Portland committee hears ‘One Housing Plan’ outline and housing production strategy actions on permitting, conversions and infrastructure

Council Chair Avalos presented the outline of a “One Housing Plan” to the Homelessness and Housing Committee on April 8 and said the plan will unite emergency shelter, affordable housing and market-rate production under a single implementation-focused framework.

The plan and the city’s related Housing Production Strategy drew comment from bureau directors, Prosper Portland and committee members on near-term actions to increase housing capacity: central-city zoning updates, permitting improvements at Portland Permitting and Development, pilot commercial-to-residential conversions and strategic infrastructure investments to unlock large-scale development sites.

Why it matters: Portland’s elected officials and bureau leaders described the work as an attempt to move from planning to implementation — coordinating across bureaus and with Multnomah County and the state to accelerate housing production, address affordability and align shelter policy with housing supply.

“Before I even say what it is, I want to talk about why now,” Chair Avalos told the committee. “The One Housing Plan is about alignment. It is a plan that unites our work from emergency shelter to affordable housing to middle income development under one shared vision.”

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