REPRESENTING BUSINESS ISSUES
Oregon’s Housing Dilemma: Key Recommendations and Legislative Actions Written by John Watt, JWA Public Affairs
F or the last several years the lack of housing in Oregon communities has been one of the largest challenges they have faced with perhaps drug decriminalization being the worst. The lack of available housing has Oregonians who are houseless
and Development (DLCD), which states in its December 2022 Oregon Housing Needs Analysis (OHNA) Legislative Recommendations Report that Oregon needs to develop more than 550,000 new housing units across income levels to accommodate 20 years of population growth. And, to account for current underproduction and the lack of units for people experiencing homelessness. On January 10, 2023, Governor Kotek
impacted, low income housing, entry level housing as well as market rate housing. The reason for the lack of housing are many and varied. On January 10, 2023, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek issued Executive Order 23-04, which established an annual housing production target of 36,000 homes in Oregon, and which established the Governor’s Housing Production Advisory Council (HPAC), tasked with providing recommendations to achieve the housing production target. The Council’s January 2024 report
included recommendations on one-time urban growth boundary (UGB) amendments, funding for infrastructure and affordable housing, and adjustments to land use standards. Those standards are incorporated into the Oregon Legislature’s Senate Bill 1537. Executive Order 23-04 and the draft HPAC report cite a housing shortage as detailed by the Department of Land Conservation
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The Business Review | June 2024
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