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Portland officials are preparing for City Council consideration of a broad plan to meet demand for 120,546 housing units by 2045.

The state-mandated housing production strategy calls for pursuing a long list of initiatives to meet that target, and additional production to align with Gov. Tina Kotek鈥檚 statewide production strategy that seeks to catch up from past housing underproduction. Altogether, the plan calls for adding about 6,000 new housing units per year.

Some of the initiatives in Portland鈥檚 housing strategy essentially continue existing policies. Others could spark controversy, such as a plan to liberalize zoning in the city鈥檚 largely single-family neighborhoods in the inner Eastside.

The City Council is set to consider the changes during a meeting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Public testimony will be accepted there, and the city is also receiving testimony .

鈥淭he city has taken a lot of action over the last eight years or so to boost housing production and increase affordable housing, and I think this production strategy just begins to outline and lay out an action plan or a blueprint to continue to work on those issues,鈥� said Tom Armstrong, supervising planner for the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. 鈥淚t covers the broad range of housing issues 鈥� everything from housing production to permitting to zone to code improvement.鈥�

The housing production strategy is required of all cities with a population of 10,000 or more since a 2019 state law was enacted. It鈥檚 similar to strategies being carried out in California to hold cities accountable for how much housing is built in their jurisdictions.

鈥淭he state is trying to set up a system to make all cities more accountable for housing and meeting housing targets,鈥� Armstrong said.

Portland鈥檚 inner Eastside is being targeted by city planners for zoning changes.

鈥淲e recognize that those close, inner neighborhoods, especially inner Southeast 鈥� we haven鈥檛 looked at that zoning pattern in that area for many years, and it鈥檚 time to look at that,鈥� Armstrong said.

Under the proposal, greater density would be allowed in neighborhoods from Irvington in the north to Powell Boulevard in the south, and from Grant Park in the northeast to Mt. Tabor in the southeast.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very desirable neighborhoods,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淟ooking at what we need to do to increase density and increase housing in those neighborhoods achieves multiple objectives.鈥�

A pro-housing group, Portland: Neighbors Welcome, has called for greater housing density in Southeast Portland. Its 鈥淚nner Eastside for All鈥� campaign advocates for 鈥渇our floors and corner stores.鈥�

The city鈥檚 housing production strategy also calls for greater measures to encourage office-to-residential conversions. Some developers are considering such conversions in Portland 鈥� including at the Mason Ehrman property in Old Town Chinatown 鈥� but the costs and regulatory hurdles of such projects have made those proposals sparse.

More public money to encourage such projects may be forthcoming with the expected creation of a Central City tax-increment-financing district this fall. Nevertheless, city officials portrayed the conversion measures as just one aspect of the housing production strategy.

鈥淚ts inclusion in the production strategy just shows that we recognize that opportunity and that we need to continue to work that issue,鈥� Armstrong said.

Portland has until December to adopt the housing production strategy.

Hillsboro has also produced a housing needs analysis, and the city鈥檚 housing production strategy is scheduled to go before the City Council on Dec. 3. Hillsboro鈥檚 draft housing production strategy has not been made public but is expected to be released in late October or early November, city of Hillsboro spokeswoman Lauren Scott stated in an email.

Scott declined an interview request ahead of the release of Hillsboro鈥檚 housing production strategy. It 鈥渁ims to prioritize and deliver a mix of housing types and price points to meet the housing needs of our residents of all ages, incomes and abilities,鈥� she stated.

Portland鈥檚 Armstrong said he expects the state will intensify pressure on cities to produce housing. This is the first housing production strategy cycle for Oregon cities.

鈥淭his first six years will be an experience to see what works, and I expect we鈥檒l see more changes from there, just as they did in California,鈥� he said.

In California, developers have increasingly used the so-called 鈥渂uilder鈥檚 remedy,鈥� which allows multifamily builders to bypass local zoning in cities that have not produced enough housing to meet state goals.

Editor’s Note: This story was corrected on Aug. 26, 2024, to reflect the Portland City Council is set to consider the changes during a meeting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.