Portland City Council has unanimously voted to approve the Housing Regulatory Relief zoning code amendments introduced by Commissioner Carmen Rubio that aim to advance housing production in response to ongoing challenges. The package includes both temporary suspensions and reductions to zoning code standards and processes, as well as clarifications to the code, to help reduce the cost of building housing in Portland.
“Last spring, I asked our development community stakeholders what local codes and rules were making it more expensive and challenging to build housing in Portland,” Rubio said. “Changing development rules is not easy business, and I’m proud of the end result, which will spur housing production without sacrificing environmental sustainability.” The Housing Regulatory Relief project creates temporary waivers (which will last for five years for development that includes residential units) and makes permanent changes to zoning regulations, addressing issues identified by the housing production survey.
The legislation covers 15 issues to advance housing production, including bike parking, ground floor active use/height, non-conforming upgrades, ecoroof standards, design review and neighborhood contact requirements. Code changes become effective March 1. However, the ordinance allows projects currently in the development pipeline to take advantage of some of the relief items if they are providing housing.
The other ordinance makes key changes to the Inclusionary Housing program, designed to create sustainable mixed-income communities by requiring affordable housing to be included in new developments. In approving the changes, City Council sought to balance the program by offering a deeper property tax exemption for projects located in certain areas outside of Central City, as well as providing more flexibility and clarity for how the program functions. Although these changes are also slated to go into effect March 1, Multnomah County will need to approve the property tax changes before they go into effect.
“The Inclusionary Housing program is doing what it was meant to do: expanding access for low- and moderate-income families to live in some of the most desirable areas of Portland,” Rubio said. “At a time when development activity has dropped off, these changes will ensure that the City is providing enough financial incentives to adequately cover the costs of complying with the program.”