The city of Portland has tasked its city administrator with aligning existing policies to create a unified housing strategy related to housing production, preservation and stabilization.

The strategy will be designed as an implementation tool with defined tasks and metrics. It will address homelessness and sheltering, permitting and development, land use and zoning, anti-displacement, workforce development and other innovative housing approaches, including social housing.

The Portland City Council on Wednesday voted 11-1 to approve the resolution (Councilor Dan Ryan voted no).

The city’s Homelessness and Housing Committee in May chose to send the resolution to the council for adoption. The city administrator will provide periodic updates to the committee, as well as submit a full draft of the strategy by Dec. 1.

According to American Community Survey data from 2023, half of Portland renters are cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing-related costs, while 28 percent are severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing-related costs, the city’s resolution states.

In response to the housing emergency, the city has adopted and implemented numerous policies to address homelessness and housing instability. They include the Housing Production Strategy, the Housing Needs Analysis, the Anti-Displacement Action Plan, the Portland Inclusionary Housing program, the Affordable Housing Tax Increment Financing Set Aside Policy, and others.

The intent of the housing strategy is to see where gaps exist in the city’s policies. For example, the Housing Production Strategy did not address sheltered housing transitions. Councilor Loretta Smith asked for the strategy to identify gaps by district.

The strategy will be informed by cross-jurisdictional plans and agreements with Multnomah County, Metro, and the state to eventually create a regional system to address the housing crisis.

Ryan asked for rent regulations to be added to the plan, because it was not included in the resolution but discussed during the committee meeting. Councilor Candace Avalos said the overall objectives, including rent regulations, will be discussed further by the committee.

Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said Portland has some of the smallest units in the U.S. being delivered to the market. She would like to see the strategy include housing for families of all sizes, she added.

The unified housing strategy draft will be presented to the Homelessness and Housing Committee by Dec. 1.

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