Springfield Launch's A Series of Meetings in hopes for affordable housing opportunities.
By Elizabeth Frazier
Photo by: Elizabeth Frazier
Oregon-state
law is now requiring that local government take action in order to coordinate
affordable housing and development. The Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, signed two bills
into law April '16 2017. City Councils’ were asked to have a series of meetings that may spur new opportunities for business and housing.
Springfield's Mayor and City Council met with City Manager Gino Gramaldi and
Comprehensive Planning Coordinator Anette
Spickard, Monday Oct. 10 at City Hall in order to begin analyzing
the data provided by Sandy
Belon of theDevelopment and Public Works Department (DPW).
The public
action that will be taken is to be consistent with the upcoming adopted
plans. The DPW's analysis determined that Springfield's population is currently
experiencing an income gap between the affordable housing and its’
availability. Springfield City Mayor Christine Lundberg responded by asking the
planning coordination staff to “begin working with the newly adopted Oregon
rules and other available sources as they arise.”
City Manager Gino Gramaldi
expressed concern that, “There would have to be the possibility for private business
to get involved in order to create resources.” He also said that “the
Willamalane Parks and Recreation District apply System Development Charges or SDC’s at rates of
$3,269- $2,995 for a family, Single Family and Multi-Family Unit’s because affordable
housing facilitation is a capital growth facility, and that "the Less Developed
Land and Zoning Laws' (LDC's) would need to change further before they would have
room to move forward.”
Springfield City Council Member
Hillary Wylie mentioned “there are quickly increasing numbers’ of people
struggling with an income to economy gap and this, in large is probably the
cause of the current housing continuum crisis.”Mayor Lundberg added that she has hopes for some new local industries to
help while saving the traditional values of the community and helping to create a living wage.”
