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Portland's Nick Fish questions whether affordable housing projects go far enough



The Portland City Council on Wednesday granted 10-year property tax exemptions to seven new apartment buildings in exchange for developers agreeing to make one-fifth of the units affordable.

The council unanimously approved the developments, but Commissioner Nick Fish questioned whether they go far enough in serving Portlanders most in need of housing. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly was absent.

"I will support it even though it doesn't address our crushing need and it isn't the most efficient way to get there," Fish said.


Five of the seven will be luxury apartment complexes with studios renting for upwards of $1,400. Those properties are only required to make their subsidized units affordable to individuals or families who earn 80 percent or less of median family income. In 2016, that was $41,000 for one person or $47,000 for a couple or a single parent with one child.

...continues at the Oregonian.