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Housing Choice Task Force

Planning and conservation  ›  Urban development and revitalization  ›  Housing choice and affordability  ›  Housing Choice Task Force

Learn about strategies for reducing the cost of housing, presented to the Metro Council in 2006 by the Housing Choice Task Force.

The Metro Council received the recommendations of its regional Housing Choice Task Force on April 20, 2006. They include a set of key recommendations for Metro, and two priority groups of strategies designed for reducing the cost of housing.

Task force recommendations

The Housing Choice Task Force recommends that Metro:

1. integrate housing supply concerns, and specifically affordable housing, into all policy making and funding allocations, and create a permanent Housing Choice Advisory Committee
2. direct efforts toward development of a new, permanent regional resource for affordable housing, and lead advocacy for increased funding at the federal, state and regional levels
3. promote strategies identified to remove regulatory barriers and reduce the cost of developing housing and affordable housing specifically, especially in centers and corridors as identified in the 2040 Growth Plan
4. prioritize the budget for housing to provide technical assistance to local governments, such as land/site inventory, model codes, etc.

Background

The recommendations of the Housing Choice Task Force were based on almost 12 months of discussions that recognized that the region is one housing market where people live in one area and work in another. The task force reviewed the barriers identified by local governments during the implementation of affordable housing requirements that were based on the work of the 2000 Affordable Housing Technical Advisory Committee. The task force also reviewed past trends in housing funding, types of housing development and employment in various communities and locations, household income in various communities, development cost, sale price and housing affordability trends. The conclusion following the reviews is that the housing problem articulated in 2000 still exists, and jobs, school, transportation investment and housing mismatches can negatively affect regional livability.

The Housing Choice Task Force identified opportunities to increase housing choices for the region’s elderly, people with disability, families with young children and workers in various professions. The task force hopes that the collaboration of various stakeholders who addressed the shortage of housing choices as a regional issue will build broader support for regional housing solutions and in areas where more housing should be provided, such as the center and corridors. The report identifies several roles for local governments, Metro and other organizations in the region.

Council action

While accepting the report, the Metro Council adopted a resolution directing staff to:

1. prepare an ordinance for consideration by Council that will include appropriate amendments to the Regional Framework Plan and the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan that would allow the implementation of the recommendations of the Housing Choice Task Force, and to establish a process for other local governments to report on their progress in meeting affordable housing and a diversity of housing options goals and objectives
2. prepare legislation for the creation of a Housing Choice Policy Advisory Committee to meet quarterly and advise Council on how to: a) realize regional goals for new housing choice; b) integrate housing choice with Metro’s actions in land use and transportation planning; and c) implement policies in the Regional Framework Plan and Title 7, including funding solutions and technical assistance
3. prepare a resolution for the creation of a housing financing study committee to assist Metro and other entities involved in providing affordable housing in the region to develop a politically feasible mechanism for implementing funding solutions recommended by the Housing Choice Task Force
4. work cooperatively with local governments in the region to provide technical assistance to preserve and develop affordable housing, including inventory of land that could be potential sites for establishing housing choice.

Related Documents

• Regional Housing Choices Implementation Strategy 708K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published March 1, 2006
• Regional Housing Choices Summary Statement 959K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published March 1, 2006

Related Internet links

• Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 10 Housing

  (http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/docs/goals/goal10.pdf)

• Oregon Housing and Community Services Dept.

  (http://www.hcs.state.or.us)

• US Dept. Housing and Urban Development Oregon Home Page

  (http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm?state=or)

• Housing Authority of Portland

  (http://www.hapdx.org)

• Housing Authority of Clackamas County

  (http://www.co.clackamas.or.us/hacc/)

• Washington County Dept. Housing Services

  (http://www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/hse_serv/housmain.htm)