After year of work, Oregon housing council makes 59 recommendations to Kotek, lawmakers

Oregon’s housing crisis has been years in the making, and with high interest rates, rising inflation and a litany of other barriers in the way, policymakers will need to make some changes — at least 59 of them, according to a new list of recommendations delivered last week by a state council tasked with finding solutions.

The state Housing Production Advisory Council (HPAC), created by executive order on Gov. Tina Kotek’s first day in office was assigned to identify and address whatever barriers it could find that limit the production of housing statewide. The goal: produce at least 36,000 units of new housing, every year, for the next 10 years.

In its final meeting on Jan. 17, HPAC presented its official recommendations to Kotek, providing a long list of recommendations after nine months of meetings with stakeholders and subject-matter experts.

The list was varied, proposing everything from massive funding programs to small changes in land use code. Some of the most notable were:

  • Authorize “State of Emergency Siting Procedures” to expedite housing production on state-owned property;
  • Ask the Legislature to act urgently to allow cities an optional, one-time amendment to provide additional land for housing at designated Urban Growth Boundaries;
  • Increase the number of qualified independent contractors (third parties) who are licensed by the state to provide plan review and inspection services for cities where capacity is not available;
  • Create an expedited appeals process for land use decisions;
  • Offer legislation training and case review with the Land Use Board of Appeals to the public;
  • Create a subsidized funding instrument at the state level to allow cities to borrow against future revenues generated through SDC’s (System Development Charges) for infrastructure projects that increase future production and/or lead to greater affordability;

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