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Re-legalizing the missing middle in Oregon + Portland

Lessons from two successful actions against exclusionary zoning

Michael Andersen, Sightline Institute

Overcoming Barriers to Housing Affordability

Thursday, March 18, 2021

These slides are online at bit.ly/LincolnReportOR

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My 20-minute agenda

  • Who I am

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  • What we did

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  • Why I think it worked

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  • How other campaigns might learn from our wins & near losses: messaging lessons, political lessons

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Who am I and what is Sightline's deal?

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Who am I and what is Sightline's deal?

  • I'm a policy writer and researcher, focusing on housing and transportation

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Who am I and what is Sightline's deal?

  • I'm a policy writer and researcher, focusing on housing and transportation

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  • Sightline Institute is a regional sustainability think tank animated in part by a conviction that cities are good

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Who am I and what is Sightline's deal?

  • I'm a policy writer and researcher, focusing on housing and transportation

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  • Sightline Institute is a regional sustainability think tank animated in part by a conviction that cities are good

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Zoning reform:

re-legalizing cities

Cincinnati, Travis Estell

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Fourplex in Portland, built 1947.

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Under HB 2001, cities must allow:

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Fourplex in Portland, built 1947.

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Under HB 2001, cities must allow:

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  • Up to fourplexes in all neighborhoods for cities 25k+ and throughout Portland metro (2.5m)

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Fourplex in Portland, built 1947.

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Under HB 2001, cities must allow:

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  • Up to fourplexes in all neighborhoods for cities 25k+ and throughout Portland metro (2.5m)

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  • Duplexes on every lot in cities 10k+

Fourplex in Portland, built 1947.

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Oregon's HB 2001: fourplex re-legalization

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Oregon's HB 2001: fourplex re-legalization

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Other provisions:

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ADU in Seattle, Rainbow Valley Construction

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Other provisions:

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  • Struck down parking mandates above 1 per home and anti-rental discrimination

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ADU in Seattle, Rainbow Valley Construction

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Other provisions:

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  • Struck down parking mandates above 1 per home and anti-rental discrimination

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  • Voided future HOA covenants that ban middle housing

ADU in Seattle, Rainbow Valley Construction

Oregon's 2019 law: fourplex re-legalization

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Portland's 2020 follow-up: the Residential Infill Project

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The opposition

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So, what worked?

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Frame it as re-legalizing "middle housing" (not "ending single-family zoning")

Messaging lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

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Messaging lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Root your story in your community's specific history: in Portland, the year we started banning middle housing was 1924...

Map: Neil Heller.

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Messaging lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

...and the year our ban went citywide was 1959.

Map: Neil Heller.

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Messaging lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Signal friendliness to "soft NIMBYs" (anti-change but not anti-people) by positioning yourself against McMansions

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Messaging lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Show, don't tell: do your best to ensure that no one ever hears about the proposal without seeing an image of an actual duplex

Free-to-use photos at http://bit.ly/MissingMiddlePhotos

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Messaging lessons from

housing re-legalization

Our memo:

bit.ly/TalkingTriplexes

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Our housing research:

sightline.org/signup

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Find a committed leader: Rep. Kotek decided to get state reform done, and did

Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland.

Image: Lynn Howlett Photography.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Make an ideologically diverse case, even when cooperation seems impossible

Chart: FiveThirtyEight.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Make an ideologically diverse case, even when cooperation seems impossible

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Housing shortages spill across city limits, but no one city has the power to end them - or, therefore, the incentive to try. So pursue state and regional action.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

When you're trying to draw something new, it helps to to shake the Etch-a-Sketch

Image: Sightline.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Nonprofit housing developers can be ideal partners

Photo: Portland for Everyone.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Nonprofit housing developers can be ideal partners

Photo: Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro/East.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Image: Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Higher unit counts may actually be politically easier

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Image: Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Higher unit counts may actually be politically easier

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

The best day to start building a relationship was 10 years ago; the second best day is today.

AARP "missing middle housing' walk. Photo: Portland for Everyone.

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  • Led mostly by environmental groups

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

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  • Led mostly by environmental groups

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  • Funded mostly by foundations interested in housing affordability and environmentalist individual donors

Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

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  • Led mostly by environmental groups

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  • Funded mostly by foundations interested in housing affordability and environmentalist individual donors

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  • Face-to-face interactions with 3,000 Portlanders from 2016-2019

Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

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  • Led mostly by environmental groups

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  • Funded mostly by foundations interested in housing affordability and environmentalist individual donors

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  • Face-to-face interactions with 3,000 Portlanders from 2016-2019

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  • Phone/email list of 1,200 housing supporters built from these events

Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

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  • AARP (affordability, accessibility, community)
  • OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon (affordability, transit access)
  • The Street Trust (walkable, bikeable proximity)
  • Portland Public Schools (race/wealth integration)
  • SunrisePDX (carbon-efficient housing)
  • Homebuilders and Realtors (lower-priced market segment)

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Unexpected alliances

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Find shared facts and trusted authorities

Image: Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

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Political lessons from

fourplex re-legalization

Find common ground by thinking bigger

Image: Neil Heller.

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Photo: Portland: Neighbors Welcome.

The happy ending

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Photo: Sightline Institute.

The happy ending

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Photo: K. Kendall.

“Who knew putting people at city council, testifying, writing letters and convincing their elected officials could change public policy?”

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– Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty

The happy ending

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These slides are online at bit.ly/LincolnReportOR

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michael@sightline.org

@andersem, @sightline