Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advocates brief committee on Senate Bill 49 and local inclusionary zoning tradeoffs
Summary
Advocates for inclusionary housing briefed the committee on Senate Bill 49, a legislative proposal to expand local flexibility for inclusionary zoning programs and require regular fiscal check‑ins to keep programs balanced and productive, the presenters said.
Michael Anderson of Sightline Institute and Sarah Radcliffe of Habitat for Humanity Portland Region briefed the committee on Senate Bill 49, a proposal to revise Oregon’s statewide inclusionary housing rules. Anderson said SB 49 would give cities more design flexibility while also requiring periodic check‑ins to ensure programs strike a financially sustainable “balance” between underfunding and overfunding.
Anderson described the program mechanics Portland uses (a property tax abatement model that reduces property taxes for roughly the first 10 years after construction) and said the city’s rental program “was fully funded within the central city” after 2024 changes, producing a wave of mixed‑income projects. He said outside the central city the program had been underfunded and gave an example where a site produced 219 market units and 0 affordable homes under previous incentives.
Anderson said the periodic check requirement in SB 49 is intended to prevent both underfunding (which can cause developers to avoid building in a jurisdiction) and overfunding (which can yield diminishing returns on public dollars). He described the condo/ownership side as under‑analyzed; the city has produced virtually no newly built condominiums under the existing program and Anderson urged local staff to examine incentives for ownership units.
In questions, Councilor Dunphy asked whether ownership units would need a different incentive model; Sarah Radcliffe said options include HALTI (a 10‑year exemption for homeownership side) and SDC waivers and that the city should “do the math” for condo feasibility. Anderson and Radcliffe said they are working with city staff and the bill sponsor, Senator Pham, to refine details.
The briefing was informational; committee members asked staff to continue tracking SB 49 as it moves through the legislature and to recommend changes the city could accept. No formal action or vote was taken.
