Expanding Affordable Housing in our neighborhood & throughout PDX

[Linda Nettekoven]

City Council Hearing RE: Expanding Affordable Housing Opportunities

• This Thursday, May 14th at 2:00 p.m.  
• Testimony can be given online via a special Council Webinar.  Use your phone or computer to participate. 
• To testify via the Webinar you must sign up by TOMORROW, May 12th at 4:00 P.M.  
• https://beta.portland.gov/bps/ah-grant/events/2020/5/14/city-council-hearing-may-14
• Written testimony can be submitted up to the time of the hearing at: cctes...@portlandoregon.gov

Portland is facing a severe shortage of affordable housing units and an accompanying housing crisis.

There are approximately 1,300 institutions regulated through the Zoning Code as “Conditional Uses” in residential zones. This includes many faith-based institutions (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.), fraternal organizations, community service providers and schools. Together these institutions occupy about 1,400 acres of land. A growing number of these institutions are exploring how they can use their available land on their properties to address the affordable housing crisis. 

Since 2018 the Planning Bureau has been working via a grant from Metro to 

• Identify faith and community-based organizations that are interested in offering their available land for development of affordable housing.
• Determine barriers to development and how those can be addressed and/or streamlined.
• Provide design and finance consultation for three organizations to prepare them for future affordable housing development projects.

This Thursday Council will consider an ordinance that attempts to remove barriers to the organizations working to provide this affordable housing, such as aligning the zoning for their properties to allow multi-family dwellings.  For example, here in the HAND neighborhood the St Philip Neri congregation has been working with Catholic Charities to explore adding affordable housing to their campus at SE 16th & Division while continuing their ongoing parish work. 

For some preliminary information on the St. Philip Neri project please see: https://tinyurl.com/ybg9mwhl

Open House Handout - Project Overview: This document is an update to the project/feasibility overview Catholic Charities sent in the past. It provides details on what they currently do and do not know about the project as well as some next steps.

Proposed Council Ordinance: Item # 374  TIME CERTAIN: 2:00 PM, March 14th – Amend Planning and Zoning Code, the Comprehensive Plan Map, and the Zoning Map to implement the Expanding Opportunities for Affordable Housing project  (Ordinance introduced by Mayor Wheeler; amend Title 33)  90 minutes requested. 

See link for copy of proposed ordinance: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/760592