RESOLUTION NO. 99-78

Establishing a Policy to Promote the Goals of Managed Growth by Making Available Vacant and/or Surplus County Lands for Mixed-use and Affordable Housing Development and Pursuing these Opportunities in the Design of Future County Facility Projects

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners Finds:

a. Community and neighborhood plans often call for mixed-use development, affordable housing, town centers, and main street designs. Multnomah County should be a partner in the realization of community plans whenever possible. County facilities and/or vacant or surplus land should add to, not detract from neighborhood livability.

b. Multnomah County supports the principles adopted by the Metro Council in its Regional Framework Plan and Urban Growth Management Functional Plan which together declare the intention of local governments to plan for and create opportunities to develop affordable housing, employment, open spaces, and other related aspects of growth between now and the year 2017.

c. The 1998 Multnomah County Strategic Space Plan, adopted by the Board, at page 27 declared the County's support for Metro's 2040 Plan and specifically recognized the County's role in creating partnerships and making property available for development offerings. Mixed-use projects were described as key to enabling better modal splits by locating housing, services, and work closer to each other.

d. Multnomah County is an active participant as a regional partner with government and neighborhoods in planning for the implementation of these plans through the Metro Housing Technical Assistance Committee, chaired by Commissioner Diane Linn. Its charge is to recommend to the Metro Council fair share affordable housing targets for each jurisdiction in the region.

e. Available land for new affordable housing development is increasingly scarce and/or costly, making it difficult for prospective projects to succeed financially.

f. Multnomah County is exploring potential opportunities for mixed-use development throughout the County where affordable housing and/or commercial uses might be constructed in conjunction with a County facility, e.g. a library at street level with residences above, a health clinic with a commercial storefront.

g. There is and will be a revolving inventory of County-owned property not currently targeted for public use which might be available for development to support initiatives consistent with Metro's goals of promoting compact urban growth, a supply of affordable housing, and maximum use of public transit.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners Resolves:

1. Multnomah County recognizes and accepts its responsibility as a regional partner with other governments, local neighborhoods, and citizens to identify opportunities within its control to contribute to the goals outlined in the Metro Urban Growth strategies, local government development priorities, and promotion of neighborhood livability.

2. The Board, acting through the Chair, directs staff to inventory all County-owned or managed properties to identify vacant, surplus, or underutilized property which could be made available for housing or mixed-use development either by the County, the private sector, or through a collaborative approach.

3. As an element of planning for County programs and facilities, County staff will demonstrate that design options have been considered which promote the potential for affordable housing and mixed-use development to the end of creating contiguous housing and public services.

4. The Director of the Department of Environmental Services will convene an inter-departmental Development Review Board whose task it will be to assess and advise the Board of Commissioners at an early stage of the potential for housing and mixed-use opportunities presented by available County property and proposed County development plans. Membership may be drawn from other jurisdictions.

5. The Review Board will develop criteria to be used in identifying potential sites for mixed-use or affordable housing, incorporating existing County policies, and report their progress to the Board of County Commissioners in sixty days.

ADOPTED this 13th day of May, 1999.

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OREGON

Beverly Stein, Chair

REVIEWED:

THOMAS SPONSLER, COUNTY COUNSEL FOR MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OREGON

By John Thomas, Assistant County Counsel