Eugene weekly., May 28, 2015, Page 9, Image 9

TAX BREAK MAY HELP
HABITAT’S HOUSES
There’s no shortage of demand for good homes in Eu-
gene these days, especially for those with low or little in-
come. Now the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity In-
ternational has its fingers crossed that the nonprofit will be
able to put up a few more houses every year if the Oregon
Legislature passes House Bill 2690-1 this summer.
The bill grants tax exemptions for land held by non-
profits, if that land is intended for low-income housing.
The primary benefactors are organizations like Habitat for
Humanity, building in Eugene and Springfield since 1990,
which has strongly supported the bill.
“In Lane County, we are only exempt from property
taxes from the time of building a new house,” says Don
Griffin, executive director for the Eugene and Springfield
Habitat for Humanity. “But with this we could be exempt
for seven years or more.”
In contrast, Eugene’s Multiple-Unit Property Tax Ex-
emption (MUPTE) granted the Capstone student housing
project a 10-year property tax break.
Usually Griffin’s organization buys a tract of land for
later development and the process can take at least three
years before building begins. During that time, in Lane
County, the property taxes add up.
“We need the exemption,” Griffin says. “The esti-
mates are that this will save Habitat affiliates [in Oregon]
$200,000 a year in property taxes.” The Eugene and
Springfield Habitat for Humanity affiliate will save at least
$5,000 a year.
Right now Griffin’s affiliate has one house under way
in the Eugene-Springfield area, a groundbreaking due on
June 13 and a third project under way later this year. For
its construction projects, Habitat for Humanity relies on
donated materials and thousands of volunteer hours. The
nonprofit also takes on eight to 10 repair projects a year,
painting older houses and building accessibility ramps.
Griffin says property tax exemptions vary by county,
and the new act would “clarify” matters.
“We’re trying to get some consistency around the
state,” Griffin says.
In the long run, more homes mean more taxes for the
state and counties. “Once we sell it to the home owners, it
goes on the tax rolls as a regular house, at many times the
tax than when it’s bare ground,” Griffin says.
Though the bill will help all low-income housing de-
velopers in the state, House Rep. Phil Barnhart, chair of
the House Committee on Revenue, says it’s primarily tar-
geted at Habitat for Humanity.
“With this they can build a few more houses a year for
low-income families,” Barnhart tells EW. “I’m hopeful the
bill will pass.”
HB 2690-1 has already passed the House 57-1 and is
now in the Oregon Senate. — Dash Paulson
• Environmental advocate Paul Scott, co-founder of
Plug In America, will speak on “Autonomous Vehicles and
the Future of Sustainable Transportation” at 6 pm
Thursday, May 28, at the EWEB North Building, 500 E. 4th
Ave. Free. Scott is a former BRING Recycling worker who
has gone on to gain national attention in the field of
electric vehicles. He was featured in the documentary
Who Killed the Electric Car?
• Oregonians for Industrial Hemp will meet from 5:30
to 7:30 pm Thursday, May 28, at Growers Market, 454
Willamette St. Find the group on Facebook.
• A panel discussion on “The State of Black Oregon
Report” will be from 6:30 to 8 pm Thursday, May 28, at the
Knight Library Browsing Room on the UO campus.
Sponsored by the Urban League of Portland and others.
• Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Ward 2 City Councilor
Betty Taylor will be at the Mayor’s One-on-One community
outreach meeting from 5 to 6 pm Thursday, May 28, at
Haggen at 30th and Hilyard Street.
• The 4J School Board is seeking community members
interested in serving on the district’s Equity Committee.
Applications are due at 5 pm Thursday, May 28. See wkly.
ws/20u.
• Food Not Bombs is planning a “Psychedelic Indie”
fundraising event from 9 pm to midnight Friday, May 29, at
The Lorax, 1648 Alder St. Money raised will go towards a
People’s Garden.
• The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency Board has
an opening for a Springfield position and the deadline to
apply is May 29. Applications are available at Springfield
City Hall or online at wkly.ws/20r.
