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umversiTY
COMMONS
apaitmcnti
88—I 111
338-4000
Open Monday - Saturday
www.universitycommons.com
Council to decide on future
of property tax ordinance
The Multiple Unit Property
Tax Exemption would help
developers create housing
around downtown Eugene
By Parker Howell
News Reporter
The City Council will decide today
the fate of an ordinance providing
property tax exemptions for new hous
ing projects in the downtown area.
The Multiple Unit Property Tax Ex
emption provides a 10-year tax exemp
tion on housing construction within
the city's "core area," bounded primari
ly on the north by the Union Pacific
Railroad tracks, on the east by High
Street, on the south by East 13th Av
enue and on the west by Uncoln Street.
Land under MUPTE projects contin
ues to be taxed, while housing im
provements are placed on the tax rolls
at the end of the exemption.
The council will decide whether to
expand the exemption to include much
of the West University Neighborhood
and other areas located north and west
of the current eligibility boundary. It
also will act on proposed amendments
that may add construction guidelines to
the MUPTE application.
Hie current ordinance requires the
council to approve all applications
based on whether the "public benefit"
of the project surpasses the loss of rev
enue incurred from the tax exemption
period. Ward 3 City Councilor David
Kelly said the "public benefit" require
ment would be replaced by specific
FI Current Ml TPTKlfomdnry
HH f^vpoaed MUFTE Hovndaty
IQI Proposed MUFTE Amendments
The Multiple Unit
Property Tax
Exemption would
provide a 10-year
tax exemption on
housing
constructions
within this area.
The darker
shaded area
denotes the
proposed
expansion, while
the lighter shaded
area denotes the
current MU PTE
area.
Courtesy
City of Eugene
standards for potential projects.
Among seven potential guidelines
are provisions that would require de
velopers to address how they would
incorporate "sustainability features,"
such as solar heating and natural
lighting, to use "higher quality mate
rials" that "contribute to longevity,
durability, or enhance building de
sign," and to create a prominent en
try facing the public street.
Members of the West University
Neighborhood Association also recom
mended two guidelines, which would
require applicants to design buildings
for home ownership and solicit com
ments from relevant neighborhood as
sociations before construction.
If approved, the new guidelines will
give potential applicants an idea of
what the council will require, Kelly said.
Kelly added he supports the use of
the exemption to add variety and im
provements to the housing market.
"Overall, I think history has shown
it's tough to get good new housing in
the central city without some public
oversight" Kelly said.
Kelly pointed to Broadway Place, a
170-unit project completed under the
MUPTE in 1996, as an example of how
the tax exemption can foster housing
development.
"Ultimately, the project was a posi
tive addition to downtown," Kelly said.
"It wouldn't have happened without
MUPTE."
Kelly did express concerns about the
lack of standards in the current applica
tion process, saying he will need to see
specific guidelines approved before he
affirms the MUPTE changes.
"It think the standards are pretty low
hurdle to get over," Kelly said.
WATCH
DPS did not have the media log
available for April 14 after 7:23 p.m.
through April 19. This Crime Watch
represents reports from April 12
through April 14.
Theft and recoveries
The Department of Public Safety re
ceived seven found property reports,
four reports of bike theft, and one re
port of larceny at the Knight Library.
Disorderly conduct
DPS received two reports of disor
derly conduct, two reports of a suspi
cious condition, eight reports of a sus
picious subject and one report of
skateboard stunting. DPS also re
ceived one report of reckless endan
gering, one report of reckless burning,
three reports of criminal trespass and
four reports of vandalism.
Monday, April 12, 7:57 p.m.: DPS
received a report of a person with an
air gun on University Street.
Tuesday, April 13, 5:49 p.m.: DPS
received a report of a person passed
out at the bottom of a staircase in
Willamette Hall.
Alcohol and drags
DPS received two reports of drug
law violations.
Miscellaneous
DPS received two alarm reports, one
report of a missing person and 11 tow
requests: One from the Emerald Street
parking lot two from the Friendly Hall
parking lot two from the Pacific Hall
parking lot one from the Alder Street
parking lot, one from the University
Annex parking lot one from the Car
son Hail turnaround and three from
the Bean Complex parking lot.
He also said it was important to al
low neighborhood associations to
have a say in the MUPTE project ap
proval process.
However, not everyone agrees the
exemption is a good idea.
Former Eugene resident and Uni
versity student Randal O'Toole, head
of the Thoreau Institute, said he
would tell the council to stop pro
moting smart growth measures, such
as the MUPTE.
"I don't think we should subsidize
anybody," he said.
O'Toole said advocates of the ex
emptions claim high-density hous
ing will reduce congestion and air
pollution and will increase mobility.
However, O'Toole added density will
not remedy these problems.
He said exemptions make housing
unaffordable by raising property tax
es and causing rents in normal units
to be higher than rents in tax-ex
empt, high-density areas.
Responding to opponents' concerns
that the MUPTE would increase down
town density, Kelly said increasing den
sity would be a long process.
"If the run rate is at best one proj
ect every year, it's not going to trans
form the density of central city
overnight by any means," Kelly said.
Kay Olsen, president of the Down
town Neighborhood Association,
said the group stands behind the ex
emption. She said the downtown
area lacks housing.
"More housing downtown is
something we're trying to strongly
promote," she said.
Contact the city/state politics reporter
at parkerhowell@dailyemerald.com