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The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to enact an inclusionary housing ordinance that will force developers of sizable apartment projects to include affordable units or pay a hefty fee.

The ordinance will take effect on Feb. 1, 2017.

Portland is the first city in Oregon to pass such an ordinance. Until this year, state law pre-empted efforts to establish such policies.

Projects submitted before Feb. 1 will not be subject to the new rules, and developers have responded by rushing to submit applications for multifamily projects. The development pipeline now totals approximately 14,000 units 鈥� roughly triple the usual amount, according to city officials.

The effects of the inclusionary housing policy may not be evident right away 鈥� many developers may wait two to three years to build projects that include affordable units.

Supporters say Portland faces a housing crisis that needs to be addressed, and inclusionary housing will ensure construction of affordable units throughout the city 鈥� not just in lower-income neighborhoods.

鈥淚 believe Portland will be better for the inclusive community we are creating with this policy,鈥� Commissioner Dan Saltzman said Wednesday.

Commissioner Nick Fish said the policy 鈥済ives us a mechanism for ensuring affordable homes are dispersed throughout high-opportunity areas in our community.鈥�

Saltzman in November softened his proposal to require developers of projects in mixed-use zones to include 15 percent of apartments affordable at 80 percent of median family income, or 8 percent of units affordable at 60 percent of median family income. Beginning in 2019, the requirements rise to 20 percent and 10 percent of total units, respectively.

Developers have warned for months that an inclusionary housing policy threatens to halt multifamily development in Portland. They say large banks and other investors will invest in projects where the return is highest 鈥� which may no longer be in Portland.

Housing advocates and city officials have battled over the incentives 鈥� including tax breaks and density bonuses 鈥� intended to provide an offset to developers.

Developments that include affordable units also will not be subject to parking minimums. The policy also allows developers to pay a fee in lieu of building affordable units, or build units off-site, but city officials say their preference is for developers to build affordable units on-site.

The affordability requirements apply only to multifamily buildings of 20 units or more. The threshold has given rise to concern that developers will respond by building 19-unit apartment buildings in East Portland neighborhoods.

鈥淚f in six months or a year we see development on the Eastside is (consistently) 19 units or smaller, I will join our colleagues in bringing (the policy) back and taking another look,鈥� Fish said.

Greg Goodman, co-president of Downtown Development Group and a member of the experts panel that examined inclusionary housing, said the law would affect rental rates in general.

鈥淎ll they’re doing is pushing rents up,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淭hings won’t get built until rents get high enough to offset the rents on the affordable units.鈥�

Saltzman acknowledged that the policy may need to be revisited as the market responds.

鈥淭his may need to be tuned,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t may not be working perfectly in the marketplace, but the council will have the opportunity to do that.鈥