Expand the UBG, or middle housing could make Eugene a mini-Manhattan
Eugene middle housing could make it a mini-Manhattan
I have believed all along that as far as Eugene is concerned, HB 2001 and Eugene’s recent response to it, is not going to solve our housing shortage problem or bring down — or even moderate — the prices of homes.
Five years from now we will still be lamenting the shortage and unaffordability of housing here, but we may have damaged some of our neighborhoods in the meantime. The reality is that slowly but surely Eugene is gentrifying and is a desirable place to live, and with that comes ever increasing housing costs, be they ownership or rentals.
Eugene’s comprehensive programs and amenities make this a more costly place to live as is the case with many central and large cities in any county. Our inability to restrict immigration into the U.S. and Oregon from other states will drive demand and thus prices for housing. When society or a community does not find a way to permit more citizens to buy a residence sometime in their 20s and 30s — and ultimately own it outright — it does not bode well for their long-term future if they end up as lifetime renters.
Home ownership through the leverage of a fully amortized mortgage is the route to acquiring a substantial asset that will, after retirement from the work force, give substantial flexibility in how well they live on a fixed income. Indisputable evidence will show that ownership of a home over 20-40 years will result in a substantial asset that can then be used for many purposes in retirement. Paying a mortgage over a working lifetime is essentially a forced savings account.
So, home ownership versus renting is a benefit to society and may result in less reliance on government entitlements in the future. The community’s goal should be to transition from renting to homeownership. More infill triplexes and quadplexes are not likely to be owned by the occupants thus defeating the goal of ownership and the future security and value that brings. We will be building the wealth of real estate investors not individuals. Do we want a larger percent of our housing stock to be owned by investors or by residents?
Not saying that immigration is a bad thing, but the result of it is unavoidable and will have to be accommodated. Faced with this situation, the only long-term solution, or at least partial solution, is to open more land for development where large-scale housing tracts can be built from scratch using economies of scale. More duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes in the developed urban growth boundary are expensive to build and tax existing older infrastructure.
The real solution to additional owner-occupied housing at more reasonable prices is to build on less expensive land outside the UGB and put it to more urgent uses instead of hazelnut orchards or grass seed farms. There are square miles upon square miles of land that could be put to a higher land use to accommodate a growing population.
The infrastructure, housing types built, density, etc. will all be known upfront to future residents, unlike the current plan of densifying and potentially disrupting older neighborhoods.
Building on greenfield sites to accommodate a growing population will not eliminate all agricultural land in the Willamette Valley. Decades ago, strawberry fields and apricot orchards were displaced in what became California’s Silicon Valley, but these products are still available in stores. If you touch a keyboard, you should be thankful for Silicon Valley and its world-class industry, which was made possible by a change in land use to accommodate industry, jobs and housing.
It is disappointing that Eugene’s council did not push for this more workable, and likely successful solution, to more housing for all.
To fit all new housing into the UGB we’ll end up, over time, with a mini-Manhattan.
John F. Quilter served as a planning commissioner and chairman of the Brisbane (California) Planning Commission during an eight-period when the housing units increased by 50%. He lives in Eugene.
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Expand the UBG, or middle housing could make Eugene a mini-Manhattan
