Eugene voters will see two measures with the city charter in their voter’s pamphlets for the city election on May 19. The measures remove gendered language from the city charter and amend it so city department heads no longer have to reside within city limits.
Measure 20-376 replaces 12 instances of gendered language (his/her, etc.) in the Eugene city charter with the title of the person referred to, or other, more specific language. Measure 20-377 amends the city charter to remove the requirement for city department heads to reside within the city limits.
“We looked at a variety of things that were possible to change and put to a vote in this upcoming election,” says Eugene City Councilor Lyndsie Leech. “Through the course of a few different conversations, these items came to the top.”
The city of Eugene is actually a bit late to the ball with a gender-neutral-to-be city charter. Portland passed a similar measure back in 2020, and Corvallis did the same in 2021. Eugene is also on the tails of Beaverton and Hillsboro, as both did this in 2025.
Both measures have been in the works since September 2025, and, to put it simply, a city charter change like this “costs a lot of money,” Leech says. The last time Eugene amended its city charter was in 2019.
“This change will make our Charter more reflective of our community,” Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson says. “But it feels especially important at a time when federal language has been intentionally shifted to be more gendered and exclusionary. Locally, this change is doing the opposite.”
Knudson describes Measure 20-377 as “governance housekeeping.” The proposed amendment shortens and rewords subsection 16(3) so only the city manager must reside within city limits and removes the parts that put rules around other department heads.
This would mean that Eugene Springfield Fire Chief, Mike Caven, who currently must live in Eugene under the charter, has the option of living in Springfield too, and if 20-376 passes would be referred to as the fire chief in the charter rather than he or she.
“It’s really about whether staff employment requirements belong in a city charter,” Knudson says. “None of the other Oregon cities researched for this amendment have a residency requirement in their charter.”
This change would make it easier for the city to find suitable candidates for these positions, and so those who came into the job through internal promotion would not have to move if they lived outside of Eugene, according to Leech. Research from the International City/County Management Organization says amendments like this also make it easier for candidates found through wider searches to find affordable housing and a neighborhood that meets their needs.
Leech says that the city is increasingly using national searches to find the best candidates for department heads, and that there shouldn’t be a residency requirement “as long as they lived nearby enough that they could consistently come to work.”
Eugene residents will vote on the measures in the May 19 primary election. Check your voter registration at SOS.oregon.gov/voting.