Housing Services:
Development Fee Waiver Program
for Affordable Housing

The PDC Development Fee Waiver Program, for Non-Profit Affordable Housing projects in the City of Portland, offsets some of the development fees associated with the rehabilitation or new construction of affordable housing units. The Fee Waiver benefit amount is calculated from the number of affordable units created for
any given project. The developer will receive a "gift certificate,"
which can be applied towards certain development fees. The following
is a summary of the PDC Development Fee Waiver Program.

For Sale Criteria

Buyers must be first time homebuyers, earn less than 100% of MFI adjusted to household size (see attached income levels) at time of initial occupancy and the maximum sales price for each unit may not exceed $170,000.

Rental Criteria

Units must be leased or rented to tenants whose gross household income is equal to or less than 60% of the MFI, and the maximum rent burden must be at 60% of MFI (see attached rent levels) for a minimum of 60 years. If a tenant's income increases above the threshold, the next available unit must be rented to tenant(s) who meet the affordability standard.

The PDC Development Fee Waiver program may be applied to the following development fees:

1. Bureau of Buildings and Bureau of Planning fees (fee code 100-299, 808, 810, 817).
2. Bureau of Transportation Plan Review, Turnaround Surcharge, Curb and Sidewalk fees (fee codes 303, 304, 305, 365 and 366).
3. Bureau of Parks and Recreation Tree Inspection fees (fee code 601, 602).
4. Fire Bureau's Fire Code Enforcement Fee (fee code 701).

The PDC Fee Waiver Program is intended to reduce development costs by waiving a portion of those fees listed above and is unlikely to cover all of the development fees associated with a project.

The maximum total Development Fee Waiver given for qualified units, regardless of fees assessed, may not exceed the following:

Fee waivers are subject to the availability of PDC funds. PDC will cease to issue Development Fee Waivers when the annual allocation of PDC Development Fee Waiver funding has been reserved and/or expended, or, when an organization has reserved up to their annual maximum of $50,000.

Eligible Properties

• Applicant must be a Non-Profit developer not receiving other funding from PDC.
• Applicant must have site control of the property.

To Apply

Submit the following paperwork to PDC once you are ready to submit your plans to the Permit Center.

1. A fully completed application form. For Sale units require individual applications for each unit. Rental units may use one application per property.
2. Evidence of an organization's status as an Eligible Non-Profit Organization.
3. A Warranty Deed, clearly stating that the applicant has site control and/or ownership of the land, and a full and recorded legal description.
4. A Partition, Plat or Title Report Map clearly identifying the property.

The Fee Waiver is valid for a period of four months for projects with one to four units and for nine months for projects with more than four units. If the fee waiver is not drawn down prior to the expiration date, the Project Sponsor must reapply.

It is the Applicant's responsibility to track fee waiver expenditures closely. If the Applicant exceeds the fee waiver amount, the Applicant is required to reimburse the PDC for any overage.

Please note that units which do not meet the criteria of the program in Mixed-Income or Mixed-Use projects, are not eligible for the waiver. However, Mixed-Income or Mixed-Use projects may apply for the portion of the project that meets the affordability requirements.

PDC also administers the Affordable Housing System Development Charge (SDC) Exemption Program for the Water, Transportation and Parks Bureau. These exemptions are available for Organizations developing new residential units that meet similar affordability requirements.

To receive additional information on the Fee Waiver or SDC Exemption Program or if you have any questions please contact the PDC Program Administrator at 503-823-3270.

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