The city of Eugene gives tax breaks and subsidies to developers to encourage them to build affordable housing. But local advocates say too many can’t afford what the government labels “affordable housing.”
Someone working full time at a minimum wage job qualifies for a category of affordable housing that is not developed in a sufficient quantity for the number of people who need it, advocates say. Minimum wage workers make thousands less per year than the annual income rates set by the government as a threshold to qualify for help paying their rent. Housing advocates say it’s a major sign that the system isn’t working.
The city offers 20-year tax exemptions to affordable housing developments like the recently green-lit Park Run Apartments, a 158-unit development in South Eugene. The need is high, especially for renters who make 30% or less of the median income in the area. According to 2013-2023 data, Eugene needs 6,337 units of housing for renters in that income category. Data showing the number of available units in that price bracket have not been made public.
Park Run includes 29 units reserved for renters making at or below 30% of the area median income, in accordance with the city’s Low Income Rental Housing Property Tax Exemption. The remaining units in the building are limited to those making at or below 60% of the AMI.
Despite those efforts, affordable housing remains “a critical need in our community,” according to Laura Hammond, housing tools analyst for the city of Eugene. And increasingly, many can’t afford housing subsidized by the city and labeled “affordable,” according to advocates like Hammond and Chava Kronen, housing specialist for Head Start of Lane County.
Eugene is home to 178,000 people, with 3,000 of them experiencing chronic or unsheltered homelessness. Data showing the number of people who qualify for affordable housing is not currently available, but 4,300 units of permanent affordable housing exist in the city — defined by the city as affordable to those making 80% of the AMI — along with 924 shelter beds.
Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development establishes the AMI: the midpoint of a location’s income distribution. Under that standard, the annual income limit for a single-person household in Eugene making 100% AMI is $64,200 and 80% AMI is $58,700. The income limit goes down to $36,700 per year for someone making 60% AMI, and $22,000 for someone making 30% AMI.
A person working full time all year and making minimum wage in Eugene is making between 30% and 50% AMI.
The minimum wage in Lane County is $15.05 per hour. A person working full time at a minimum wage job in Eugene makes about $31,300 per year. That means they would make $7,000 less per year than what HUD defines as 60% of the AMI for a single person.
Affordable housing in Eugene is defined as “housing that is accessible to moderate and lower-income households by using a mix of subsidies and incentives,” according to the city of Eugene’s website. Developments that get those city subsidies and incentives are required to remain affordable for 20 years, and serve people making between 0-80% of the AMI.
Advocates say it’s time for an update to those standards.
“If you are working a minimum wage job, does that mean you could afford to live there? Because if you can’t afford it on minimum wage, then it’s not affordable,” Kronen said.
31 flavors needed
Homes for Good is one of 22 housing authorities in Oregon. It is the largest builder, owner and manager of affordable housing in Eugene.
Through their doors come everyday people in need of affordable housing, from low-income families to people experiencing chronic homelessness, said Jacob Fox, Homes for Good executive director.
The organization provides several “flavors” of affordable housing, Fox said, ranging from fully subsidized housing to fixed rent housing to temporary shelters to a community supported shelter.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, is funded by HUD and pays a set amount of rent based on the tenant’s income. Over 3,000 residents in Lane County pay part of their rent using this voucher.
This method of “affordable” works for people able to find a landlord to rent to them, and who make some sort of income. Homes for Good pays about 77-80% of the rent for people with vouchers in 2025, according to standards set by HUD.
Another “flavor” is public housing, which works by setting rents at 30% of renters’ income.
And a step beyond typical public housing is permanent supportive housing that includes various types of support for residents. Services can include community building, food security, employment help and mental health care. This additional assistance makes it more likely that people will remain housed, according to Fox.
“If you just get folks into generic affordable housing and there isn’t all this array of supportive services, the likelihood that they’ll be successful over time is lower,” Fox said.
One example of permanent supportive housing is Bridges on Broadway. Opened in September, the 56-unit permanent supportive housing development is intended for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Bridges offers studio apartments and provides case management and health resources.
Attached to each unit is a federal assistance voucher that can pay 100% of rent, and a utility license to pay utilities. By providing this voucher, Bridges is accessible to people who are chronically homeless and making no income.
In order to develop affordable housing and keep it affordable, development organizations require funding, Fox said.
The primary tool is the low-income housing tax credit a federal program that subsidizes the development of affordable housing.
For a developer to receive the LIHTC, a certain number of units must be made affordable (where tenants pay 30% or less of their income in rent) to a certain number of tenants making 50% of AMI, 60% of AMI and between 60-80% of AMI, and it must do this for 20 years.
In 2025, LIHTC is estimated to cost the federal government $15.2 billion, according to the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation.
Homes for Good opens its wait list every three or four years. Within a week, more than 10,000 people apply. People from the Eugene Mission or HIV Alliance go through the waiting list, using specific criteria to determine who would benefit most from housing.
“If you’re experiencing homelessness, but you’re able to couch-surf a lot, and you’re not very sick, you’re not likely going to get referred to our buildings,” Fox said.
This year, Lane County received half as much funding as last year from the state of Oregon for its emergency shelter system.
“We have 15,000 units less than we should have,” Fox said. “And basically, our housing system’s really sick, and it’s just pushing people into homelessness because there isn’t affordable homes to rent or buy.”
Fox said Homes for Good is always looking for innovative ways to house people. For example, accessory dwelling units are detached bedrooms, attached to larger community buildings with kitchen and laundry services. Currently, building ADUs in Eugene face several restrictions including exactly how much square footage and distance from the primary dwelling it can be.
“We needed to rip the band-aid off, get really creative,” Fox said.
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This article appears in November 11, 2025.