December 21, 2009

The City, through the Portland Housing Bureau (PHB), administers a program offering tax exemptions for several kinds of housing, designed to spur development and support some of our most low-income renters:

• non-profit low-income housing;
• new residential communities in the Central City;
• transit-oriented development;
• single-family construction; and
• preservation of existing housing for neighborhood revitalization.

In 2008, the City Auditor looked at the Limited Tax Exemption (LTE) program and made several recommendations.

One recommendation was that the Housing Bureau submit an annual report to Council.

On Wednesday, December 16, the Portland Housing Bureau presented results of their second annual report to Council, addressing the program goals of greater transparency in reporting, balance between foregone revenue and meeting housing and development goals; and increasing accountability through program monitoring.

In all, PHB staff reported, almost 12,000 units of housing were part of the LTE program in the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The largest proportion of units - 8,579 of 11,708 are rent-restricted, non-profit units, available only to very low-income renters. This housing is a major tool in combating homelessness here in Portland.

For more on this program, visit PHB's website at www.portlandonline.com/phb.