Cornerstone accepts apology, thanks Eugene City Council

Presenter: Cornerstone Community Housing shares its success stories and thanks a city councilor for correcting the record. At the Eugene City Council meeting Nov. 10, Councilor Greg Evans: 

Councilor Greg Evans (Nov. 10, 2025): I want to make a statement tonight, to say that I apologize to Cornerstone Development for my inappropriate remarks at the last Council meeting. I did not mean to cast any dispersions upon their institution or their LIRHPTE (low income rental housing property tax exemption) application.

[00:00:32] Presenter: Here are some of his now-retracted remarks from Oct. 27: 

[00:00:37] Councilor Greg Evans (Oct. 27, 2025): …I know you remember the project on 13th and Olive that the firm from Alabama came up here and said, ‘We can’t build that without having these specific tax breaks.’

[00:00:55] And Council went on and passed that because the need for development for housing, particularly student housing, at that time, am I correct about that? And the workers that were brought here were brought from outside of the community, if I remember correctly, and prevailing wage was not paid at that time.

[00:01:20] And I have a problem with giving tax breaks to developers who are not paying prevailing wage. So I’m not going to be supportive of this except to say that if Councilor (Mike) Clark wants to make a motion to pause this until we have a conversation as a council about this, because this is the moral equivalent of you holding a gun to my head and saying, ‘I’ve got to pass this before the 29th, or this is not going to work for me.’

[00:01:56] No, I’m not doing that. I do not work that way. So I can’t speak for the rest of Council, but no. We need to have prevailing wage paid to all of the workforce that’s going to be working on a publicly-funded project, at least partially-funded project. If you’re asking for tax breaks, then you’ve got to play by our rules, too.

[00:02:25] Presenter: With the rest of his retraction and apology at the City Council meeting Nov. 10, Councilor Evans:

[00:02:31] Councilor Greg Evans (Nov. 10, 2025): I misspoke. I stuck my foot in my mouth, and so I’m apologizing to the board and staff of Cornerstone and I’m hopeful that we will continue to work together, as I’ve voted for every LIRHPTE that they have applied for since I’ve been on Council the last 12 years.

[00:02:55] Presenter: During public comment, Darcy Phillips:

[00:02:57] Darcy Phillips (Cornerstone): I want to start by thanking Councilor Evans for the apology at the beginning. That really means a lot to me and to Cornerstone, to my board and my staff, so thank you for that.

[00:03:07] Cornerstone Community Housing acknowledges the importance of fair labor standards and ethical contracting. We share these values and have upheld them throughout our long history serving Lane County. For more than 30 years, Cornerstone has provided affordable housing and supportive services that help individuals and families build stability and thrive.

[00:03:28] Our mission is rooted in a belief that strong ethical practices, both in our housing operations and our business relations, are essential to creating lasting community impact.

[00:03:41] Cornerstone has never been found to participate in wage theft, tax fraud, or any labor violations, and we hold all contractors and subcontractors accountable to the same high standards. We believe that affordable housing should not come at the expense of fair wages or ethical treatment of workers. The people who build and maintain our communities deserve the same respect and protections as the residents that we serve.

[00:04:07] We’re deeply committed to equitable contracting. On every development, Cornerstone prioritizes minority, women-owned, and emerging small businesses, as well as Section 3 contractors. Under federal and Oregon housing programs, Section 3 requires that recipients of certain housing and community development funds ensure that economic opportunities, jobs, training and contracting are directed to low- and very-low-income residents and to businesses that employ or are owned by them.

[00:04:39] In Oregon’s affordable housing sector, this means partnering with contractors to create local employment and economic benefits for people with lower incomes who are most affected by housing instability.

[00:04:51] These efforts are more than a requirement. They reflect our values. By ensuring the public investment in affordable housing also supports local and underrepresented contractors, we help strengthen the economic fabric of Lane County. This creates pathways for smaller and diverse businesses to grow, builds community wealth, and ensures the benefits of development are shared more broadly across our region.

[00:05:15] Thank you for your continued support for Cornerstone and for the LIRHPTE application. 

