Portland planning board reviews options to raise hotel inclusionary fees during moratorium

City planning staff on July 8 briefed the Planning Board on options to revise Portland’s hotel inclusionary zoning (IZ) requirements while a citywide moratorium on new hotel development remains in effect.

The workshop was informational; no binding vote was taken. Staff said the City Council’s moratorium (enacted in December and running through late November) asked staff to report back with alternatives because concerns have been raised about hotel growth, low wages for many hotel employees and limited contributions to the City’s Housing Trust Fund.

Why it matters: Portland’s hotel IZ ordinance, adopted in 2019, requires developers to build one low‑income housing unit for every 28 hotel rooms or pay a fee in‑lieu. That 2019 linkage fee was set from a nexus study and is adjusted annually. Staff told the board the 2025 figure…