The Hood River City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to establish a tax exemption program for not-for-profit builders of affordable housing.  To be eligible for the exemption, the property must be owned or being purchased by an eligible nonprofit corporation, and either already occupied by low-income persons or is being held for development of low-income housing.  Oregon state statutes authorize cities to exempt certain non-profit corporations from property taxes when they develop housing to address local shortages in available and affordable housing.  While developing the City’s affordable housing strategy, municipal officials were told by non-profit housing developers that tax exemptions are important tools in building and maintaining housing that is affordable to limited income households and in helping to stabilize a developer’s investment over the lifetime of the project.