Commissioner Rubio Proposes 5-Year Action Plan to Stimulate Housing Production

City Commissioner Carmen Rubio has proposed Portland's inaugural Housing Production Strategyto promote new housing development and meet the urgent needs of a growing socially and economically diverse population. This proposed strategy builds on more than a dozen actions led by the Commissioner since she was assigned the Community & Economic Development Service Area in early 2023.

"Everyone deserves to live in a secure and healthy home, but not all Portlanders can access safe and affordable housing," Commissioner Rubio said. "Economic, social, and physical barriers often limit residents from finding homes that meet their needs. And the rising cost of living has made it even harder for people, straining the budgets of many Portlanders."

Over the past year, at the direction of Commissioner Rubio, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has been working with other City staff and external stakeholders to develop the Housing Production Strategy, a five-year plan for the actions the City will take to promote new housing development.

Portland will need up to 120,000 new housing units, including a wide range of housing types and affordability levels for current and future households, over the next 20 years. To help meet that need, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability conducted in-depth analyses and extensive stakeholder and community engagement to determine more exact housing needs in Portland.

The resulting Housing Production Strategy emphasizes equitable outcomes for communities facing bigger challenges to meeting their housing needs - especially low-income households, communities of color, elders, people with disabilities, and people experiencing houselessness. According to the Portland Housing Bureau's 2023 State of Housing Report, Black, Indigenous, and Latine households earning the average income could not afford the average home sale price in any Portland neighborhood.

The proposal outlines more than 35 actions that the City can take over the next five years to promote new housing development, while addressing our housing, equity, climate, and urban-design goals. The strategies are organized into eight initiatives:

• Promote affordable housing (0-80% AMI)
• Increase middle-income housing and homeownership
• Increase housing across all major redevelopment efforts
• Reduce barriers to development and improve processes
• Stabilize current and future households
• Promote age- and disability-friendly housing
• Promote climate-friendly and healthy homes
• Advocate at the state and federal level

Some of the strategies - such as creating new Tax Increment Financing districts - are already well under way and coming to Council in the coming months, while others will be incorporated in bureau work plans over the coming years.

Of particular note is the City's commitment to ensure that housing is a key component in major redevelopment projects such as Albina Vision Trust, OMSI, Lloyd, and 82nd Avenue. In addition, the City will be looking at further ways to incentivize office-to-housing conversions in downtown and analyzing density and height across the Central City.

City Council will discuss the proposal at a public hearing at 2pm Wednesday, August 28th, where community members are invited to testify. Under state law, the Housing Production Strategy must be adopted by December.

Read more about the project here.