Eugene work session outlines policies and actions after state analysis shows need for 26,000 new homes

City of Eugene planners presented draft policies and a package of actions to address the city’s housing and jobs needs at a June 23 council work session, saying a new state housing analysis requires planning for more than 26,000 new dwelling units over the next 20 years.

The presentation, led by Terry Harding, the city’s principal planner for community planning and design, and senior planners Leah Rausch and Heather O’Donnell, laid out draft chapters of Eugene’s comprehensive plan and a set of near- and mid-term actions intended to increase housing production, affordability and compact job growth inside the urban growth boundary (UGB).

Staff emphasized the scale of the challenge. “Using the 2025 ONA, we know that Eugene will need to support the production of more than 26,000 new dwelling units in the next 20 years,” senior planner Leah Rausch told council. Rausch and Harding said that number is roughly a 30% increase over the city’s current stock of about 90,000 dwelling units and would require increasing annual production from an average of about 965 units per year in the last decade to roughly 1,600 units per year in the coming decade, including about 700 annually affordable to households with the lowest incomes.

Why it matters

Planners said the requirement to plan for that growth is largely driven by state rules and the Oregon housing needs analysis (ONA). The urban growth strategies project will produce updated comprehensive-plan chapters, land supply studies and changes to Eugene’s land use code; the work could also identify a need to expand the UGB, staff said.

What staff proposed

Terry Harding summarized draft planning work that will be included in upcoming comprehensive-plan chapters for compact development and housing. The housing chapter, staff said, includes four goals and 29 draft policies that direct city planning to increase housing…