Housing

Young, old, rich, poor; everyone needs a home

Families seeking homeownership; seniors who want to downsize; the service industry workers who keep Portland running; everyone needs a roof and four walls without breaking the bank. With rental prices spiked by the pandemic and a housing market continuing an upward trajectory that has already breached the stratosphere it’s plain to see that Portland’s housing supply hasn’t kept pace with population and economic development, and it’s Portlanders who are paying the price.

It's basic economics, not rocket science

When you build enough housing to meet demand at all economic levels, rents stabilize or go down. The tangle of zoning regulations, land-use policies, and arbitrary bureaucratic processes have created an environment where that development isn’t possible, resulting in similarly impossible housing costs.

Portland desperately needs more housing development

Housing close to commercial corridors, where residents can walk to local businesses and access public transit, must be affordable for all Portlanders. Why isn't the city working hard for them, incentivizing development instead of stifling it?

What's John going to do about it?

Advocate and implement policies that streamline permitting and development

To move from permitting to groundbreaking, developers must navigate a complex and convoluted maze of contacts and agencies. A single point of contact with whom to work when completing pre-construction processes must be established, enabling timely and tailored development. Supply growth adequate to meet increasing demand benefits developers, tenants and property owners alike.

Bridge the gap between Bureaus, coordinating processes and creating a seamless path to development

Housing needs are time-sensitive and should be treated as such, and processes that necessarily bridge gaps between city Bureaus cannot be bogged down in inter-agency bureaucracy. We will remind the Bureaus of their responsibilities as stewards of this fundamental resource and that Portlanders can’t be expected to wait any longer for a thriving housing market.

Fight to keep residents' voices heard in the development of their neighborhoods

Neighborhood Associations play a critical role in shaping how each discrete piece of our city develops by engaging directly with the most impacted people. As our mission states, proactive community engagement is the key to building a future for Portland that we can all be proud of, with neighborhood associations remaining one of the best and most direct lines of communication to those communities and their needs.