190829

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1.  The Council finds:

1. On behalf of the City of Portland, the Portland Housing Bureau (“PHB”) administers the Multiple-Unit Limited Tax Exemption Program (the “MULTE Program” or “Program”), authorized under ORS 307.600-307.637 and City Code Chapter 3.103.
    
2. The MULTE Program provides a 10-year property tax exemption on the residential portion of the structural improvements so long as Program requirements are met. During the exemption period, property owners remain responsible for the payment of taxes on the assessed value of the land and any commercial portions of the project, except for those commercial improvements deemed a public benefit and approved for the exemption.
    
3. The MULTE Program is an incentive provided to developments complying with the City Inclusionary Housing (“IH”) Program, which requires 99 years of restricted rents of a designated percentage of units within the building.
    
4. Ordinance No. 189880, passed by the Council on March 4, 2020, authorized a 10-year property tax exemption under the MULTE Program, in conjunction with the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program for the development known as 82^nd Avenue Multi-Use (the “Project”) and located at 1750 NE 82^nd Ave (the “Property”). The application proposed five units, comprised of three studio, one one-bedroom and one two-bedroom units, or six percent, of the Project’s 78 units would be restricted to households earning no more than 60 percent of Median Family Income (“MFI”) at the time of lease-up (the “IH Units”).
    
5. The developers of the Project have requested to amend their approved MULTE application in order to accommodate a change in both the unit type mix and in the Inclusionary Housing option selected for the Project, which has resulted in an adjustment of restriction level of the IH Units from 60 percent MFI to 80 percent MFI. The total number of IH Units has increased compared to the initial application. The amended application proposes a mixed-use housing project and will restrict 15 percent of the total bedrooms in the Project to households earning no more that 80% of the MFI at the time of lease-up.  Using the reconfiguration option, four studio, five one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units, which is 14 percent of the Project’s total 78 units, will be restricted to households earning no more than 80% MFI.     
    
6. The MULTE Program has an annual cap limiting the approval of new property tax exemptions to no more than 15 million dollars of new estimated foregone revenue within a five-year period, defined as any current year and the previous four years. There is sufficient cap remaining for the 2022 calendar year to include the Project’s amended application.  
    
7. PHB has the responsibility for reviewing compliance of approved applications with the minimum MULTE Program requirements and has concluded that the amended application for the Project does indeed meet the minimum Program requirements.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:

1. The amended request for a 10-year property tax exemption under the MULTE Program is hereby approved for 14 percent of the residential portion of the structural improvements of 82^nd Ave Multi-Use, including 14 percent of residential parking and common areas.
    
2. Ordinance No. 189880 is amended as follows:
    
   1. The Project must restrict 14 percent of its 78 units to households earning no more than 80 percent MFI (the “Restricted Units”)., through reconfiguration, will consist of four studio, five one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units.  
       
3. All other portions of Ordinance 189880 will remain the same.