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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017 Housing “Is Coastal Living in Jeopardy?” from 1A Series List Nov. 15: SOS Nov. 22: State of housing Nov. 29: How we got here Dec. 6: Time to step up This 10-part series covers the current housing and employment crisis facing the Siuslaw region. Through in-depth interviews with gov- ernment officials, volunteer organizations, property managers and employers, the series examines the problems facing the region, the solutions that the community is working on and what the community can do to help. In October, the City of Florence submitted a request for information letter to the governor’s office about a new Workforce Housing Initiative. “They are trying to take tools that are already in the state’s toolbox, that already exist and are already funded, plus some new additional things,” said Reynolds. “That could be money, resources or support so they can come and help fill the gap so they can incentivize workforce housing.” Reynolds defined “work- force housing” as different for every community. In Florence, it would be a request for more affordable housing, especially for lower income families. In its submission, Florence noted that the state’s timing is aligned with the city’s current plans and goals to address the housing needs of the communi- ty, including a projected demand of 510 housing units in the next five years. The request for information also included “opportunities” — or places where the city has already begun to develop plans. Some of these include: • Establishing a goal to pro- vide workforce housing • Creating the Housing and Economic Opportunities Project (HEOP) Committee • Engaging with local and regional non-profit and for- profit housing developers that have expressed interest in investing in workforce housing developments • Considering amending the Florence Comprehensive Plan policies to eliminate barriers to workforce and affordable hous- ing developments • Reviewing local policies and regulations regarding short- term rentals and how they impact the long-term rental market • Identifying a number of sites that are vacant and zoned for workforce housing develop- ments, especially near the city center, and looking for ways to secure future sites • Refining its housing devel- opment feasibility model to determine and bridge funding gaps for specific projects • Focusing on economic development to bring momen- tum and growth. “The City is now considering ways to promote workforce housing development in con- junction with business expan- sion proposals by major employers, such as Peace Harbor Hospital, the Siuslaw School District, Lane County Community College and vari- ous tourism and recreation ori- ented businesses,” the submis- sion stated. Other partnerships have been with economic drivers in the area, from the Regional Upcoming topics include employment, volunteerism, economic development and the future of industry in the region. All parts of the series are available online at thesiuslawnews.com, or in print by request. Accelerator and Innovation Network (RAIN), South Coast Development Council, Siuslaw Vision 2025 and Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. Letters of support came from Siuslaw Outreach Services, Siuslaw Elementary School, investors working to develop Florence-area businesses and PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center. As mayor, Henry thanked the governor for addressing the need for housing and offering Florence the chance to apply. “The lack of adequate work- force housing is holding Florence back from its potential growth. One thing that I have learned is simply, if we are not growing, we are dying. That is why this initiative is so impera- tive. I support all efforts related to bringing more workforce housing to our great city, and feel it is essential for our growth and prosperity. Thank you for offering assistance in creating a path forward to address this very serious issue,” he wrote. In his town hall, Bozievich said that 73 percent of his lis- teners were aware of the hous- ing crisis. “I’m surprised at how many people were unaware,” he said of the remaining 27 percent. The five county commission- ers sit on the board of Housing and Community Services Agency of Lane County (HACSA), since it serves as the housing authority in Lane County and administers fund- ing from the Oregon Department of Housing and Urban Development. HACSA reports that approxi- mately one third of all Lane County residents are housing burdened because they spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing. Bozievich thinks Oregon has one solution: Senate Bill 1051. SB 1051 requires cities with population greater than 5,000 or counties with population greater than 25,000 to review and decide on applications for certain housing developments containing affordable housing units within 100 days. It became effective Aug. 15, 2017. “In the short term, SB 1051 opens us up to accessory dwelling units,” Bozievich said. “This could double the housing stock in western Lane County very quickly with affordable options.” Florence Planning Director Wendy FarleyCampbell has definite plans for accessory dwelling units in the Florence area. “A lot of our current houses are smaller homes on bigger lots, and some of those have been