What your town can learn from Portland’s historic single family zoning change (that almost failed)

Neil Heller served as lead analyst supporting Portland’s first-in-the-country change of its single-dwelling zoning regulation to allow up to six units on a property if they have an affordability component. Overview in this Sightline Institute article.  

City Council was poised to allow up to 4 residential units on currently zoned single family zoned land but avoided that potential major misstep and allowed 6 instead because Neil’s proforma-based analysis. His analytics revealed otherwise impossible to discern cost data that proved 4 units were insufficient to achieve the hoped for affordability goal.

Policymakers and advocates nationwide considering their own changes are also in danger of flying blind.

If you are considering or underway with local zoning and policy changes for affordability, join Neil to learn how: 

• he used pro forma-based financial analytics to calibrate regulations with building types buildable within target rents.
• you can align your desired real world outcomes with local policies sufficient to enable them.
• your town can avoid expending political capital on a zoning change process that ends up never seeing the kinds of buildings you want built.

Grab your seat by emailing your name and city/town to RSVP@SmallDevelopmentCounts.org and receive a Zoom invite. 

Please feel free to invite people who might also be thinking about changing their own local zoning for deeper affordability.