Washington County awarded $97,500 for equitable housing

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 06, 2016

A $97,500 grant to help Washington County identify barriers to affordable housing development and implement solutions was awarded by Metro Council on Dec. 1.

The County's Affordable Housing Site Evaluation, Barriers & Solutions grant was one of seven grants, totaling $575,000, which will help support equitable housing in seven communities in the greater Portland area.

The grant will allow Washington County Department of Land Use & Transportation (LUT) to update County regulations and streamline development processes to eliminate barriers to new affordable housing. The grant will also allow LUT to review barriers to financing affordable housing and will fund predevelopment work on a proposed 48-unit affordable housing development at the southeast corner of Cornell Road and Murray Boulevard in Cedar Mill. The County will work closely with community members, including affordable housing residents, developers, designers, financers and others.

"People throughout our region are struggling with housing affordability issues," said Andy Duyck, County chairman. "Washington County's communities will benefit from having a variety of housing options for people at all income levels. Our Board of Commissioners is taking concrete steps to encourage more affordable housing in Washington County, and this grant will help us accelerate those efforts."

"We are excited to do our part by taking steps to increase the number of affordable housing units in our region," said Andrew Singelakis, director, LUT. "The lessons learned by the County will be transferrable, and our hope is that other agencies can benefit from what we learn. This grant funding will also build on other County-led housing affordability efforts, including the Aloha Tomorrow planning project , which will refine future plans for the Aloha Town Center near Tualatin-Valley Highway and 185th Avenue."

For more information on Metro's Equitable Housing initiative and all of the grant projects approved by Metro Council, visit www.oregonmetro.gov/equitablehousing .

Washington County is committed to planning, building and maintaining a great transportation system, ensuring the safety of all roadway users, and operating the County roadway system in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

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