ARTICLE
HBA Staff and PBUD members recently met to discuss a proposal by Portland’s SDC bureaus to retire the SDC waiver for ADU’s. Intended to create cost parity between ADUs and the new housing types allowed under RIP, the change may have unintended consequences. Members voiced concern that removing the waiver will substantially hinder ADU development and may cause it to stop almost completely. Equalling tens of thousands of dollars, SDCs would be a large cost for projects often developed by homeowners. The added cost may make many projects uneconomical, especially when most ADU projects are self funded by homeowners because they don’t qualify for traditional financing. HBA staff are working with Portland Bureau of Environmental Services to set up a meeting in the next month with stakeholders affected by this change. If you are interested in this issue and would like to learn more or to attend the meeting when scheduled, contact Ryan Makisnter, ryanm@hbapdx.org.