Oregon governor signs housing bills addressing affordability, urban growth boundaries
By Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle
WOODBURN, Ore. -- Six new Oregon housing laws aim to make it easier for cities and developers to build housing and prioritize affordable housing for families and older Oregonians.
Gov. Tina Kotek, local elected officials and state legislators gathered at Woodburn’s city hall Wednesday to celebrate the new laws, which include one to clear the way for Woodburn to add more housing outside of current city limits.
State economists say Oregon has to build 29,500 new homes a year, mostly in the Portland region and Willamette Valley, if it wants to overcome its housing shortage, while Kotek set — but has yet to meet — a more ambitious goal of 36,000 homes per year. Since the start of her administration, Oregon has financed or added 17,000 housing units with state support and has taken action to add 50,000 future housing units, Kotek said Wednesday.
Woodburn Mayor Frank Lonergan introduced Kotek, saying it was a special day because Kotek signed House Bill 4035, which modifies a 2024 law that lets eligible cities make a one-time urban growth boundary expansion. The law will allow Woodburn to oversee its own 120-acre expansion.
Similarly, Kotek, state lawmakers and housing advocates celebrated the signing of House Bill 4082. It’s a one-time expansion of urban growth boundary rules, with the condition that additional land be used for manufactured housing, prefabricated structures, manufactured dwelling parks or for housing specifically for people 55 years old and older. It lets cities with populations of 25,000 or more to bring in 100 additional acres for development, and those with smaller populations to bring in up to 50.
“To all the Oregonians who are struggling to find affordable housing right now, all the folks who are working on this, we see you,” Kotek said. “We are working for you. I’m working for you. We want to make sure that everyone in the state has a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.”
Three of the new housing laws Kotek signed also strengthen state loan programs to preserve and build affordable housing, including Senate Bill 1567, which authorizes the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department to establish a $20 million loan fund that will offer subsidized loans to developers willing to build housing units affordable to residents at different levels of income.
House Bill 4036 also establishes the Housing Opportunity, Longevity and Durability Fund, a new program funded through the same bond money the state uses to acquire, repair or furnish state-owned property. The new fund would help preserve existing affordable housing that’s at risk of being lost because of expiring federal or local affordability restrictions, financial distress or physical rehabilitation needs.
“With existing federal funding for affordable housing under attack, it’s critical for Oregon to find cost effective ways to build homes available to Oregonians at different income levels,” said Sen. Khanh Phạm, D-Portland.
And House Bill 4037, an omnibus bill addressing a range of housing issues, modifies the state loan program to expand low and moderate-income housing production, strengthens state enforcement of local housing laws and clarifies that surplus state-owned land should be prioritized for housing development. The bill cuts red tape for new housing, Kotek said, by expanding the ability for developers to self-certify that building plans meet requirements and reducing notice and public hearing requirements for certain housing projects.
Elected officials and Kotek also celebrated House Bill 4128, which gives families, individuals and small real estate businesses a 90-day head start before private equity firms can purchase single-family homes for sale in Oregon.
“I think the lineup of bills today is pretty reflective of the work that we have to do,” said Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, the chair of the House Housing and Homelessness Committee. “It is not just one solution to solve the housing problem in the state of Oregon. Really, we have to hit and address every point on the continuum of development.”
Kotek signed most of the housing bills in late March, according to the state’s legislative information website. Wednesday’s event was a ceremonial celebration of their passage into law.
