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Equitable Housing Presentation by Pete Walter, Planner
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BACKGROUND:
Oregon City wishes to promote more equitable housing options, and, in January 2016, the City Commission identified equitable housing as a priority to be addressed. Since that time the City Commission and Planning Commission have met multiple times to discuss equitable housing, and have been working with Clackamas County to reach solutions. As the county seat of Clackamas County, many social services reside in Oregon City and it is critical that proper housing be provided for all our residents. A landslide caused the necessary evacuation of a significant number of apartment units in December 2015. Despite strong collaboration between FEMA, Clackamas County and Oregon City, the difficulty of re-locating families during this time highlighted the limited availability of equitable housing options.
Based on this direction, the City of Oregon City applied for, and was awarded a grant by Metro to review barriers and incentives to facilitating diverse, physically accessible, affordable housing choices within the city with access to opportunities, services and amenities. The grant will support a thorough review of housing related development standards, policies, fees, and procedures. As a result equitable housing would be more accessible by providing greater flexibility in zoning and building policies, a series of maps and background information, and guidance to direct construction of housing units in the best locations throughout the city. Transparency of the review process will be provided with guides for development to remove the uncertainty about the review processes, and amendments to development standards and processes will result in clear paths toward additional housing units within Oregon City.
More information can be found on the project website here: https://www.orcity.org/planning/equitable-housing