Provide direction on which housing tools from Attachment 5 to include in findings for the Climate-Friendly Areas adoption package and consider further as part of the upcoming citywide Housing Production Strategy work.
ISSUE STATEMENT:
For the last several years the City has been working to address the supply and affordability of housing in Springfield through the Springfield Housing Strategy. As housing becomes a bigger challenge across Oregon, the State government has responded with a number of changes to mandated housing planning efforts. The purpose of this work session is to share information on statewide housing challenges and Springfield's housing market, provide updates on Springfield's current housing strategies and upcoming State-mandated housing planning efforts, and seek direction on which housing tools from Attachment 5 to include in findings for the Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs) adoption package and consider further as part of the upcoming Housing Production Strategy work.
DISCUSSION/FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Cities across Oregon, including Springfield, are challenged by a lack of housing availability and affordability. In response to statewide challenges, the governor and legislature have prioritized housing production and affordability through various actions, including significant changes to Oregon's land use housing planning (Goal 10), with some rulemaking ongoing throughout 2025.
To comply with new State rules, Springfield must adopt a Housing Capacity Analysis (HCA) and a Housing Production Strategy (HPS) in 2027 and 2028 respectively to plan for needed housing and identify actions the City will take to promote production of that housing. As part of the new rules, Springfield will receive housing need projections and production targets from the State broken out by income level. The projections are higher than when Springfield last completed an analysis of housing need in 2010 due to changes in methodology.
As part of complying with the State's Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rules, Springfield must adopt one or more Climate Friendly Areas (CFAs) to allow for dense urban-mixed use centers. As part of the CFA adoption package, the City must identify tools or strategies to promote development of housing that is affordable to a range of incomes and mitigate displacement of members of state and federal protected classes. Springfield already has some housing strategies addressing these topics but will need to consider additional strategies as part of the HPS. The strategies the Council chooses to include in the CFA findings can be further evaluated during development of the HPS.
Attachments
1. Council Briefing Memo- Housing Strategies Update
2. Housing Strategy Handout- Spring 2025 Update
3. Update on Current Springfield Housing Strategies
4. State of Housing in Springfield and Oregon
5. Potential Housing Production & Displacement Mitigation Strategies for CFAs