NEWS The previous building at 1100 Charnelton St. in Eugene was torn down the last week of June 2021 to begin the construction of the permanent supportive housing apartment community that Homes for Good, Lane County’s housing authority, has planned. The City of Eugene has approved plans to convert several buildings into affordable housing options. (Ian Enger/Emerald)
A Lane Community College building in downtown Eugene, located on 1059 Willamette St.,, is in the process of being converted into mixedincome housing called the Montgomery. The City of Eugene has approved plans to convert several buildings into affordable housing options. (Ian Enger/Emerald)
EUGENE PREPARES FOR A NEW AGE IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
On the heels of sweeping statewide housing legislation, affordable housing initiatives arrive in Eugene, bringing both hope and controversy over downtown development. BY ALEXIS WEISEND
In the wake of numerous municipal zoning code changes and an influx of state funding, several ambitious affordable housing initiatives recently kicked off in Eugene. The projects aim to cater to Eugene’s diverse housing needs, but not everyone agrees on whose needs should be prioritized. A myriad of recent state housing legislation paved the way for expansive affordable housing efforts. In the 2021 Oregon legislative session, representatives invested over $896 million in addressing Oregon’s housing crisis. Eugene faces a housing crisis of its own due to a combination of expensive housing and low wages in comparison to state averages, UO architecture and urban design instructor and Better Housing Together founding director Kaarin Knudson said. According to a report by the National Low Income Housing Commission, a minimum wage PA G E 4
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worker in Eugene must work 67 hours per week to afford a one bedroom apartment. As of 2020, 1,606 people are homeless in Lane County, according to Lane County’s Point-inTime report. Knudson said a lack of middle housing, like duplexes and cottage clusters, also contributes to the crisis. The local projects come just before stark changes to zoning codes across the state, allowing for more middle housing. The Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 8 on June 23, which requires municipal governments to allow affordable housing in lands not zoned for residential use. Oregon House Bill 2001 requires cities with populations over 25,000 — including Eugene — to allow duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters and townhouses in residential areas typically zoned for single family homes. The bill gives municipalities until June 30, 2022 to incorporate
housing diversity into their zoning codes. According to its zoning map, Eugene is mostly zoned to accommodate single family homes. The city’s current zoning code limits middle housing — including duplexes and corner lots. Knudson said Eugene’s community is more diverse than its zoning code allows for. “Our housing needs to be equally diverse,” she said. The current housing projects in Eugene focus on supporting affordability while implementing HB 2001, Kundson said. Mixed feelings on mixed income housing The Eugene City Council voted 6-1 to begin a project that will turn a Lane Community College building downtown into mixed income housing called the Montgomery at its June 9 meeting. The city will begin negotiations
with a private development team to sell the building, which sat vacant for almost a decade, according to the project’s website. There are few opportunities for residents with moderate incomes to find housing, according to the city’s website. The city said the Montgomery will provide easy access to downtown and the transit network. The City Council approved using the federal Community Development Block Grant to buy the site on Jan. 29, 2020. The grant requires that 51% of the housing units are affordable to households earning 80% of the area’s median income (AMI), according to the city’s website. The city originally asked for the units to be priced based on HUD Fair Market Rents — a method of determining affordable rental rates for local housing markets. According to the city’s proposal, a studio apartment would be rented at $773 a month based on these
