Last night, when given the option to take action to address our housing crisis, Eugene City Council chose to do... nothing.
As a result of the Housing Tools and Strategies process, Council was provided with a list of 44 things, any of which could have been a solid first step to making a dent in our housing shortage. The options ranged from addressing barriers to ADUs, to expanding Eugene's Land Bank Program, to streamlining the trench inspection process.
Given all of these options, Council chose to complain that they hadn't received their packet early enough, fret about the process, and wish they had gotten more or different data.
Watch the Work Session Here.
Council has said they will continue their discussion at their Wednesday Work Session, but after that they are on break until January 9th. Tomorrow is their last chance to take action in 2018. Let them know what you think and watch Wednesday Work Session here.
Council did get the packet shortly before the meeting. And there were a lot of options, and not a ton of definitive data.
But every day, we ask renters to chose quickly between Apartment A they can't really afford and... oh, wait, there is no Apartment B, and if they wait for Apartment B, maybe Apartment A won't be even be an option anymore.
Every day, we are asking first-time home-buyers to put down an offer right now, because if they wait to get all the data and really consider what is probably going to be the most expensive thing they ever buy, someone else will have snapped it up.
Our unhoused, our low-income residents on the long waiting lists, our retirees looking to downsize, our families committed to car-free or light lifestyles to help reduce their climate impact, our college students, our young adults looking for their first own homes, our households that have been evicted so the apartment can be sold... all would love to have 44 options related to housing.
Is it too much to ask that our Eugene City Council make tough, timely decisions about housing? We are asking our citizens to do so every day.
Let them know what you think.