Sustainable City Year Reports 2020-21 (Hood River)

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    Decreasing Barriers to Missing Middle Housing in Hood River, Oregon
    (University of Oregon, 2020) Schechtman, Claire; Lewis, Rebecca
    Located in the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River attracts visitors and permanent residents alike. Over time, the area’s desirability has contributed to increased living costs and homogenous housing stock that has made it increasingly challenging for existing residents to live and work in the City. Hood River wants to develop mixed-income, diverse housing types, as the City struggles to accommodate continued growth. Currently, multi-family housing is restricted to limited zones, there are barriers to auxiliary dwelling unit development, and nearly 10% of the housing stock is occupied by short-term rentals or secondary homes. The city of Hood River is advancing a long-term strategy to develop more diverse housing types, including “missing middle” housing. This strategy builds upon a 2016 Housing Needs Analysis and subsequent planning for the West Side Concept Area. This report seeks to help Hood River address and mitigate potential opposition to changes that may arise with housing developments. Guided by input from Hood River’s planning commission and community, this report focuses on recommendations to the development code and messaging tools that the city of Hood River can incorporate when addressing and reducing barriers to missing middle housing types. These recommendations include zoning changes to allow a greater diversity of housing types, such as the adoption of form-based code to better align zoning with community needs and priorities. To reduce barriers to developing diverse housing, students recommend allowing multi-family housing “by-right,” implementing procedures to streamline the permitting process, and reducing the development review costs. To address barriers to local support, we recommend that the city of Hood River establish a public engagement process and a housing task force, update its code language, emphasize missing middle housing, and shift the narrative of development towards existing Hood River residents. Utilizing one or a combination of recommendations will ideally bring Hood River closer to achieving their housing targets and providing for the needs of the community.