91视频

The Portland City Council on Wednesday will consider a major proposal to accelerate design review for projects that include affordable housing.

The proposal, by Commissioner Dan Saltzman, would do away with Type III design review for affordable housing projects. He hopes to encourage affordable housing by making the approval process faster and easier.

鈥淲e want 鈥� to provide a quicker avenue to get necessary approvals from the city to break ground to build that housing,鈥� Saltzman said Thursday.

Type III is the most rigorous planning process, requiring a pre-application conference and a public hearing. The city’s own timeline for Type III review shows applicants should expect a 103-day process, or more than three months.

Developers have long complained of the lengthy timeline.

Under Saltzman’s plan, to be introduced as a City Council resolution, Bureau of Development Services staff members would be responsible for the new review process, called 鈥淭ype II-x.鈥�

Saltzman said city staff members are fully capable of providing a thorough review that adheres to Portland’s design standards and comprehensive plan.

鈥淚 think staff would be pretty rigorous, too,鈥� he said.

More details of Saltzman’s proposal are expected to be revealed with the release of next week’s City Council agenda.

Saltzman said the idea came out of a meeting with Mayor Charlie Hales and Portland Design Commission members.

Saltzman said design commissioners are sometimes frustrated by city standards that take into account design aspects like access to the Willamette River, even for buildings that might be a mile away.

鈥淲hat does that mean?鈥� he said.

Design commissioners could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Saltzman said he expects his proposal to move forward.

鈥淚’m pretty sure there’s good support for this in the building,鈥� he said.