Legislative Policies for the 2007 Oregon Legislative Session

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City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2007 Oregon Legislative Session City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2007 Oregon Legislative Session 3 the median income for a family of three is $48,900; 80% of the median income is $39,100 C. LAND USE PLANNING AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT (low-income); and 50% of median is $24,450 (very-low-income). C1. Ballot Measure 37/Just Compensation i On November 2, 2004, Measure 37 was passed by the Oregon voters, requiring ~ B1. Housing Development and Support Programs governments to "pay owners, orforego enforcement when certainland restrictions reduce The Housing Trust Fund, created by statute in 1991, is one of Oregon's more successful property value." programs to increase the supply of affordable housing. The trust fund supports programs a ranging from the development of affordable housing to home ownership assistance and an The City of Eugene has had a legislative policy on just compensation for over a decade. Emergency Housing Account. Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), The City has always supported -and continues tosupport -the constitutional requirement ii supported by affordable housing advocates, needs additional funding for affordable that property owners who have been deprived of all reasonable economic use of their housing development through the trust fund, and for emergency housing and rental .property by government action be compensated. The City has opposed legislation and assistance. This would allow the department to both increase the level of its current ballot measures that would require compensation if a land use decision deprives a services, as well as make additional investments in social service programs to support property owner of only some, but not all or nearly all, reasonable economic use of the those who cannot afford unsubsidized housing. The City supports the continued funding property. The City's opposition has been based on the importance of regulations in of immediate affordable housing development through the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). implementing comprehensive planning and other policy decisions of the council and on the innumerable benefits ofthese regulations in providing certainty and protection for property Recommendation owners, developers and neighbors. While some argue that the most basic land use ~ Supporta fundinggoal ofatleast$100million this biennium. regulations are "takings," others argue that they are "givings"and that the emphasis on reduction in value is both one-sided and short-sighted. B2. Removal of Regulatory Barriers to Low-Income Housing I, The City of Eugene supports local efforts to make the siting, financing or development of The City of Eugene strongly supports that the Legislature track the results of the "Big Look" low-income and affordable housing easier by streamlining systems, rules, codes and laws review, including reasonable replacements to Measure 37, and the City urges the that present regulatory barriers to that housing. The City will support State legislation that Legislature to halt piecemeal land use rule changes uhtil after the completion of this encourages the development of low-income and affordable housing while considering the assessment, with one exception: the City supports exempting all Goal 5 protections from interests of cities and their citizens. The City will support repeal of ORS 197.309 which Measure 37 claims. prohibits local jurisdictions from requiring affordable housing as a condition of development approval ("inclusionary zoning"). The City also supports efforts to prohibit C2. Land Use Application Review Process insurance companies from either denying insurance coverage for housing because it has. Bills introduced in previous legislative sessions have attempted to limit local government public financing or increasing its premiums for such coverage. authority to process land use applications. One of these bills, which passed, instituted the "120-day rule;" a bill to prohibit local government use of a hearings official failed. The closure of manufactured home parks, in particular, is currently a significant issue The 120-day rule, established by legislation in 1993, requires local permit issuers to reach locally and around the state. Owners of manufactured homes who rent their space in a a "final decision" within 120 days of the time a land use application is submitted and park may find themselves with either expensive or no alternatives if their park is closed deemed complete. Failure to meet the deadline allows the applicant to seek a writ of because the land has a higher value for a different use. Many of these households are mandamus from the circuit court, ordering the local government to issue the permit. The comprised of elderly people who find their investment and home at severe risk. There are 120-day rule applies equally to atwo-lot partition and a 200-unit planned unit development. at least 25 parks and 1, 830 spaces in Eugene, with many more throughout Lane County. The planning concerns related to planned unit developments are far greater than those While Eugene had adopted very limited protections for some tenants, there is no statewide applied to partitions, yet the same deadline applies to both. legislation. Prior to 2003, an applicant could request a time extension for an application decision in Recommendations order to provide time for submission. of pertinent information: The City of Eugene ~ Supportlegislation thatprovides assistance to residents when .supported SB 94 in the 2003 Session, which modified the criteria for determining when an manufactured home parks are closed or when rental units are converted to application to a cityis deemed complete for the purposes of time limit for action by the city. condominiums. The bill also limited the total of all extensions to 245 days. ~ Support legislation that provides incentives for compact urban growth by promoting dense housing. Recommendations ~ Support legislation that provides incentives and subsidies for housing that features ~ Support legislative changes which clarify the requirements for determining a land sustainable building materials and practices. use application to be complete and increase the time line for city processing of land use applications, especially when the applicant's proposal is changed substantially: during the review process. ~ Support legislative changes which would allow adopted plan. policies to be incorporated byreference in the Land Use Code ratherthan reprinted in the code. 24 25