OREGON UPDATES
Over the past few months, Gov. Tina Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council has identified barriers that would lead to Oregon building fewer homes than needed to keep pace with growth. LC- The Oregonian
Gov. Tina Kotek’s Housing Council Wants to Make it Easier for Cities to Expand Oregon | September 13, 2023 | Press Release
M embers of a governor-appointed council say Oregon needs to temporarily loosen its land- use laws to meet Gov. Tina Kotek’s goal of building 36,000 homes per year – an idea that’s proved to be one of the more divisive proposals to address the state’s housing crisis. Over the past few months, Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council identified many barriers that would lead to Oregon building fewer homes than needed to keep pace with growth, leading to higher rent and mortgage costs and more homelessness. There aren’t enough construction workers to build the needed homes, cumbersome permit requirements make projects take longer and cost more and the state doesn’t have enough land ready for homebuilding. To address the last barrier, council members recommended that the Legislature allow all cities to expand their urban growth boundary one time in the next 10 years without going through the usual expansion process that can take
years to complete. The boundary is the invisible, state- approved line around a city that dictates where and how it can grow. That was a key component of a Kotek-backed bill that failed on the Senate floor in the last few hours of the legislative session. The council hasn’t formally endorsed the proposal, and public testimony during its Friday meeting demonstrated what a tough sell the idea would be in a state dominated by Democrats supported by environmental interests. “This opportunity, if every city in the state takes advantage of it, could produce 150,000 units,” said Deborah Flagan, a council member and vice president of community engagement at Hayden Homes. That would get the state 30% of the way to building the 500,000 homes economists say are necessary over the next two decades to keep pace with demand.
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The Business Review | October 2023
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