The
city
council
of

Portland,

Oregon,
unanimously
passed
what
it
is
calling
the
city’s
first-ever

housing
production
strategy,
which
is
based
on
a
proposal
introduced
this
summer
by
Commissioner
Carmen
Rubio.

Like
many
major
metropolitan
areas
across
the
country,
Portland
is
facing
a

housing
shortage
as
well
as
an

affordability
crisis.
The
only
viable
solution
to
these
problems,
as
other
municipal
leaders
and
housing
industry
experts
have
previously
suggested,
is
the

construction
of
more
homes.

“Economic,
social
and
physical
barriers
often
limit
residents
from
finding
homes
that
meet
their
needs,”
said
Rubio,
who
is
also
a
Portland
mayoral
candidate
this
year,
when
introducing
the
resolution.
“And
the
rising
cost
of
living
has
made
it
even
harder
for
people,
straining
the
budgets
of
many
Portlanders,
fueling
gentrification
and
displacement
and
causing
people
living
on
the
edge
to
lose
their
homes.”

Rubio
outlined
10
core
provisions
that
the
measure
aims
to
address.
They
include
making
an
existing
“inclusionary
housing
program”
more
accessible
for
underrepresented
communities;
addressing
zoning
code
requirements
that
have
stymied
construction
activity;
and
“cleaning
up”
elements
of
the
zoning
code
the
council
found
necessary.
More
work
on
zoning
will
be
performed
in
2025.

Rubio
also
alluded
to
issues
that
builders
and
vendors
have
faced
with
the
city’s
permitting
process.
She
said
that
the
city
aims
to
get
“its
house
in
order”
and
is
expanding
its
housing
grant
programs
to
disburse
$5
million
for
the
purposes
of
buying
land
and
building
affordable
homes.

The
city
is
also
advocating
for
a
change
to
Oregon
state
law
that
would
allow
it
to
“approve
our
homeownership
incentives
faster,
eliminating
red
tape
and
shaving
off
several
weeks
for
nonprofit
and
other
homebuilders.”

The
plan
also
addresses
environmental
impact
concerns
of
new
construction,
Rubio
said,
by
paying
attention
to
the
floodplain
of
Portland’s
urban
center.
The
city
has
also
adopted
new
legislation
to
both
“better
understand
and
acknowledge
how
our
decisions
could
raise
the
cost
of
building
homes,”
and
to
“preserve
existing
affordable
housing
and
to
encourage
the
conversion
of
office
buildings
to
housing.”

The
legislation
also
comes
with
a
one-year
freeze
on
the
city’s
system
development
charges,
and
fees
have
been
reduced
for
certain
permitting
meetings.

And
the
city
tallied
feedback
from
residents
in
the
Central
City
and
East
Portland
neighborhoods
who
expressed
concerns
about
the
need
for
“a
new
generation
of
public
funding
for
housing
and
economic
development.”
The
council
has
begun
exploring
the
establishment
of
new
tax
increment
financing
districts
in
these
areas.

The
full
plan
can
be
viewed

via
the
website
of
the
Portland
City
Auditor’s
Office.

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