Overview
Project Overview
Over the last year, the city has been taking steps to implement priority strategies identified in Albany’s Housing Implementation Plan (HIP) to encourage needed housing in Albany and incentivize more affordable housing and collecting public input on these strategies.
The Albany City Council adopted the HIP in June of 2023. The HIP evaluated policies and strategies that the City can employ to address Albany’s current and future housing needs, as identified in the City’s 2020 Housing Needs Analysis (HNA). The HIP outlines priority implementation steps the City can take to encourage the production of needed housing.
The HIP built 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 types where single dwelling units were allowed.
Implementation
Implementation
Albany Development Code Changes effective March 2025
The council adopted amendments to the Albany Development Code to reduce barriers to creating needed housing and added a couple of standards to increase livability. Summary of the changes:
- Remove barriers for small houses – reduced lot sizes and side setbacks for houses less than 1,250 square feet
- Encourage smaller cottages – by allowing more cottages per lot for those under 800 square feet, decrease common courtyard for developments with 4 or fewer cottages
- Increase ADU size as a percentage of the main house; keep maximum size of 900 square feet
- Reserve higher density zones for higher density development - set minimum density in the RM and RMA zones and remove maximum densities; max height and lot coverage already determine scale
- Require pocket parks/open space in residential subdivisions of 20 or more lots
- Encourage rear-loaded dwellings to improve pedestrian safety and walkability and preserve on-street parking
Surplus Property Policy adopted in December 2024. This policy requires the city to consider city-owned surplus property suitable for housing to be considered for housing first, unless another priority need is identified. This strategy could be a financial incentive to housing development that also allows the city to control the type of development on the property without costing the City money.
Housing incentive programs being considered:
Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE). This strategy allows the City to provide a tax abatement for multi-unit developments in Climate Friendly Areas close to transit in exchange for public benefits. This may be strictly residential or be in a mixed-use building. The tax abatement can be provided for up to 10 years and applies only to new residential construction. This strategy increases the feasibility of a project by lowering the initial operating costs.
Low-Income Rental Housing. This tax abatement program would provide a 20-year tax abatement for affordable rental housing. To be eligible, a property must offer rent to low-income residents (at or below 60% of the area median income) or be held for the purpose of developing low-income rental housing. Presently the City offers a tax abatement for low-income rental properties owned by nonprofits and requires an annual renewal.
Needed Housing Funding Source under consideration - Construction Excise Tax (CET):
This program would create a revenue source to enable the city to support affordable housing projects and programs through a one-time tax on construction projects. The City may levy a CET on residential construction for up to 1% of the permit value, or on commercial and industrial construction, with no cap on the rate of the CET. The revenue of this tax is used to support affordable housing developments and can help leverage crucial other funding for these projects.
Participate
Participate
Public Engagement Summary:
During 2024, there were a range of opportunities for stakeholders and community members to participate in providing input on strategies. These included focus groups, open office hours, and a survey.
- HB4006 Housing Forum: Affordability Presentation (pdf) and Notes (pdf)
- Focus group notes: Housing Policies (pdf) and Development Code Changes (pdf)
- Survey results - all proposals (pdf)
- Other public Input (pdf)
Policy Proposals Input Summaries
Housing CET (one-time fee on new development)
Participants understand both the urgent need for affordable housing and funding to support it. There were concerns that a CET would contribute to rising costs. However, the potential benefit, especially the ability to leverage other funding, generally outweighed those concerns. Participants noted the success of construction excise taxes in nearby jurisdictions to support affordable housing with minimal adverse effects to broader development and a desire to bring those benefits to Albany.
Low Income Rental Housing Property Tax Exemption
Majority support for this tool, but a couple of people voiced concern about whether for profit affordable housing developments should be eligible for the tax exemption. There were some concerns about how much tax revenue the City can afford to lose by providing tax exemptions and compliance with affordability requirements, but most people did not express a strong opinion about whether to exclude for-profit affordable housing developers from the program. This has been a vital program to sustain affordable housing in Albany.
Surplus Property for Housing
Public input revealed both enthusiasm and caution for this strategy. Screening properties for housing suitability without requiring the City to use a property for that purpose was a favorable approach to most. A primary concern was that surplus City owned land may be needed by the city in the future. Any screening of properties for housing suitability should assess the likelihood of the city needing the land in the future. Nonprofit developers expressed that the ability to purchase surplus land can be enormously helpful in producing affordable housing. Some suggested limiting the sale of City owned surplus land to affordable housing, not other needed housing types.
Development Code Changes Input Summary
- Remove barriers to small houses and cottages - support
- Increase flexibility for accessory dwellings units (ADUs) - support
- Reserve higher density zones for higher density development – majority support
- Require open space in residential subdivisions of 20 or more lots – support, don’t require play equipment, allow storm water quality facilities to count
- Encourage rear-loaded development to save streets for parking - support
Contact
Anne Catlin
541-917-7560
City of Albany Community Development Department
333 Broadalbin Street SW
Albany, Oregon 97321
Documents
Documents
Housing Implementation Plan Documents
The City of Albany prepared the Housing Implementation Plan (HIP) to identify actions the City can take to help increase housing options that create more housing for more people. The HIP prioritizes current and future housing needs and outlines equitable and actionable policies, strategies, and implementation steps needed to encourage the production of housing that is needed in the Albany community. The HIP summarizes recommendations for adoption of a range of housing strategies or tools to study further—these include regulatory changes, incentives, funding sources, programs, and partnerships.
- Housing Implementation Plan
- Appendix A - Part 1 Background Report
- Appendix A - Part 2 Background Report
- Appendix B Focus Groups Summary
- Appendix C Survey Summary
- Appendix D Housing Strategies Menu
Albany Market Feasibility Study
The market feasibility study was completed as one component of the City of Albany Housing Implementation Project. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of mixed use (MU) development forms in the City’s six potential climate-friendly areas (CFAs). CFAs are a requirement of the state Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities rule (CFEC) which requires cities with a population greater than 25,000 residents to designate and plan CFAs to be future areas where greater housing capacity, commercial options, and transit access will allow residents to meet most of their daily needs without the need for a car. The CFAs, therefore, need to allow more flexibility in housing types, density and mix of uses. These development forms can be more expensive and complicated to develop than lower-density construction, meaning that they will not be feasible in all areas immediately. However, the right combination of incentives and positive amenities can help bridge the feasibility gap to achieve these goals. This study summarizes local market conditions for residential and commercial real estate. The study identifies gaps in feasibility and proposes strategies and tools for addressing these gaps.
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.
FAQs
FAQs
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.
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 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.
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 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 was adopted in June 2023.
