HB 2001 will serve our community better by supporting Eugene's climate and housing goals

What do our boards and commissions, local partners, the general public, city-council goals as well as an Equity RoundTable, a lottery-selected panel of 29 residents, all agree on? Our community should support and encourage middle housing options as we endeavor to meet the requirements of Oregon House Bill 2001.

Our success is rooted in the ability to adapt to changing circumstances while also taking care of each other and our wider community. HB 2001 is doing that with the basic human need of housing by making it possible to increase the availability and affordability of housing, with the bonus effect of easing the cost and maintenance burden on our transportation and utility infrastructure. This supports the Eugene City Council’s climate recovery, active transportation and housing affordability goals.

Previous coverage: Eugene officials discuss how to pay for more climate change, homelessness projects

Single-family homes have served Eugene well in many ways, but as the name indicates, they often only house one family. They require a road to be built to each one as well as water and sewer pipes and electricity and communication lines. Make it possible to have up to four family homes in that same space? We’ve just increased the efficiency of all of that infrastructure, something we need to do as part of our fight against climate change.

More housing units will likely mean more first-time home buyers will find housing they can afford. It likely will lead to rental prices that aren’t debilitating for those earning a more modest wage as increased supply reduces upward pricing pressures. While the City Council will need to consider additional programs to assist in the creation and incentivize of more affordable housing options, these code changes are vital to ensure we have set the table for the building of more types of housing to meet future growth and the changing circumstances of people’s lives.

To inform the development of this code, the city of Eugene engaged for 10 months with the community, including the aforementioned Equity Roundtable, an inclusive 29-member panel in partnership with Oregon nonprofit Healthy Democracy. This innovative approach had citizens meet 35 times over six months and provide staff with advice on code language and goal setting.

In addition to meeting with members of the roundtable, staff met with many members of our boards and commission, neighborhood associations and members of the public at large. Overwhelmingly, people expressed support for HB 2001 and its potential to help Eugene meet its climate goals and ease our housing/rental crisis.

Related: As rental assistance program tries to work through backlog, many still wait for help

From these engagements, what emerged were a set of values our community wants us to consider as we move to implement HB 2001. These include: equity and access to housing, broad dispersal of middle housing, housing options of all shapes and sizes, compacts, creating a sense of belonging, opportunities to build wealth, interconnectedness of housing solutions and vibrant neighborhoods. Taking these values as guiding principles, a draft code was created and is now being discussed in the community. In essence, this draft code was created by the community, and the community will have more opportunity to help refine the code so it reflects our values and vision.

For those who are concerned that entire neighborhoods will turn into “quadplexes” overnight, that is neither the goal nor the reality. Some properties will change because it will make sense to. Some won’t change even if it does make sense to.

Change, if it happens, will be gradual and will ensure more housing types to meet the variety of income level and need in our community. As this process continues, there are additional opportunities for public involvement like providing input to the City Council through email, public forum and the formal public hearing that will be held on the draft code.

Together, we will work to craft an ordinance that meets the needs of our community today and into the future.

Jennifer Yeh and Claire Syrett are Eugene city councilors for Wards 4 and 7, respectively.

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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene councilors: House Bill 2001 will serve our community better