Metro is weighing a November 2018 ballot measure to fund affordable housing initiatives.

The regional government hasn't settled on an amount or a revenue source, or determined what the measure might help fund.

But a recent poll conducted on the agency's behalf suggested two-thirds of the region's residents would be willing to pay another $50 a year in taxes to support affordable housing.

In a statement released Tuesday, the agency said property tax of 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which would amount to about $50 a year for the average home, would be enough to cover an approximately $500 million bond.

The same poll found that 84 percent of respondents believe the lack of affordable housing is a significant problem.

Metro paid FM3 Research of California $42,250 to conduct the telephone poll, which had a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Metro officials had been contemplating a housing measure as a response to the rising cost of renting and buying homes in the region.

But the matter took on new urgency as TriMet pushed back to 2020 a proposed bond measure to pay for transportation projects, including its Southwest Corridor light-rail line. That measure might also eventually include money to pay for housing initiatives.

Metro is now overseeing the drafting of both ballot measures.

Voters in the city of Portland last November approved a $258.4 million housing bond, which cost property owners 18.4 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That bond replaced expiring city bonds, resulting in no net increase in property tax bills.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus