The Affordable Housing Thread

[MarkDaMan]

Portland weighs reviving tax breaks for rent-capped housing
Updated 5:12 PM; Posted 3:02 PM
By Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com
The Oregonian/OregonLive

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porc...ing_tax_b.html

Portland housing officials have proposed reviving a property tax break for developers who include affordable housing in their projects.

It's an effort to squeeze units with restricted rents from a landslide of development proposals that came in before the city started requiring such units in all large developments. That inclusionary zoning policy took effect last year, but a pipeline of about 10,000 apartments proposed ahead of the mandate aren't subject to it.

The incentive officials are seeking to bring back provides for a 10-year property tax exemption on all of a development's residential units in exchange for making 20 percent of the units affordable to households making 60 or 80 percent of the median family income. The developers still pay rent on the land and any commercial space in the building.

Commissioners put off their decision until next week, but Mayor Ted Wheeler and two commissioners signaled their support for the proposal as one way to promote the types of affordable units that private developers haven't created on their own.

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[MarkDaMan]

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...r_tax_bre.html

Portland OKs developer tax break to spur more affordable apartments
Updated Mar 21, 6:01 PM; Posted Mar 21, 6:01 PM
By Gordon R. Friedman gfriedman@oregonian.com
The Oregonian/OregonLive

The Portland City Council voted 4-0 Wednesday to revive a tax break designed to encourage developers to make 20 percent of apartments they build affordable to low-income renters.

The Multnomah County Commission must also approve the tax break for it to take effect. It is not a forgone conclusion that the panel will do so.

City Commissioner Amanda Fritz pointedly left the room just before Wednesday's vote because she did not approve but did not want a "no" vote to delay the change.

The city, school districts and other property-tax funded jurisdictions could forego up to $30 million in tax revenue over the next decade if enough developers with apartments in the making sign on. But it's not clear how many would take advantage of the program. City housing officials have estimated the new incentive could result in 100 to 300 discounted units.

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[johnliu]

From prior news coverage, I recall reading this program has cost (in reduced tax revenue) something like $175,000 per units made temporarily affordable for 10 years.

Anyone have the exact numbers?

If that is correct, why won't the city/county wouldn't simply take the $175,000/unit and apply it toward building permanently affordable housing?

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by johnliu

From prior news coverage, I recall reading this program has cost (in reduced tax revenue) something like $175,000 per units made temporarily affordable for 10 years.

Anyone have the exact numbers?

If that is correct, why won't the city/county wouldn't simply take the $175,000/unit and apply it toward building permanently affordable housing?

That can't be right, that would be over $1,400 a month per unit in property taxes.

[maccoinnich]

A single unit wouldn’t pay that much in taxes, but under MULTE the exemption is on the whole residential portion of the building (not just the affordable units). So while that does sound high it is feasible.

[MarkDaMan]

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news...n-housing-bond

Sources: Voters might support $1 billion housing bond
Jim Redden Thursday, March 29, 2018
Portland Tribune

Metro voters might be willing to pass a $1 billion affordable housing bond instead of the $500 million version the regional government has been considering.

That's according to a February poll conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) for Metro. A similar poll conducted last October found that a majority of Metro voters were willing to pay $50 a year to create affordable housing — enough to support a $500 million measure, Metro President Tom Hughes announced the next month.

But now, as Metro is working on the bond proposal for the November 2018 ballot, the new poll found that 59 percent of voters are willing to pay $100 a year to help house low-income families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties.

The council must refer the measure to the ballot by June to meet all state election deadlines.

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[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news...n-housing-bond



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Is it just me, or does this seem crazy? Portland residents already approved $258 million bond at a cost of close to $100 per average household. We also have inclusionary housing requirements that are slowing down new development and 1% construction excise taxes. Not to mention all the affordable housing that PDC is supposed to be funding. I realize there's a problem out there that is largely the result of the mortgage crisis, but I'm not sure the best solution is to throw more money at it when there can be lots of other measures to take to encourage builders to build more housing.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

Is it just me, or does this seem crazy? Portland residents already approved $258 million bond at a cost of close to $100 per average household. We also have inclusionary housing requirements that are slowing down new development and 1% construction excise taxes. Not to mention all the affordable housing that PDC is supposed to be funding. I realize there's a problem out there that is largely the result of the mortgage crisis, but I'm not sure the best solution is to throw more money at it when there can be lots of other measures to take to encourage builders to build more housing.

Just to point out, new development was going to slow down anyway because so many development projects were pushed through before the inclusionary housing requirements took effect, thus flooding the market with top rent apartment buildings.

[eric cantona]

Going to have to re-calibrate my disdain for Tim Boyle:

Columbia Sportswear chief executive Tim Boyle plans to pay $1.5 million to jumpstart construction of a 100-bed homeless shelter and services center on city-owned land under the Broadway Bridge, officials announced Tuesday.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...rt_river_index

[Derek]

Not to take away from what he’s doing, but it is tax season.....

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by Derek

Not to take away from what he’s doing, but it is tax season.....

HAH! that's why I said re-calibrate, and not change!

[MarkDaMan]

http://www.wweek.com/news/2018/04/27...dable-housing/

Metro Proposes a $516 Million Bond to Build Affordable Housing
The half-billion dollar housing bond will aim to address the growing housing crisis facing the Portland area.
By Katie Shepherd | Published April 27 Updated April 27

Metro has proposed the framework for a $516 million housing bond that could go before voters later this year.

As first reported by the Portland Tribune, Metro will divvy up the housing units between the three counties that Metro oversees in proportion to the amount of revenue each will contribute to the bond, earmarking 45 percent for Multnomah County, 34 percent for Washington County and 21 percent for Clackamas County. Ten percent of the funds will be used by Metro for land banking along developing transit lines to maintain affordable units in those highly sought-after areas.

"This proposal, which can serve as many as 10,000 residents with affordable homes, strikes a balance between investing in communities where people reside now and in areas that provide greater access to transit, jobs and other opportunities," says Andrew Shaw, Metro's director of governmental affairs. "This is a draft framework, we really look forward now to robust public feedback."

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[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

http://www.wweek.com/news/2018/04/27...dable-housing/



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This is a good move forward, I do hope this is something voters approve because it would be good for the metro. I have always wanted to see the land around Sunset Transit turned into a dense urban center with a cluster of towers and an urban square with shops connected to a light rail stop.

[MarkDaMan]

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porc...ncart_breaking

Metro poised to refer $652.8 million housing bond to voters
Updated 7:00 AM; Posted 7:00 AM
By Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com
The Oregonian/OregonLive

The Metro Council will weigh this week whether to send voters a $652.8 million bond measure intended to help create thousands of affordable homes.

If approved by the regional government council, the measure would go to voters in November. It would 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $60 a year for the owner of a home with an assessed value of $250,000.

The amount is a bigger ask than the $500 million bond floated last year or the $517 million bond Metro officials were discussing as recently as this month. The regional government said the larger bond could go farther in closing the gap between the need for affordable housing and the number of available units.

"We heard loud and clear from stakeholders and the community that they wanted to see a larger impact than had first been proposed," said Andy Shaw, Metro's director of government affairs.

There were also concerns among advisers to Metro that the original bond framework underestimated the costs of building and maintaining affordable housing. The agency recalculated its figures using more conservative assessments.

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[jaxg8r1]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porc...ncart_breaking



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This one is quite difficult for me...Not sure about you all but I'm pretty much tapped out on property tax increases...

Also, create or PRESERVE 3,900 units...Preserve? Thats over $167,000 per unit....

Surely there are other solutions that aren't just a public relations bandage to affordable housing solutions..

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by jaxg8r1

Surely there are other solutions that aren't just a public relations bandage to affordable housing solutions..

That would be a great topic for a thread here.

What else can be done to get developers to build or at least add more affordable units?

What's working in other cities that Portland hasn't tried?

What else can be done, and what is currently preventing it?

I'm not against raising taxes for a worthy cause, but we can't tax our way out of the housing crunch. There have to be lots of things we can do first.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

That would be a great topic for a thread here.

What else can be done to get developers to build or at least add more affordable units?

What's working in other cities that Portland hasn't tried?

What else can be done, and what is currently preventing it?

I'm not against raising taxes for a worthy cause, but we can't tax our way out of the housing crunch. There have to be lots of things we can do first.

I think this would be a good use for height bonuses that could either be applied to the building in question or offset in other developments. If a developer builds a ton of affordable housing units in one building, they should get a height credit to use in other developments that could allow buildings to go taller than the FAR requirements and height limits.

I really think the city needs to get more creative with this, adding taxes on any home above $250K (or almost every house in Portland) seems to be a bit old fashion when it comes to tackling affordable housing.

[jaxg8r1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

I think this would be a good use for height bonuses that could either be applied to the building in question or offset in other developments. If a developer builds a ton of affordable housing units in one building, they should get a height credit to use in other developments that could allow buildings to go taller than the FAR requirements and height limits.

I really think the city needs to get more creative with this, adding taxes on any home above $250K (or almost every house in Portland) seems to be a bit old fashion when it comes to tackling affordable housing.

Agreed. Also agree with 2oh1, not sure we can tax ourselves out of this problem.

I think we genuinely have to consider removing some of the walls around our SFH neighborhoods and allowing some moderate density housing, not just on already high traffic streets. I'm picturing duplexes/triplexes, etc anywhere the market will allow. Also the review process has to quick, things shouldn't take more than a few months of review to get to the permit phase.

Just my $0.02...

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by jaxg8r1

Agreed. Also agree with 2oh1, not sure we can tax ourselves out of this problem.

I think we genuinely have to consider removing some of the walls around our SFH neighborhoods and allowing some moderate density housing, not just on already high traffic streets. I'm picturing duplexes/triplexes, etc anywhere the market will allow. Also the review process has to quick, things shouldn't take more than a few months of review to get to the permit phase.

Just my $0.02...

That is where I think we should have a limit on how big of square footage a house can be on a lot, but allow for 2-4 units to be built on a lot. It is important to add density to our inner city neighborhoods without ruining the character of the neighborhoods.

[maccoinnich]

A push for affordable condominiums



The Portland Housing Bureau has loosened inclusionary housing rules pertaining to condo development after strong criticism from developers.

It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to encourage developers to build condos again. The rules modify the allowable size of affordable units, provide a path for hardship waivers, change the sales price formula and more.

A notice of final rulemaking was issued Aug. 28. That followed a first draft in January and a second draft in June. The rulemaking process was based on City Council authorization for the program in December 2016.

Inclusionary housing is part of the city’s effort to provide affordable housing during an economic expansion that’s now approaching a decade. The rules for condos are a companion to rules for rental properties – a far larger market.

...continues at the DJC (temporarily unlocked).