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The Portland City Council on Wednesday gave final approval to Better Housing by Design 鈥� a sweeping zoning reform that will encourage greater housing density in urban areas, including parts of East Portland, the Alphabet District and King’s Hill.

Better Housing by Design recognizes the reality that Portland will continue to grow and change, Mayor Ted Wheeler said.

鈥淪o the question isn’t how do we stop growth, and how do we stop change,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he question is how do we manage it so that we maintain the things about our community that we love.鈥�

Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly joined Wheeler in voting to pass Better Housing by Design. Amanda Fritz voted against it, and Nick Fish was absent.

Fritz said the package added to the complexity of the city’s zoning code, and did not take into account existing unbuilt housing capacity.

鈥淭he council is voting for quantity over quality as if we need to add more housing capacity,鈥� Fritz said. 鈥淲e don’t need more capacity. We need more livable homes.鈥�

A proposed amendment backed by Fritz to require common areas for large apartment buildings was rejected. Affordable housing developers had opposed the potential change, saying it would reduce the number of housing units built and increase costs.

Hardesty said Better Housing by Design is 鈥渙ne way of ensuring that the pain of growth is shared by every single community.鈥�

鈥淭hese are difficult decisions,鈥� Hardesty said. 鈥淶oning brings out a whole host of emotions because there are always winners and losers when you are changing zones. I want to ensure that, this time, the winners are communities of color, low-income community members and those who have never, quite frankly, gotten a fair shake from this council.鈥�

Better Housing by Design allows larger buildings near major corridors, increases bonuses for inclusionary housing units and limits front garages and surface parking, among other changes.

Most of the changes will take effect March 1, 2020, with a bonus related to three-bedroom units taking effect on June 1.