- ~R <br />CASCADE HOUSING <br />August 22, 2016 <br />City of Eugene <br />Planning Commission <br />99 W. 10th Avenue <br />Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br />re: Cathedral Park <br />To The Commissioners: <br />We are writing to request that you find the Hearings Official made an error in failing to interpret the <br />Goalpost Rule and its application to the Cathedral Park affordable housing proposal. As an affordable <br />housing provider, such an error will make it immensely difficult to 1) know with certainty which land use <br />standards will be applied to a development; 2) when they will be applied in the process; and 3) <br />determine the actual cost of a housing project. Without predictability, certainty, and fixed costs, <br />affordable housing providers will struggle to secure financing and build affordable housing in Eugene. <br />Our organization, Cascade Housing Association, was formed in 1993 with a mission to provide affordable <br />housing for income qualified residents throughout the western United States. In many communities, <br />including Eugene, available rental housing stock is priced much higher than the monthly budget of a <br />large percentage of residents. Seniors must adjust to lower incomes after retirement, as well as manage <br />burgeoning medical costs. Adults who are still recovering from the recession may find themselves <br />working lower paying jobs after years in a secure, family wage position. Young parents may find that the <br />only jobs offered are part-time or minimum-wage and may also have debt from student loans. These <br />are the commuters you drive alongside on Beltline, the seniors you shop next to at Saturday Market, or <br />the parents you always sit by at school board meetings. <br />Our five-person staff works out of Springfield to provide housing in Oregon, California, Idaho, and New <br />Mexico. We provide homes for families, seniors and disabled persons, and more, with over 1600 <br />affordable housing units in regions ranging from large cities to small, rural towns. <br />To achieve our mission, we operate as a public benefit nonprofit, and partner with cities, counties, and <br />state agencies, including HOME and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, to develop our <br />apartment communities. But to successfully obtain this funding, we must know which standards our <br />projects must comply with before we submit an application. While we go above and beyond in our <br />communities to apply with all applicable land use regulations and current health and safety codes, each <br />regulation raises the cost of housing. <br />Mailing Address: P.O. Box 182, Springfield, OR. 97477 <br />Physical Address: 1101 16th Street, Springfield, OR. 97477 <br />