Housing Needs Analysis

Housing Needs Analysis (HNA): Key Conclusions

Housing has become a touch-point issue in Lane County, where supply of housing is becoming scarce. Creswell has, in the last 15 years, been a place where home starts have provided options for residents seeking more value in their home purchase (i.e. one could buy more for the same money than living in the metro area), or simply to find the community atmosphere they sought. Housing has become a primary driver for new residents to Creswell, which reflects a shift from decades earlier when Creswell provided employment from timber-related industry.

Creswell City Council adopted the Housing Needs Analysis and amended Creswell’s Comprehensive Plan regarding Housing on December 9, 2019.

Fast Facts:​

  • Creswell’s population is forecasted to grow by about 2,021 people over the next 20 years;

  • Creswell will need 849 new dwelling units to accommodate expected population growth;

  • Creswell will aspire to a mix of single-family attached and an increased share of multi-family dwelling units in the future to meet the City’s housing needs (70% single-family detached/10% single-family attached/20% multi-family);

  • Creswell will need to plan for development of a wider range of housing affordable to low- and middle-income households;

  • Creswell has need for housing affordable to households of all incomes;

  • Creswell has a limited number of rental units;

  • Creswell will need to provide more opportunities for development of multi-family housing;

  • Creswell has a deficit of land needed to accommodate expected growth over the next 20 years;

  • The City should plan to provide opportunities for development of the types of housing identified in the Housing Needs Analysis;

To meet the land needs identified in the HNA, Creswell should:

  • Identify and lower (or remove) barriers to housing development, especially barriers to multifamily housing;

  • Conduct an audit of its zoning code to identify barriers to development of needed housing;

  • Develop policies to support development of low-income and middle-income affordable housing; and

  • Monitor residential land development and its consumption of buildable land.

Land Needs Advisory Team reviewed current and forecasted socio-economic data and noted that Creswell is experiencing similar market forces to the region. As housing supply continues to be constrained in the Eugene-Springfield Metro area, Creswell households struggle to afford housing. With this information, the Advisory Team discussed ways to make housing more accessible and affordable to people with incomes typical of our community. Themes and types of challenges to finding housing include, but are not limited to:

  • Seniors in housing who wish to downsize, but are unable to due to the lack of available options;

  • Scarcity of rental units;

  • Middle-income owners and renters who cannot find units in their price range;

  • Low prevalence of young professionals without children due to the lack of apartment or townhouse units;

Staff has focused recommendations and policy direction toward adding supply and partnering with organizations that construct missing housing types. Many of these housing types are smaller in square footage, provide multiple units on one lot, share common space, mix residential and commercial uses on the same lot, and/or may require incentives to construct. Some of the housing types focus on particular demographic needs, such as older adults who may need housing that transitions into living with additional services, including assisted living communities.

How can we use the land we have to better-meet Creswell's growing housing need?

Efficiency measures recommended by the HNA will pursue ways to more efficiently use land within the current Urban Growth Boundary:

  • Support conversion of existing single-family houses into duplexes/triplexes

  • Establish requirements for a high-density zone and implement the zone in the UGB

  • Enhance Creswell’s infill design code

  • Specify standards for senior housing developments in certain zones, and

  • Streamline multi-family housing development.

Opportunities exist in areas such as the Downtown Commercial zone to provide apartments above ground-floor commercial uses, as well as in commercial zones adjacent to services.

Development Code-level amendments will follow policy amendments to the Comprehensive Plan Goal 10 at a separate meeting.

Public Involvement

A Community Advisory Committee was formed to advise Staff on the Land Needs Analysis. Advisors included a least one Planning Commissioner, one City Councilor, one School Board member, and others covering architecture, land ownership, and general interest in housing and economic opportunities. Advisors provided Staff with a window into how the community feels about housing and employment in the City, and provided guidance and direction towards policies to encourage the development of a range of housing types into the community’s fabric.

The Committee met four times between September and February, 2018.

Staff reached out directly to the community by hosting a virtual open house held for 5 weeks between January and February 2019. The “Future of Housing in Creswell” open house presented data collected regarding housing affordability, type, and need; The open house asked participants to weigh in on topics ranging from multi-family housing design, to values around housing, to locations that may be appropriate for housing to be added to Creswell.

Creswell’s Planning Commission held its first public hearing on the Housing Needs Analysis and Housing Policies on May 16, 2019. A Joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting was held on June 24, 2019.

The Commission took up special topics related to housing work on the following dates:

  • July 11, 2019: High Density Housing

  • August 22, 2019: High Density Housing

  • September 19, 2019: Housing Efficiency Measures

  • October 17, 2019: Downtown Update (Housing in Downtown)

Public comment was taken at each meeting regarding specific feedback and interest expressed by members of the community in attendance.