37703

WHEREAS, in 2015, the Council, through Ordinance 187371, declared a housing emergency, which has been renewed six times and was most recently renewed in September 2024 through Ordinance 191897; and  

WHEREAS, in January 2025, Governor Kotek issued Executive Order 25-01 to extend Executive Order 24-02, which declared a state of emergency due to unsheltered homelessness in areas across the state of Oregon, including Portland; and 

WHEREAS, the 2022 Oregon Housing Needs Analysis estimated a shortage of nearly 140,000 homes across the state; and 

WHEREAS, in October 2022, the Council passed Resolution 37593 stating a need of more than 20,000 affordable housing units after accounting for the 4,200 new affordable units planned to open in years following its passage; and

WHEREAS, over 50% of Portland households who rent were cost burdened in 2023, and 25% paid 50% or more of their income in rent (American Community Survey Data); and

WHEREAS, the 2023 State of Housing in Portland report shows that of the 24 neighborhood profiles assessed, none were considered to be affordable overall for Black Portlanders, and fewer than 15 were considered affordable overall for Latine and Native American Portlanders; and

WHEREAS, in January 2023, Governor Kotek issued Executive Order 23-04, establishing an annual housing production target of 36,000 homes across the state; and  

WHEREAS, in December 2023, the Council through Ordinance 191547 adopted the 2045 Housing Needs Analysis by the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, which states that the City would need to produce about 6,000 units of housing per year to align with Governor Kotek’s statewide housing production strategy; and 

WHEREAS, in August 2024, the Council through Resolution 37673 adopted the Housing Production Strategy, which designated the Portland Housing Bureau as the lead bureau for a selection of new strategies to support the housing production strategy of the region. Included in these new strategies is identifying a long-term sustainable funding source for affordable housing development, establishing a comprehensive citywide land banking strategy for affordable residential and mixed-use development, and pursuing the development and implementation of new programs that support alternative home ownership models (cooperatives, limited profit housing models, non-market housing, etc.); and

WHEREAS, the 2025 State of the Economy Report presented the Arts & Economy Committee on February 25^th showed that Portland’s housing scarcity is a central threat to the City’s fiscal health and viability, as it is a significant driver of out-migration; and

WHEREAS, other municipalities are implementing mixed-income public development models that expand the affordable housing production toolkit (e.g., Seattle Social Housing, Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission, etc.); and

WHEREAS, Senator Pham introduced SB 684 this session which, if passed, would provide a funding source for low-interest short-term loans to support the construction of housing affordable to a mix of low and moderate income households; and

WHEREAS, the 2022 State of Housing in Portland report shows that in 2022 the average Latino and Native American families could not afford a 3-bedroom house in any neighborhood in Portland, and the average Black family could not afford a 1-bedroom home in any neighborhood in Portland; and

WHEREAS, based on 2020 U.S. Census data for Portland, the average Black household brings in about $3,000 in monthly income, Latino households earn $4,500, and Native American households earn nearly $5,000. In comparison to white Portland households who earn $6,400 on average each month. The report shows that white residents can afford a home in about one-third of Portland’s neighborhoods – mostly adjacent to the City’s eastern border; and

WHEREAS, the N/NE preference policy seeks to address many of these disparities and the city already has partners like the Albina Vision Trust poised to build 1000s of units under this preference policy.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that no later than May 31, 2026, the City Administrator, pursuant to City Charter Section 2-406(j), shall submit a report to Council analyzing and evaluating the following alternative housing financing and ownership models, to include but not be limited to: 

1. social housing models that may be adaptable to the City;
2. municipal ownership, ownership by another new or existing governmental or quasi-governmental entity, private non-profit ownership, partnership among such entities, cooperative ownership, and other alternative ownership models;
3. alternative financing models that leverage public subsidy efficiently, including in connection with the limited profit housing model;
4. any other models that the City Administrator would like to discuss; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, it is recommended that the report include:

1. examples or elements of domestic and international alternative housing models that may benefit the City;
2. information about the City's need for a permanent, stable source of affordable housing development and preservation funding to support alternative housing financing and ownership model implementation;
3. options for land banking that would support social housing uses;
4. an analysis of how the alternative housing models would impact affordability;
5. other governance and implementation needs and considerations such as funding impacts, compliance monitoring and enforcement, administrative costs, staffing needs, and potential City liability including identification of impediments such as Zoning Code, permitting process, and financing gaps;
6. analysis of pilot zones available for near-term implementation of social housing models at scale, including within the Albina Vision project area and other neighborhoods within the N/NE Preference Policy area; and
7. a set of policy and programmatic recommendations.