rezoned where they could have at least two dwellings on the same lot. That is an oppor- tunity. If we could get some implementation of some of the code that we’ve done would be nice,” she said. Creating more population density would help keep build- able land available for people who want to build multi-family housing. One form of multi-family housing that may be unfamiliar to people is cottage housing, where multiple units, often unattached, share a common outdoor space. These units can range from so-called “tiny homes” to more standard, 1,100-square-foot buildings. “I personally have three sen- ior friends whose spouses have passed away and they would move into this style of living tomorrow if they were avail- able,” FarleyCampbell said. “One of them is living pay- check to paycheck wishing she had some place to move to. She doesn’t want to leave Florence, she doesn’t want to go live with her daughter. She wants to stay with her friends. But she has no place to go. That’s what she wants — some little place with- out the yardwork or mainte- nance. Not an apartment.” She said that updates to the city’s codes would encourage such alternative spaces, espe- cially as they could be afford- able options not only for Florence’s established, often senior, population, but also for couples or young families. “They’re congregated around an area so you have a built community, or neighbor- hood if you will, that’s on a microscale, like a block. They have shared common spaces. If they want to garden or dink around, there is usually a place to grow some carrots or roses or whatever they want to do. They can still have the ability to do that, but a lot of the areas are common and have a landscaper. Two of the women I mentioned are already paying HOA-type fees for those services, so that wouldn’t be a change for them. T h e y just want a smaller, more manageable house size,” FarleyCampbell said. One group looking to initiate this cottage program is the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO). All it would take is some available land — NEDCO’s current model is to use donated land — that could be zoned multifamily. From there, the nonprofit agency would build one- to two-bed- room cottages for low-income housing. Alternative methods may be a way to get outside investment for Florence’s housing. According to Farley Campbell, several developers have looked into the communi- ty, but balked for various rea- sons. “There were some Portland developers who said they could build something, but they would need to charge $1,200 rents. We went, ‘There’s no one here who could pay $1,200 in rent — not enough people,’” she said. “Usually demand drives price. If there was more housing available and less demand, that usually makes prices drop. One thing we could do would be to improve the quality of jobs we’ve got so that people make more money to afford the rents. If we improve our economic position, that can’t hurt.” HEOP is currently looking at financial barriers within the existing city code, and possible ways to improve the process and make it more affordable. Besides continued new con- struction, land owners have other options to replenish the housing stock: repair, maintain and update their existing hous- ing units. “The council made this a goal because of the issues with a lot of the housing stock. We need to do something about that. Some of the policies the council will be looking at will be creating incentives for own- ers of those to demo and build up those lots, and to infill so there is suitable housing for people locally,” FarleyCampbell said. She said incentives could help encourage someone to knock down a building with mold growing up the walls and redevelop the property, hope- fully with greater density. Much of FarleyCampbell’s information comes from recent surveys conducted by the City of Florence, HEOP and profes- sional housing economist con- sultants the FCS Group. HEOP held its fourth and last meeting yesterday for the FCS Group to go over final findings on the Buildable Land Analysis, Housing Needs Analysis, Employment Needs Analysis and Policy Considerations undertaken since April. These recommen- dations will then be taken to the Florence City Council and Planning Comm- ission to implement necessary changes to Florence City Code. Reynolds said one of those topics will be the addition of accessory dwelling units. “We have to figure out what that means for our community,” Reynolds said. “This housing code process will be very simi- lar to the process we went through with marijuana to implement local rules and regu- lations for a statewide mandat- ed item. That was a process that went really well. There was a lot of good communication, and a lot of coordination with the council and planning commis- sion, and with the community in listening to concerns. This is just yet another big item that AND DUNES RD SAND DUNES RD AFFORDABLE !! SAND DU N E S RD D Y R ETT N J HARBOR VISTA CO PARK HAR BOR VIST A RD RIVER VISTA DR CO SIUSLAW RIVER T CIRCLE DR Y SHELTER CO VE W “LAND NEEDED FOR WORK FORCE HOUSING…” CITY SAYS. IT IS FOR SALE RIGHT HERE. IN THE CITY LIMITS. RD RD T GU A AS SH O R E LIN R E D NDRON DR RHODODE RHODODENDRON DR and it is zoned for lots 6,000 sq. ft. and under. Utilities are close by. The 40 acres+- is listed by DELBERT PHELPS, BROKER