Oregon Realtors on Friday released a new poll it commissioned to show how Oregonians feel about housing.
The answer is simple and not surprising. Residents of this state want more housing, they want it to be cheaper, and they would prefer to live in a single-family home if given the choice.
A poll of real estate agents conducted last month by American Strategies found that Oregonians are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage, dissatisfied with the direction of the state and both parties, and worried about their place in the country. It turned out to be what I was looking for.
“The preference for living in a single-family home is clear: nearly nine in 10 say living in a single-family home is very important (63 percent) or somewhat important (22 percent) to them. ” American Strategies concluded. “If faced with a choice, the majority of people would prioritize building additional affordable housing over protecting the environment and combating climate change.”
State Sen. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone), a real estate agent and property manager by trade, said the polling is clear: “People want privacy, they want gardens. I want to live near my children” “School”
Real estate agents released the poll ahead of the 35-day legislative session in even-numbered years, which begins on February 5th. They did so in part because increasing housing production and debate over Bill 110 will be a major focus of Congress. .
Governor Tina Kotek has made increasing housing production to 36,000 units a major goal of her administration. Kotek has found an unlikely ally in a real estate agent who donated $560,000 to Kotek's Republican opponent in 2022, former state Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby).
But Kotek and the real estate agent now want the same thing. It is about increasing the number of all types of housing. In 2023, Kotek partnered with Oregon Realtors and the Oregon Home Builders Association to promote a one-time expansion of the city's urban growth boundary to provide new parcels of land for housing development. The bill containing this expansion, House Bill 3414, set off fireworks late in the session, resulting in an unusual defeat for Kotek.
RELATED: Despite working with Senate Republicans, Gov. Tina Kotek suffers biggest legislative defeat
Environmentalists have soared the 2023 bill, arguing that the proposed UGB expansion goes too far and ignores large amounts of developable land already within the UGB. Kotek's staff met with both sides of the debate after the session, and the housing bill proposal she introduced in February again includes a one-time expansion of the UGB, but this time in 2023. The bill includes restrictions that do not exist. Cities wishing to expand UGB must first demonstrate that expansion is necessary, meaning no available land already exists, and ensure that 30% of new development meets affordability requirements. need to promise.
“Within the expansion area, 30% of all housing units must be legally limited to affordable housing,” Kotek's office said in a statement. “Oregon's 30% requirement would be one of the strongest in the country. There is no affordability requirement for existing land within the UGB (outside of Portland); We really need price guarantees.”
But on January 29, the Oregon Conservation Network dropped a pre-emptive bomb on Kotek's plan. The group, which includes more than 40 environmental groups, killed HB 3414 last year over the UGB expansion, and despite the changes she made, the governor said it believes her new bill is a “serious threat.” I told him.
(OCN is led by 1,000 Friends of Oregon and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, whose PAC gave Kotek $1.46 million in 2022.)
“The Oregon Conservation Network has resolved that SB 1537 poses a significant threat to a healthy Oregon,” the Jan. 29 letter to Kotek and all members of Congress reads. “We did not make this decision lightly. This letter acknowledges that the large-scale urban growth boundary expansions permitted by this bill are an urgent solution to the affordable housing crisis and the environmental value of our state.” “OCN opposes the bill until the UGB expansion provisions are amended.”
This group likes most of what Kotek wants to do. That means funding new homes and infrastructure and encouraging climate-friendly construction. I also like the 30% of the setting that would be set aside for affordable housing if there was an expansion of UGB. By including a requirement that cities demonstrate a need for expansion, Kotek satisfied one of OCN's main objections, but the group also increased the allowable increase from 150 acres or 75 acres to 15 acres. They are requesting that the number be reduced to .
“If the large-scale acreage expansion is removed, but the small-scale provisions remain as is, OCN will remove the material threat status of this bill,” the letter concludes.
Kotek responded to the letter with his own letter to all members on January 30th. In the letter, he said his staff meets weekly with OCN representatives and that OCN's major threat designation “came as a surprise and was agreed to outside of the process.” It's currently underway. ”
“The governor will continue to cooperate.” [key lawmakers] and stakeholders hope to find a compromise on acreage and look forward to other countries continuing to come to the table and engage in a dialogue in good faith,” the letter concludes.
Dave Hunnicutt, president of the Oregon Property Owners Association and an attorney who has pushed for decades to increase the amount of land available for development, said Congress is responding to the needs of Oregonians as expressed in real estate agent polls. He says we should listen.
“Our land use system was never designed to discourage new housing development,” Hunnicutt said. “But the process is broken.” Mr Hunnicutt said high house prices reflected a lack of land available for development. “What remains is just a math problem,” he says.
