking at zoning changes,and comparing
the data regarding housing with the land study.He is also open to looking at a land banking model.
Councilor Moore referred to a statement in the Policy Analysis,that"We have not taken any recent
proactive measures to educate people about the requirements for fair housing, nor have we been made
aware of any claims of housing discrimination". The City doesn't license housing for rentals. It would
be good to meet with the landlords and renters,and let renters know their rights.As she has been out
in the community, she has seen a lot of needs in some of this housing. Perhaps they need to raise the
standards for landlords. She referred to Councilor Wylie's idea of a boarding house option and noted
that she and her husband rent out bedrooms where they have a shared bathroom.They considered
expanding,but there were some restrictions in the Code. She feels the Code needs to be reviewed.
Councilor Moore continued that Rotary was in the process of doing a tiny temporary house at Catholic
Community Services which is being designed by Gateway.There needs to be some small permanent
quality housing now that the interest rates are so low.The City has emphasized ownership which may
have been to the detriment of rental housing. Habitat for Humanity builds great houses that are well
insulated,taking advantage of implementing measures to keep costs for utilities down. When
development of low-income housing is encouraged, she would want the standards to stay high so they
would be built to last and benefit the person living there. She thanked Sandy for the comprehensive
information.
Councilor Ralston feels the City needs to know the footprint of a 50-unit apartment complex so we can
identify sites and let possible developers know. We need that inforlaaation ahead of time.
Councilor Woodrow said she would like to see how they could match rental and mortgage costs by
using incentives to the needs of the community. For example,what is affordable for a family of four,
and what do we have to offer. She would like to see the land study revisited, and also look at
information on land banking. She also doesn't understand why we aren't getting more development
when the market is so strong. She would like to see what they can do to encourage development.
Councilor Wylie said in the 1980s and 1990s,the non.-profit she worked for had homes they were
trying to rent as apartments to low-income people. She feels the rise of homelessness came along with
the rise of code enforcement. They had to take five of their apartments out of circulation because the
ceilings were too low. We have a homeless problem,and also very high code standards. We need to
decide how strict we are with our codes. She asked if we could look at our codes to see if they have to
be so strict, so we can allow these types of apartments.
Councilor Moore said some people not aware of the zoning of their property or the requirements,but
she is not sure how to let people know. It might be beneficial for people to know and for developers to
know.This is a complicated issue. She wants to encourage people to live in our community.
Councilor VanGordon said there needs to be better communication between non-profits and people
waiting for low-income housing regarding the programs and incentives. It is not always clear about
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whether or not they get the deposit back,etc. Whatever strategy is chosen,they need to send some
talking points back to the HOME Consortium so everyone is aware of the programs and incentives and
how they work.
Mayor Lundberg said there were CDBG funds and they didn't have anyone step forward.
Communication was an issue.
Councilor Pishioneri wants solutions from staff and a list of recommendations from staff to help
Council make some policy decisions. Staff are paidand are the experts, and he would like thein to
come up with a list of solutions including the trade-off for each.
Mayor Lundberg said the first thing is for the Council to choose who they want to target.The cost
burden in Springfield is lower than in Eugene.They need to determine what problem they are trying to
solve,who is the target population and why,and what sort of housing is the most appropriate. She
pointed out that they placed all of their high density housing in the Glenwood Refinement Plan, so
there is a lot of opportunity there. We have to provide people with the opportunity to move up and to
move down on the housing continuum.
Councilor Pishioneri said based on the housing continuum,if we create a pocket,we cause a pocket.
We need to provide a culture of development, and supply and demand will take care of the housing
types built.
Mayor Lundberg referred to the affordable housing project that was supposed to go into Glenwood.
Ms.Belson said funds were allocated to Housing and Community Services Agency(HACSA)of Lane
County to assist with the purchase of property and they are still hoping to build that facility. They
decided not to apply for low-income tax credits this round as they are working on the Bascom Village
project currently.They would like to apply in the future.HACSA's Board is meeting this month to
discuss extending the option for purchase with the property owner. The proposed development is
around 100 units.
Mayor Lundberg asked what would be the most helpful for staff so the Council could make the policy
choices to accommodate the needs. She agrees with Councilor Pishioneri about accessory dwellings
and homes on wheels. She referred to a program being started in Oakridge where they will be taking
uninhabitable mobile home frames and building homes on thein for about$30,000.They just need
places to locate the houses. She feels revisiting the residential land study may be too much at this time.
Councilor VanGordon said right now they should compare the information on the residential land
study with this information, look at what is happening and what has changed. He wants to understand
the two of them together.
Mayor Lundberg said it would be good to compare it with what's different today.
Councilor Woodrow referred to the cost burden and that with whatever they do,they want to look
ahead to the future and have the cost burden go down.
Councilor Moore said rents have increased exponentially in Portland. She asked if there was a
potential of that happening in Springfield. She asked if there was a way to counteract that type of
thing.
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Mayor Lundberg said that would be rent control and the Council is not interested in getting involved
with that. She asked Ms. Belson if she had a sense of direction..
Ms.Belson said what she heard was that they have a lot of ideas in different areas. She said she could
categorize what the Council has given her,helping thein understand the impacts of some of those
suggestions, and providing options of what could be done.
Mayor Lundberg said she wants to make sure they look at land banking and what that would take,and
to review our residential lands study and compare it with what we have.A residential land inventory
would be included in the study. She noted that the study was done in 2009 and we haven't had any
multi-family housing built since 2008,the study should be fairly accurate.
Councilor Pishioneri said he knows investors who are interested on accessory dwellings,but there are
things in the Code that hold them up. He wants to get something done as soon as possible. He
suggested holding some workshop with developers.
Mayor Lundberg said they have another round of HOME funds and there was money for Springfield.
Because it was the first year of the new process and no one was ready. A lot of the subsidy style
Dousing will be based on the Consolidated.Plan,and Springfield still has home ownership as a slightly
higher percentage than rental.
Councilor Ralston said we need to look at zoning.
Mayor Lundberg said it may be worth checking with those that are starting to build units,why they
decided to go forward.
Mr. Grimaldi said they may want to look at short-term and then long-term strategies. It may take a
couple more meetings to cover everything.
Mayor Lundberg said this topic is very important, and they need to do something to address growth.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m.
Minutes Recorder M..Amy Sowa
' M
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest:
Amy So
City Recorder