What's Wrong with This Picture: Lake Oswego Foothills Plan Includes 3,000 Units, $135 Million of Public Infrastructure Investment, But ZERO Income Restricted Affordable Rental Housing.

Saw an interesting story in the Lake Oswego Review this week HERE about Foothills Redevelopment presentation made to Lake Oswego School Board on November 14th.   

I went to LO School Board web site and extracted the Foothills section of the Board packet and posted to my web space HERE.

On page 10 the summary indicates a total of 3,000 units are contemplated for Foothills (In full Foothills draft plan the estimate is that 1,600 of these 3,000 units are expected to be "market rate" apartments, with another 350 "senior housing" units).

Further, the summary materials on page 10 also state: 

The Framework Plan, which calls for $134.7 million in total investment in public infrastructure, includes a $56.2 million investment of tax increment and SDC revenue. Total investments will cover projects such as: improvements to roads to connect the new development to Lake Oswego's downtown, public spaces and plazas, improvements to the pedestrian environment, relocation of sewer lines, and high quality mass transit in the form of a streetcar. An independent engineering firm evaluated and validated these figures with the exception of streetcar cost estimates.

Some Editorial Comments

It is hard to imagine how affordable/income restricted/workforce rental housing [aka "government assisted housing" under Oregon land use law] could be so totally excluded from the plan for the largest redevelopment in the 31 years that I have lived in Lake Oswego, especially when that same plan contemplates nearly $135 million in public infrastructure investments. 

It is also very odd to me that the Foothills Redevelopment plan contemplates adding children to the school district without recognition that some of those children might be lower income children in families who live or work in or near Lake Oswego or in areas served by the transit planned for the Foothills area. 

In addition to housing advocates, I am hoping that Metro and transit officials are paying attention to the absence of planned affordable/income restricted/workforce rental housing in the LO Foothills Redevelopment plan. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.