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Committee hears multi-year review of housing rule changes; CDBG discussion tabled
Summary
Staff told the Business and Economic Development Committee it has implemented zoning changes since 2019 including ADU policy, reduced lot-size rules and density changes from LD 2003; staff said one dormitory is in planning and the rental-registry pilot will be required by state law. The CDBG strategies item was tabled to the next meeting.
At a meeting of the Business and Economic Development Committee, Chair Councilor Leonard heard a staff update on the city's work to remove regulatory barriers to housing and set the schedule for fuller reports.
"We started in 2019 because there was a group called the affordable housing working group," Anne Creek, the community economic director, told the committee, summarizing code changes and policy work the city has carried out since that time.
Why it matters: staff said the changes are intended to increase options for housing production and affordability by allowing accessory dwelling units, reducing lot-size constraints that created nonconforming barriers, clarifying supportive-housing uses and adding a dormitory use. Creek said a 2019-to-present review and later state-driven requirements (notably LD 2003) produced changes that allow multiple dwellings on a single lot.
On dormitories: Councilor Fish asked whether any dormitories are active or still in planning. "Do we have many active dormitories right now, or is it still the planning stage?" he asked. Creek replied, "We do have one that's in the planning stage. They're waiting for some improvements that we're gonna be making in the mall area for wastewater, and then that project will move forward."
Rental registry and grants: Committee members asked about a pilot long-term rental registry and a previously discussed $400,000 pro-housing grant. Creek said the city's rental registry pilot has attracted registrations but the committee has not yet received a full update; she added that "the state legislation has changed where we have to do it. So it's going from voluntary to mandatory." On the grant, a committee member asked whether the $400,000 application succeeded; Creek said the city applied but "we just weren't selected for that." The presenter said selection of that grant was limited.
CDBG scheduling: Councilor Leonard attempted to move the meeting to strategies regarding the Community Development Block Grant, but Creek said that item was intended for a later agenda. "I meant to put this on the next agenda," she said. "So this is tabled to next time." The committee agreed to defer the CDBG discussion and asked staff to include a fuller rental-registry update at its March meeting.
Next steps: staff said planning staff will continue to prepare the code changes (LDs) for committee review this summer and will return with a detailed rental-registry briefing and the requested property list for the economic development fund during the budget process. The committee adjourned at 5:41 p.m.
