Portland City Council commits to housing expansion, adopts Inner Eastside for All Resolution

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Portland City Council commits to housing expansion, adopts Inner Eastside for All Resolution

This move signals a long-awaited commitment to advance the Inner Eastside for All policy to accelerate planning and policy work to unlock more housing

PORTLAND, OR - Portland City Council unanimously voted to adopt the resolution to prioritize Inner Eastside for All on Wednesday night. The resolution supports expedited planning and policy work across City bureaus to enable housing development in Portland's Inner Eastside for people in all ages, wages, and stages of life. The work will examine high-opportunity areas for density to increase housing through potential zoning concepts and approaches.

The resolution was propelled by a campaign led by Portland: Neighbors Welcome (P:NW), a member-led organization driven by mostly volunteers, that succeeded in 2024 in advocating for the inclusion of the Inner Eastside Planning Project. P:NW worked with three councilors-Candace Avalos, Angelita Morillo, and Mitch Green-to bring the resolution to Council and to advance the development of housing types also known as "four floors and a corner store."

Councilor Avalos, Housing and Permitting Committee chair, said, "At the end of the day, housing is a human right. And how we build, how we create density, shapes not just our neighborhoods, but our economy and whether families can stay in the communities they love."

Council's approval of this resolution is a strong signal that the City is going to reverse a decades-long practice of saying 'no' to building.

"For years, our City government has hidden behind bureaucracy and red tape to deny working class Portlanders the dense, livable neighborhoods that we deserve." shared Councilor Angelita Morillo, "But the movement for housing access in the inner Eastside has been undeniable - our communities demanded bold, swift action and this Council listened. With this victory, we are showing Portland that the new City Council is done dragging our feet on housing. I am proud to advance this policy that matches the urgency of our housing crisis with the aggressive, responsive timelines Portlanders deserve from their government."

Councilor Green, Housing and Permitting vice chair, said, "One thing I will get done in office is advancing bold policies to take Portland in a new direction and to enable growth. We need to build housing, but we also need to do rent control. We need to do social housing, have tenant governance, and displacement policies. That's managed growth. We can do it all."