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Last week, the Hood River City Council approved a proposal that would drastically decrease the current fee-in-lieu for required residential parking in the downtown area, from $22,000 to $3,000 per space, an 87 percent decrease! Additionally, the proposal would reduce the required number of parking spaces, from 1.5 to 1.25 per dwelling unit, further incentivizing the construction of residential housing in the city’s core. Since 2006, the City of Hood River has seen a mere 19 net new dwelling units constructed downtown. This dearth in housing construction has led to a recognition of the negative role that required parking can play in residential development pro-formas and ability to obtain project financing. Based on the city council's directon, staff will craft a draft ordinance for planning commission review later this month. HBA supports the propsal and will continue to work with city stakeholders to ensure that residential redevelopment and ground-up construction are equitably incentivized under the proposed code changes. To learn more about HBA involvement in Hood River, contact Roseann Johnson at roseannj@hbapdx.org.