at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services NW. Come See Me!!! $1,150,000. H S 9T T R RD ET A B F L ORENTINE AV E OP W LOOP LLO WI OCEAN DUNES GOLF LINKS MUNSEL LAKE RD N FORK RD RD REE SEL C REE L OP K LO OOP K D MUN T L LAKE CE S R P MUNSE EE SHERW OO D CR SPRU 41ST ST 40TH ST MU CRE E K L OO 42ND ST PO OAK ST 43RD ST 36TH ST 37TH ST NS EL MUN SEL WILLOW ST FRED MEYER 101 WY UPAS PL CH EA C HE - EAST BANK PL PINE T 1S T S T BA Y S W LA PI N ES PINE ST REDWOOD ST WESTERN SAND 34TH ST S SIU SANDPINES GOLF LINKS 35TH ST F T O 35TH S T N DR EW 31TH ST SPRUCE ST 32TH ST 30TH ST 28TH ST 126 REDWOOD ST 24TH ST 21ST ST L O W LO 26TH ST 21ST ST 16TH ST LANDS DR ZEBRAWOOD ST WIL 25TH ST 23RD ST 22ND ST 19TH ST H HIG OPPORTUNITY 18TH ST STAL EQUAL HOUSING UPAS ST THREE RIVERS CASINO RESORT Recipient of the Life Time Achievement Award by the Oregon Association of Realtors. OOD ST GW OREGON COAST HWY SPRUCE ST COA NE HWY EUGE 1875 Hwy 101, Florence, OR 541-997-6000 Beach Access Cell: 541-991-7787 dphelps@bhhsnw.com Parking 16TH ST 11TH ST Parks 12TH ST - CE EN Beach Access 17TH ST 126 R FLO Roads PINE ST 15TH ST QUINCE ST 2ND ST OAK ST 19TH ST ST 13TH ST 12TH ST BOR HAR MILLER PARK 29TH ST NOPAL ST ST OAK D 14TH ST N 27TH ST MAPLE ST 20TH ST SINGING PINES DOG PARK T R A I RP O R 9TH ST LAUREL ST KI N IC V I KINGWOOD ST 10TH ST 8TH ST 6TH ST AL OP ST PA RT LN AIRPO 7TH ST T C IF FLORENCE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT JUNIPER ST Highways Golf Course ST ST ST 2ND ST 1ST FLORENCE PARK VILLAGE DR IVY ST HISTORIC OLD TOWN ST BAY 101 H RT GREENWOOD ST HEMLOCK ST R S LAUREL ST T LE S MAP NO DENDRON DR IPE DRIFTWOOD SHORES RESORT SCENIC VIEW / FISHING SIANO LO OP DO 3RD ST 4TH ST 5TH ST LOOP RH O IVY JUN 1ST ST 2ND ST FOR SALE 40 Acres Zoned for Affordable Housing! In the City Limits Contact: Map & design provided by Siuslaw News 541-997-6000 7 A impacts daily lives, and they will be working through that.” HEOP is looking at several components of current city code, including City of Florence’s rates, especially for building permits and system development charges (SDC). As far as FarleyCampbell can tell, the city’s costs are rea- sonable, and could be a draw for people to bring new devel- opments to the city. “For a residential permit, we can get you out the door in 10 days. For that same exact work in Lane County, it will be months. Our building permit process, per se, is not bad,” she said. She said people who want to build an addition to a current house pay less than $500 for a permit. People who want to build a home pay $2-2,500. “That includes permits for all your inspections for electrical and plumbing. What is the high part of the permit — I don’t think it’s too high — is the sys- tems development fee. Those aren’t permitting fees, it’s an additional fee that has nothing to do with permits,” she said. SDCs are a charge for water, sewer, storm water and roads that the developer pays into the system. “You’re building a new structure, you’re getting hooked up to sewer or the water, having a street built in front of you, the streetlights are there. You haven’t needed to do any of that,” FarleyCampbell said. “Somebody put those in, and they were put in with SDCs that somebody else paid years ago. You’re paying yours for the people down the line, for whatever system improvements need to be done. “It’s a cost of doing business, and businesses can be $30,000. It’s not some little amount. It’s a big price. For a house, the SDC is just over $12,000 for brand-new construction.” Compared to the price of a septic tank in the county, which can cost $20,000, she doesn’t think that number is too high. For land owners who want to rebuild a house, those SDCs were already paid with the orig- inal construction. With the changing housing market landscape, some cities are looking to revise their SDC process. “Florence may consider varying SDCs by home size, as a way to lower the cost of deliv- ering more affordable housing,” the letter to the governor con- tinued. “Newport recently changed its SDC methodology from a single fee per single family home (similar to Florence’s current SDC method) to a variable SDC that takes into account home size.” Until new developments come in, there are things people can do now to alleviate some of the stress of Florence’s housing crisis. FarleyCampbell said, “At City Hall, there’s a list of infor- mation we provide at the count- er here for people with ques- tions on housing.” Much of the information details the rights of the renter and landlord and some basic information on some of the sub- sidized housing resources in the state and Lane County. “We have some answers for them to some degree about HACSA and other housing resources locally — which there are not a lot. It’s all lot- tery, too. Maybe you’ll get some help, but you’re compet- ing with everyone else in the county,” she said. The big thing is that people need to be self-advocates who know their rights. People also need to find the resources that can provide housing vouchers or direct them to low-cost housing. In the Florence area, Oregon Housing and Community Services indicates there are nine low-cost housing sites, with a varying number of units (egov.hcs.state.or.us/reser/APS/ LowCostHousing.jsp). Using those links, people can be in contact with owners and man- agers of the properties. See HOUSING 9A
