Overview
Project Overview
The purpose of this project is to develop an equitable and actionable Housing Implementation Plan (HIP). The HIP will evaluate policies and strategies that the City can employ to address Albany’s current and future housing needs, as identified in the City’s recently-adopted Housing Needs Analysis (HNA). The HIP will also build upon community conversations and support around the Expanding Housing Options project that updated the City’s development code and Comprehensive Plan to allow middle housing and comply with House Bill 2001.
The HIP will prioritize housing needs and outline actionable policies, strategies, and implementation steps needed to encourage the production of needed housing. Further, it will provide the foundation for updating the housing element of the Albany Comprehensive Plan.
The project goals and objectives are to:
Identify and assess policies and strategies to increase housing options and opportunities that meet the needs of Albany residents as projected in the 2020 HNA and raised by the public, and to evaluate incentives in House Bill 2001 to increase the affordability of middle housing.
Evaluate housing resources and constraints, including evaluation of existing strategies and recommendations for new actions to increase housing supply or provide regulatory streamlining.
Engage a broad spectrum of the community in conversations and input around housing needs and strategies using a variety of engagement strategies.
Adopt policies and tools that promote fair and equitable housing choices for all residents, especially residents of protected classes and those experiencing housing insecurity.
Key elements of the project will include identifying an initial “menu” of potential housing strategies; analyzing current data and trends related to housing needs and the local housing market; evaluating potential strategies based on their impact on the development of needed housing; prioritizing the most effective or viable strategies for achieving housing goals, with input from community members and stakeholders; identifying necessary implementation steps; and drafting a final Housing Implementation Plan and amendments to the Albany Comprehensive Plan.
Project Schedule Last updated: January 2022
The project is scheduled to be completed by April 2023. This project is funded by a grant from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). A consulting team that includes Angelo Planning Group | MIG (APG/MIG) and Johnson Economics is assisting the City with this effort.
Participate
Opportunities to Participate
There will be a range of opportunities for stakeholders and community members to participate in developing the Housing Implementation Plan:
Housing Affordability Task Force
Albany’s Housing Affordability Task Force (HATF) will provide strategic direction on the project and will work with the project team to review and provide feedback on key project deliverables. The HATF represents a wide range of interests, including residents, local builders, affordable housing providers, disability rights advocates, and the Albany Planning Commission and City Council. HATF meetings will be recorded and live streamed for the public. Visit the Housing Affordability Task Force page for more information.
Stakeholder Meetings or Interviews
The project team will be interviewing key stakeholders to learn more about local barriers and opportunities for housing development, as well as housing strategies and best practices for their implementation. Target stakeholder groups include housing developers, affordable housing providers, low-income residents, youth/young adults, seniors, families with children, people of color / ethnic minorities, and school district representatives.
Community Group Meetings
City staff and consultants will give presentations to local community organizations that have a role and stake in addressing housing strategies in Albany.
Community Meeting/Online Open House and Survey
The project team will conduct a community meeting or workshop to review key project results with the broader Albany community. The meeting may be virtual or in-person, depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. There will also be an associated online survey, to solicit community feedback on the draft Housing Strategies Evaluation and Implementation Plan.
Website and Social Media
This website will be periodically updated when new materials are available and when opportunities to participate are announced. The City will also post announcements to its social media pages.
Email the City’s project manager to comment, ask questions, or to join the project email list to stay engaged and informed about the project’s progress, or to sign up for a stakeholder or community group meeting. Please contact:
Anne Catlin, Planner III
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
City of Albany Community Development
333 Broadalbin Street SW
Albany, Oregon 97321
Documents
Documents
Draft Housing Implementation Plan Strategy Reports
These reports provide a preliminary summary and evaluation of various strategies, tools, and policies that the City may consider as part of its Housing Implementation Plan.
Part 1 Strategies Report includes:
- Development code/Regulatory Strategies
- Policy and Land Supply Strategies
Part 2 Strategies Report includes:
- Financial and Regulatory Incentives
- Funding Sources
- Programs and Partnerships
Background Materials
- 2020 Housing and Residential Lands Needs Analysis
- 2020 Albany Housing Strategies Report – This 2020 document pre-dates the middle housing code updates and this project.
- Accessibility Requirements and Data
- Albany Data and Stats
Other Documents
Project memos, reports, and other work products will be posted here throughout the process.
Links to meeting materials will be posted here as they are available.
FAQs
FAQs
Albany’s Housing Implementation Plan (HIP) will identify a set of policies and tools that the City can implement to facilitate housing development that meets the needs of the community. The HIP will prioritize strategies that promote fair and equitable housing choices for all residents, especially residents especially residents of protected classes and those experiencing housing insecurity.
The 2020 HNA found that there is significant need for new medium- and high-density housing to meet the City’s 20-year housing needs. This includes multi-family housing and “missing middle housing” such as duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and townhomes. The analysis also found both existing and future needs for housing affordable to low-income households (defined as households earning 80% or less of area median income). In particular, the HNA identified a shortage of rental units at the lowest pricing levels that would be affordable to the lowest-income households. Residents, realtors, the housing authority, and developers have also indicated a need for one-bedroom dwellings, accessible housing of all shapes and sizes, smaller one-story housing for residents wishing to downsize or buy their first home, and narrow lot housing. These gaps will be a focus of the City’s Housing Implementation Plan.
No, the City is voluntarily electing to create a Housing Implementation Plan to help meet the community’s housing needs. However, in the future, the City will be required to adopt a “Housing Production Strategy” in conjunction with a future update to its Housing Needs Analysis. House Bill 2003, adopted in 2019, requires Oregon cities with populations over 10,000 to develop Housing Production Strategies (HPS), which include a list of specific actions that the city will undertake to address housing needs identified in their HNA. The City of Albany will not be required to adopt an HPS until the year 2028. However, the City intends to incorporate ideas and resources provided by the state of Oregon for HPS’s into its voluntary Housing Implementation Plan.
The HIP may include strategies in the following categories:
- Zoning and development code changes
- Reducing regulatory or process barriers to housing
- Financial incentives (such as tax abatements or system development charge reductions)
- Funding sources (such as a Construction Excise Tax)
- Land, acquisition, lease, and partnerships with housing providers and other community organizations
An exhaustive list of potential tools, actions, and policies that cities can implement to promote housing development was assembled by DLCD and can be found here.
The HIP is expected to be completed by April 2023.
The HIP will guide a work program that will be implemented over many years. The HIP will identify priority actions and potential funding sources (where needed), necessary partnerships to carry out strategies, and an expected timeline for when actions will be complete.
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