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The Portland City Council has approved an intergovernmental agreement with Metro to pay for planning and development of the Southwest Corridor Equitable Housing Strategy.

According to the agreement, Metro will provide a $230,000 grant to be matched with $85,000 in city money. Both agencies will use construction excise taxes to pay for the planning.

The agreement is a step forward for the equitable housing program, which is intended to prevent gentrification and displacement along the planned TriMet light-rail line from downtown Portland to Bridgeport Village. The housing strategy focuses on investments along Barbur Boulevard and Oregon Route 99 to Tigard.

The Portland Housing Bureau and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability are eyeing publicly owned sites for future affordable housing. These include parcels near the Ross Island bridgehead at Southwest Barbur Boulevard and Grover and Gibbs streets, the Barbur Transit Center and the Portland Community College parking lot.

The housing developments are planned as mixed-use and mixed-income projects.

The City Council unanimously approved the measure Wednesday without discussion as part of the consent agenda.