• The annual Festival Latino Block Party will be from
noon to midnight Saturday, May 30, at Sprout! Food Hub,
418 A St. in Springfield. Drinks and dancing begin at 6 pm.
Suggested donation is $5 to $10 and proceeds will go to
Huerto de la Familia.
• The fourth annual Solidarity Fair: A Social Justice
Gathering will be from noon to 4:30 pm Saturday, May 30,
in Central Park in downtown Corvallis. The event “celebrates
a diverse and active labor movement in the Willamette
Valley, honors the generations of struggle for economic,
social and environmental justice, and promotes public
awareness about labor and its intersections with other
social movements,” say organizers. A contingency from
Lane County usually attends. Sponsored by the Solidarity
Action Network, a coalition of unions, student groups and
social justice organizations.
OAKLEIGH COHOUSING
SENT BACK FOR
PUBLIC INPUT
The controversial Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing
(OMC) planned unit development off River Road
next to the Willamette River will go back for addi-
tional public comment following a decision May 15
by the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
Petitioner Simon Trautman, who was injured in a
vehicle collision at the corner of Oakleigh and River
Road, was originally denied his motion to intervene
in the project when it was being appealed before the
Eugene Planning Commission. Trautman claimed
he was not given adequate notice, even though he
was living in Idaho at the time and reportedly had
not provided the city with a correct address for no-
tices of the appeal hearing.
Trautman, his wife and his mother-in-law were
on record as opposing the application and were
therefore legally required to be notified by the city,
according to LUBA.
Paul Conte, a local neighborhood advocate,
joined Trautman in the appeal and said in a prepared
statement: “This was a long overdue repudiation of
the biased and unfair handling of land use applica-
tions by the Eugene city attorney and Planning Di-
vision staff. The Court of Appeals and LUBA have
now served notice on Eugene that attempts to sub-
vert Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goal One — citi-
zen participation — will not be tolerated.”
But local project architect Will Dixon says, “This
is the decision that we wanted, given the circum-
stances.” Dixon says the development will continue
along the “scenic route.”
“This is another in a long string of items that
has caused us significant delay and cost, but we’re
not going anywhere,” Dixon tells EW. “As a group,
OMC is now up to 24 full-member households (out
of 28) and we’re feeling more committed and dedi-
cated to our development than ever before.”
Neighbors have fought the development and the
increased traffic it will bring, with some posting
signs saying, “Just because it’s legal doesn’t make
it right,” and “Cohousing OK, 28 units not. Think
of others.”
The full LUBA order can be read at wkly.ws/20t
and detailed information about OMC can be found
at oakleighmeadow.org. — Ted Taylor
• A free stage reading of SEEDS, a Canadian
documentary theater performance that is part courtroom
drama, part social satire will be at 7 pm Sunday, May 31,
at Oregon Contemporary Theatre (OCT), 194 W. Broadway.
The play examines the 2004 Canadian Supreme Court
case Monsanto vs. Percy Schmeiser for patent
infringement of Monsanto GMO canola seeds. The
characters are all real people, the dialogue is all verbatim.
Actors are from the UO Theatre Department. Call 870-4849
for more information.
LANE COUNTY AREA
SPRAY SCHEDULE
• ODOT is currently spraying roadsides. Call Tony
Kilmer at ODOT District 5 at 744-8080 or call (888) 996-
8080 for herbicide application information. Highways I-5,
101, 126 from 7 miles west of Walton to Florence. ODOT
may spray Highway 36 soon.
• Giustina and related companies, 345-2301, plans to
hire A&H Forestry, (360) 467-1255, to spray their
roadsides in the larger Camas Swale area south of Fox
Hollow Road in Lane County with 2,4-D, glyphosate,
triclopyr, sulfometuron methyl, metsulfuron methyl,
clopyralid and/or Dyne-Amic. See ODF notification 2015-
781-08065, call Brian Peterson at 935-2283 with
questions.
Compiled by Jan Wroncy and Gary Hale, ForestlandDwellers.org, 342-
8332.
eugeneweekly.com • May 28, 2015
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