Beth Goodman recently presented ECO’s Housing Production Strategy project to Ashland’s Planning Commission.
According to Beth, “a housing production strategy is an eight-year action plan. We look at all the strategies together and do an evaluation of whether they have achieved fair and equitable housing outcomes.”
Like Portland (and much of the rest of the West Coast), housing in Ashland is unaffordable for a large swath of the population. The Housing Production Strategy considers the needs of vulnerable populations beyond those making less than 50% of the area median income, including people experiencing homelessness, people over 65, and people with disabilities. As the Mail Tribune writes, “the analysis is expected to flesh out the city’s role in housing development, such as setting public policy, zoning land, infrastructure and design requirements, balanced with market feasibility.”
Beth tells us: “In Ashland, I don’t think these housing market dynamics are working very well. If your housing market was working, then older housing would filter down, it would depreciate and become your housing stock that’s moderate, affordable housing. You’re not seeing as much of that filtering.”
This project will involve extensive public engagement through interviews, public meetings, online surveys, and open houses. The final report will be ready for adoption early next year. What are you hoping to see in Ashland?