[00:05:20] Eugene staff: Thank you, Darcy. Mario Conte:

[00:05:23] Mario Conte: My name is Mario Conte and I’m here speaking as a board member on behalf of Cornerstone Community Housing.

[00:05:30] Cornerstone Community Housing has always been committed to ensuring that everyone involved in our projects is treated fairly and compensated appropriately for their work. The general contractors we partner with maintain a workforce comparable to other contractors across the state, with wages set by the market and in accordance with the law.

[00:05:49] At the same time, applying prevailing wage requirements to The Lucy, a pending project of Cornerstone’s here in Eugene, and to affordable housing projects more broadly, would make developments like ours financially infeasible. It would make them impossible. To put this in perspective, the 20-year LIRHPTE associated with The Lucy delivers approximately $1.8 million in tax value over the full term.

[00:06:13] By contrast, requiring prevailing wages on construction would increase costs by roughly $3 million–exceeding the full value of the exemption.

[00:06:22] In practical terms, this extra cost would push the project past a break-even point. The financing structure would fail, and the project simply could not move forward.

[00:06:33] That would result in the loss of 36 affordable housing units here in Eugene, along with a full range of community benefits that Cornerstone provides, including local employment opportunities, onsite resident services, and strengthened neighborhood stability.

[00:06:49] The state of Oregon has explicitly exempted affordable housing from prevailing wage requirements to ensure that projects like The Lucy remain financially viable and can move forward to meet urgent community housing needs.

[00:07:02] Many of Cornerstone’s existing properties are now reaching the point where their LIRHPTE must be renewed. If prevailing wages were required as a condition of approval of that LIRHPTE, it would significantly increase cost for basic maintenance and repairs, work that is currently done efficiently and in-house by our skilled maintenance team. Preserving the current structure of the exemption is therefore essential for continued growth and preservation of affordable housing in our community.

[00:07:29] We urge council to continue its support for Cornerstone and the LIRHPTE so that affordable housing projects like The Lucy can continue to provide homes, stability, and opportunities for our neighbors. 

[00:07:40] Andrea Voorhees: My name is Andrea Voorhees and I’m here proudly speaking as a board member on behalf of Cornerstone Community Housing. I’ve been a board member since 2019.

[00:07:49] City Council’s past support of the low-income rental housing property tax exemption, or LIRHPTE, and of Cornerstone Community Housing, has been invaluable in creating and sustaining affordable housing in Eugene.

[00:08:01] By reducing property tax burdens for developments like our upcoming projects, The Lucy, LIRHPTE helps ensure these projects remain financially viable while also delivering important community benefits including local jobs, resident services, and long-term neighborhood stability.

[00:08:17] Cornerstone Community Housing has been serving Lane County for over 30 years, providing stable, affordable homes while supporting residents through comprehensive programs that promote self-sufficiency and well-being. In addition to developing affordable housing, our robust resident services programs supports families and individuals across our community.

[00:08:37] Our programs include food and nutrition, youth development, community building, health and wellness, and financial wellbeing. These services are designed to complement our housing, ensuring that residents not only have a safe place to live, but also access to the resources they need to thrive.

[00:08:54] Through October of this year, Cornerstone has provided $420,000 in rental assistance supporting not only Cornerstone residents, but also low-income households throughout the broader community. This assistance has been vital in helping individuals and families remain stably housed during a time of ongoing financial strain.

[00:09:13] In addition to rental assistance, we run dental clinics, homework helpers for kids, and every year we deliver over 100,000 pounds of food to low-income residents and operate our own on-site food pantry at one of our housing communities. These programs are central to our mission, building on the foundation of stable, affordable housing. They ensure that residents not only have a place to live, but also access to the support, stability, and opportunities needed to thrive in every aspect of life. By combining affordable housing with these essential resident services, Cornerstone ensures that our developments truly strengthen communities for the long term.

[00:09:52] As a City Council, you can be proud, just as I am, that your commitment to LIRHPTE makes these tremendous outcomes possible. Thank you for your continued support.

[00:10:01] Presenter: Cornerstone Community Housing thanks Councilor Evans for his quick apology and thanks the City Council for supporting the low-income rental housing property tax exemption.