News Release from: City of Beaverton
CITY OF BEAVERTON SEEKS STATE APPROVAL FOR VERTICAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ZONES
Posted: July 20th, 2012 10:16 AM
- Vertical housing relieves pressure on rural lands outside urban growth boundary -
Beaverton City Council recently authorized the city of Beaverton's Community and Economic Development Department to apply for state approval of three Vertical Housing Development Zones (VHDZs). The zones are intended to provide financial incentive to promote mixed use development with housing in VHDZs.
"Building Vertical Housing in these zones aligns well with Metro's goals," said Mayor Denny Doyle. "By infilling our urban areas, we're able to increase our densities in areas where all levels of government have invested in Beaverton. These VHDZ's are all adjacent to light rail transit."
Under the state's program, a developer of a property within the VHDZs may apply for a partial property tax exemption as a tool to help finance their project. The exemption would apply for up to a ten year period.
The VHDZs may be located in light rail station areas, a transit oriented area, or a core area of an urban center. Three areas of the city have been identified as areas where the city can help incentivize mixed use development. The largest proposed VHDZ would be located within the city's central core area. The other proposed VHDZs are adjacent to the Sunset and the El Monica light rail stations.
"The establishment of the zones will encourage the construction of mixed use projects," said Mayor Doyle. "The development would create new housing and employment opportunities that could stimulate important economic, social, and cultural growth in those areas."
Since 2001, when the Vertical Housing Program was established, 14 communities in Oregon have received state approval of a VHDZ. Four of those communities are located in the Metro areas: Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie and Wood Village.
The city of Beaverton is not the only public agency which may be affected by a partial property tax exemption by a project that takes advantage of the VHDZ program. Metro and Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District are two examples of special service agencies supported by property taxes that could be affected by the VHDZs. Both districts have indicated their support for the city's VHDZ proposal and have committed to not "opt-out" of the VHDZs once approved by the state. The city and these two agencies see this program as an investment tool to strengthen their future budgets by encouraging new development and redevelopment of existing property.
Mixed use development in the areas the city has identified for VHDZs is encouraged within the city's Comprehensive plan, as well as the Civic Plan.
For more information, please contact Steven Sparks, principal planner, at 503-526-2429.
ABOUT BEAVERTON
Beaverton enjoys one of the most diverse populations among Oregon cities. Most recently, the city was awarded the 2012 Mayors' Climate Protection Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. It was one of just four cities of its size recently recognized as a "Smarter City" energy leader by the Natural Resources Defense Council and one of the 100 Best Places to Live in America by Money magazine. In addition, Beaverton has been named one of the safest cities in the Pacific Northwest for three consecutive years, as one of the best places to raise kids by BusinessWeek magazine, an All-America City finalist, as one of the top 25 Suburbs for Retirement by Forbes.com, one of the 100 Best Walking Cities in America by Prevention magazine, the Recycler of the Year from the Association of Oregon Recyclers, a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, a Bronze Award Bicycle Friendly Community designation by the League of American Bicyclists and as one of the Environmental Protection Agency'
s Green Power Communities, the Beaverton Community Vision program was named Public Involvement Project of the Year--Best Planning Project by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Cascade Chapter. For more information, please visit www.beavertonoregon.gov or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofbeaverton.
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