The Affordable Housing Opportunities Project builds off of Phases 1 and 2 of a recently adopted project called the Expanding Opportunities for Affordable Housing (EOAH) project. The original EOAH project was adopted by Portland City Council in 2020, and a deferred portion of the project – Package B – was adopted in 2021.
Funded by Metro’s Planning and Community Development grant program, the EOAH project reduced various affordable housing production barriers that faith-based and community-based organizations face by:
- Reducing regulatory barriers.
- Amending the Comprehensive Plan Map and Zoning map on a select number of community-based sites.
- Developing a resource guide for affordable housing development for faith-based and community-based organizations.
- Providing affordable housing design and financial consultation for select organizations.
- Bringing together a broad group of faith-based and community-based organizations to facilitate conversation and information-exchange about opportunities to develop affordable housing.
The EOAH project also produced a short video series to provide additional guidance for faith-based and community-organizations hoping to produce affordable housing.
Project Background
Over the past few decades, faith institutions across the country have been declining. This has prompted conversations within different faith communities about how to refocus their mission of social change. The housing affordability crisis in many cities around the country has brought these institutions into the work of creating affordable housing in their communities.
With these efforts underway, there is increasing momentum to push the collective work forward faster to meet Portland’s housing needs. The City pursued a grant to fund work with community-based organizations to identify and create opportunities for affordable housing on their land.