Metro voters will be asked in November to approve a $652.8 million bond measure to fund up to 3,900 homes in the Portland area.

The measure, unanimously referred to the ballot by the Metro Council on Thursday, would add to property tax bills 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $60 a year for the owner of a home with an assessed value of $250,000.

Housing providers and homelessness nonprofits urged the Metro council to vote to refer the measure, saying it would help ease soaring demand for affordable housing and other services that's come with rising rents.

"We're playing musical chairs," said Sahaan McKelvey, codirector of community & family programs at Self Improvement Inc., a Portland antipoverty nonprofit. "We don't have enough resources."

Beneficiaries of affordable housing developments also testified, saying they provided the stability. They included Pam May of Tigard, who said she was formerly homeless before she was able to move into an apartment with the assistance of a housing voucher.

"It's now impossible for our citizens experiencing homelessness on their own without some help beyond their own resources," May said.

A handful of people testified against the measure, saying raising taxes on homes could be counterproductive. Gerard Mildner, academic director for Portland State University's Center for Real Estate, described the effort as a "feel-good measure that won't be very effective" because it wouldn't produce enough units to meet the need.

Mildner, a critic of Metro's urban growth boundary beyond which development is restricted, said the regional government should instead focus on reducing the cost of market-rate housing.

Metro Councilor Betty Dominguez of Oak Grove -- who also works for the public housing authority Home Forward, which could receive funds from the bond -- spoke emotionally in support of the measure. She recalled how, 35 years ago as a single mother, she had to let her electric service lapse in order to make rent.

"To those who say this is a drop in the bucket, I say that if you're that single mom living in your car with your children, that drop is your lifeline," she said.

Voters will also be asked in November to vote on a measure that would allow bond revenue to fund nongovernmental affordable housing, rather than requiring that housing created with bonds be owned or operated by a public agency. Private affordable housing developers can combine it with private capital to create more housing units.

If voters approve the amendment, Metro says its bond would help create or preserve 3,900 affordable homes, housing up to 12,000 people. If the amendment fails but the bond passes, Metro says its bond would result in only 2,400 housing units, housing up to 7,500.

Metro said half of the homes created would be affordable to households making less than 30 percent of the region's median family income, the income bracket for which the shortage of homes is greatest, and where residents are most likely to fall into homelessness.

About half of the bond money would likely be used to buy and rehabilitate existing low-cost housing, while the other half would be used to build new homes.

The funds would be divided between the three metro-area counties largely according to their tax base, and the funds would go to local housing authorities to distribute. Metro would retain 10 percent to buy land for affordable housing near transit lines.

The bond measure would come two years after voters in Portland approved a $258 million housing bond, for which the city has been criticized for moving too slowly.

Metro is also expected to send voters a transportation funding measure in 2020.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus