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The city of Portland is convening a five-member bond oversight committee to guide the Housing Bureau’s use of $258 million of bond money approved in November.

Expenditures from the voter-approved housing bond are on hold after Mayor Ted Wheeler in January directed the Housing Bureau to review its spending priorities and policies. The bureau had received criticism for getting too few affordable units for its dollars spent.

Formation of the Bond Oversight Committee was due to gain City Council approval Wednesday, but the council could not muster a quorum. The committee membership is expected to be approved at an upcoming council meeting.

The five appointed committee members will be Stephen Green, Jes Larson, Susan Emmons, Todd Struble and Allen Lazo. Their appointments will last until March 1, 2022.

The committee will provide oversight of spending from the housing bond. The committee will publish an annual report and oversee a yearly audit.

The Housing Bureau is also assembling a larger group of about 15 community experts in affordable housing, development, financing and related fields to come up with criteria to evaluate affordable housing proposals. That group will function as an advisory board to the bond oversight committee, and include industry professionals who are precluded from serving on the oversight committee due to conflict-of-interest policies.

While spending the bond money is on hold, the Housing Bureau continues to hear pitches, Director Kurt Creager said.

鈥淲e’re hearing proposals from private developers of things they would consider building and selling to the city,鈥� he said. 鈥淯ntil the guidelines are developed, it would be premature to act on those.鈥�

Guidelines could be written by June, Creager said.

The Housing Bureau is moving forward on other fronts. In February, it purchased the Ellington Apartments in Northeast Portland for $47 million. The bureau also is advancing housing projects funded by tax-increment financing.

Some nonprofit developers are hoping the city’s process doesn’t drag on, with projects waiting on the outcome.

鈥淲e’re hopeful that they understand the high demand for housing in the city of Portland and they come to a conclusion on how they want to create a process very quickly,鈥� said Cynthia Parker, president and CEO of Bridge Housing.

One project, in the Produce Row area of Southeast Portland, is on hold until the city concludes its process, Parker said.

Another nonprofit’s executive said the delay in using housing bond funding was not a major obstacle.

鈥淭hat directive has not impacted us so far because the projects in our pipeline are not using those funds,鈥� said Travis Phillips, director of housing development at Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Inc.

PCRI is developing two affordable housing projects along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard using TIF financing and low-income housing tax credit equity.