Milwaukie council adopts first reading of affordable‑housing incentives package after public hearing

The Milwaukie City Council held a public hearing on proposed zoning amendments to create a single code section (MMC 19.511) offering a package of incentives for affordable housing — a step staff tied to the city’s state‑required Housing Production Strategy.

Planning Manager Laura Bridal and Senior Planner Vera Colias presented the package, which consolidates up to 10 variance requests into a single application and ties different incentive levels to tiers of income restrictions. Colias described a tiered affordability structure in which, for example, developments that target households at 60–80% of area median income (AMI) must make 50% of units affordable at that level, while deeper affordability tiers require fewer units at those lower incomes. Staff said income‑restricted rental units would need to remain affordable for 99 years under the draft code and ownership units for 60 years; the Planning Commission recommended aligning ownership and rental affordability periods (60 years) and…