The Portland City Council capped a year of action on the affordable housing crisis on Dec. 21 by requiring developers to include lower-priced apartments in new rental projects. Although the new program includes benefits to offset the lost revenue for developers, some say they're not strong enough and the city's "Inclusionary Housing" policy could result in less housing being built — driving up rents even more.
The program was passed at the last meeting of the former council, before new Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly replaced Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick on Jan. 1. However, the vote was unanimous in support of the proposal by Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who was in charge of the Portland Housing Bureau. Wheeler has now assigned the bureau to himself.
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