System Development Charge Exemption for Affordable Housing

Housing for low-income persons is eligible for an exemption from paying local charges imposed by Eugene City Code (EC) 7.705, per  EC section 7.725.  All local SDCs are eligible to be exempted through the program, except Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) regional wastewater fees (in most cases). There is a limited amount of exemptions available annually, so an exemption is not guaranteed for all developments that qualify. 


The SDC exemption may be used to support rental development and homeownership development.  The income limit for rental development is 60 percent of the area median income, and for homeownership development it is 80 percent of the area median income, based on the income limits published annually by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The affordability requirement must be met for a minimum period of five years.  For more information regarding SDC exemptions, please see this summary of the program.


To help provide a clear framework and process for projects interested in getting SDC exemptions, the City will be using a request for proposal (RFP) process to allocate funds.

FY24 Request for Proposals (RFP) - OPEN


Resources available

The total amount of SDC Exemptions available is approximately  is approximately $824,046.

  • $412,023 available for rental housing development category
  • $412,023 available for homeownership development category.   

If the proposals awarded in one category do not use all the exemptions available for that category, the remaining SDC exemptions will be awarded in the other category.  

 

Application process

Completed applications are due November 8, 2023, no later than 5:00 pm. Proposals must be received by the application deadline, contain all required components, and propose using the resources for low-income housing to be eligible for review.  


The City will accept applications from public agencies, private/for-profit, and non-profit developers.  Submission of a proposal does not guarantee funding.  


This RFP is an open, competitive process to award the resources based on satisfaction of the described criteria.

 

Funding Priorities

Applications will be prioritized by the following:

  1. Proposals with the highest percentage of units serving the lowest income households in their category (rental or homeownership). 
  2. Proposals that provide more than 5% of units to be accessible for people with physical disabilities.
  3. Proposals that commit to longer affordability periods than the minimum 5 years.
  4. Proposals with the most units within their category (rental or homeownership).
  5. Proposals provide housing affordable to low-income households in higher-income census tracts to support diverse housing opportunities.

Application Materials

Request for Proposals and Application (MS Word Version or Fillable Adobe PDF Version)