Best practices book - Flipbook - Page 384
Building Confidence, Building Community.
APPENDIX C2 (PORTLAND)
DRAFT 11/29/17
A central purpose of Comprehensive Planning is to identify housing needs – and ensure plans enable a supply of
housing that needs identified needs. This includes not only the number of housing units, but also by tenure and income.
The Housing analysis completed with the 2035 Comprehensive Plan identified two areas of concern – a tight supply
of “Middle Housing”, and a concern that there is a lack of housing options affordable to the lowest income Portlanders
– especially those who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The Residential Infill Project is addressing the first
issue. This project aims to address the second issue.
A continuum of housing types potentially serving very low income Portlanders exist. Some of these types are well
established, and some exist at the margins of legality. These housing types are summarized below. Other more
traditional housing types can also serve very low income households, with greater subsidy. Further exploration of these
alternative housing types is based on the premise that there will not be sufficient resources to house all of the very low
income Portlanders in traditional housing forms through subsidy. Facilitating private sector development of a greater
range of very low income options could help the City serve more people. This project would develop an action plan to
expands these housing options. The action plan would evaluate code changes and further programmatic actions that
could be taken.
Alternative Housing Types Potentially Affordable to very low income Portlanders
Housing Type
Description
Mass Shelters
A structure that contains one or more open sleeping areas, or is divided only
by nonpermanent partitions, furnished with cots, floor mats, or bunks.
Tent or Tiny House
Villages
Organized villages of tents or tiny homes, usually with a shared on-site facility
for preparing food and bathing.
Single Room
Occupancy (SRO)
Buildings
A structure that provides living units that have separate sleeping areas and
some combination of shared bath or toilet facilities.
Micro Apartments
Very small (less than 400 square foot) rooms, typically with shared kitchen
facilities on each floor, shared by up to 5 rooms.
Tiny Houses on
Wheels, RVs
Small wood frame home built on a street-legal utility trailer, or a purpose
built residential trailer or recreational vehicle. Not subject to building codes
because they are considered vehicles.
Manufactured Home
A manufactured home is a manufactured dwelling constructed after June
15, 1976 in accordance with federal manufactured housing construction and
safety standards (HUD code).
ADUs
A second dwelling unit created on a lot with a house, attached house, or
manufactured home. They must be no more than 800 square feet, or 75% of
the size of the primary house (whichever is less).
Shared housing
When unrelated individuals share an apartment or home.
BEST PRACTICES | 375
Homelessness in the United States, How are Major Jurisdictions Dealing with This Issue?
www.iccsafe.org | page 29
